Trumpet Sound from back of car

[WarrenJ]

I have a problem that developed a couple of weeks ago on my 01 Camry that I am having a hard time tracking down. A sound like a trumpet, or Kenny G. on that crazy skinny sax he plays coming from the back of the car. It happens at low speeds, around 20 mph and only when I lift my foot off the gas a TINY bit. Then I can hear a constant musical note or a far off fog horn (sorry, but that is the best way to describe it) coming form the back of my car. I can back off the gas a little more, or all the way and it stops. I can give it just a bit more gas (and I am talking about just a mile per hour or two worth of pedal) and it stops. It happens at higher speeds, but being located at the rear of my car, it begins to become harder to hear. My thoughts are some kind of a vacuum valve for the EVAP system or fuel tank. Guesses are welcome, correct answers will be rewarded with the knowledge that you were right.

[Hajoca]

brake squeal? or is something dragging below the car?

[EEngineer]

somebody welded in a trumpet!!!

here's what u should do......go seafoam ur camry and while the car is hoisted
then step on the gas and get that noise out...and see where the smoke is leaking from.

i'm almost sure you have a leak...but it's a small one...only small leaks will give u a weird noise

[Venom_5]

common problem with the gen 3 ... trumpet playing midget hiding in your trunk

[ECale3]

Well duh, it's the trumpet diverter in the exhaust system. If you replace it with a high flow unit and tune for it you will gain about 15whp AND a deeper sound

[WarrenJ]

OK...so far no awards are being passed out for correct answers, although the Comedy Channel may want to talk to a couple of you when they give out their awards. Not a brake squeel, good guess but it is related to vacuum, question is where. Not a trumpet playing midget either, I thought you were onto something there, finding what looked like a midget playing a bagpipe, but it was just one of my kids stuffed animals shoved into an old bag of golf clubs in the trunk. Close though. Maybe I should check the underhood vacuum line routing sticker and see what is located at the back of car. OHHHH I think I see a shiney new award on MY mantle.

[Strum]

I don't have a solution, but maybe at least some assistance in locating where the noise is coming from. Pull the lower section of your back seat out and see if the volume increases at all. It's a simple task that might help pinpoint the problem. If it's around the tank, the noise should be more pronounced.

Does it do it only when driving or can you get it to do it in park by changing the RPM's? If you are determining it while driving, that sound can be bouncing all over the place. It's sort of like trying to figure out what wheel or brake is making noise while driving down the street - I think we've all been there before.

Oh, and they sell a spray now for getting rid of trumpet playing midgets (sorry, it's too hard to pass up).

[WarrenJ]

Strum, the back seat removal is a good idea. The wife still refuses to ride around in the trunk even though I rigged the light to stay on all the time. To answer your question, no, it does not make the noise sitting still whether in gear or in neutral, even giving it equivalent throttle, it still does not make the noise. I am beginning to believe it is the purge valve on the charcoal canister making a squawking sound. If I remember correctly, the canister does not purge unless the car is traveling at over 20 miles per hours, or something like that, and only when the engine is warmed up. That would explain why I cannot recreate the noise while holding still, and the canister is located just below the back seat, which would correspond to where the noise could be coming from, so removal might narrow this down alot, thanks.

Oh, and Strum, on a personal note.....I went down to my local part store and asked the big dude behind the counter about getting a can of the Trumpet Playing Midget spray....well I think I can only get it at the Drug Store because apparently the spray has something to do with a body part located below my waist and behind my back, because that is what he kept YELLING AT ME!!!! I can hopefully get an ice pack at for my left eye while I am at the Pharmacy.

[Kep]

Darn, my money was on the trumpet player.

Just a thought, try pulling off the gas tank cap and see if the noise changes. (You might try listening at the fill pipe but it sounds like it only happens when you're moving so probably not.) I'm curious if you might have a poor connection of the cap (does your wife tighten the cap until it clicks?) or if the fuel pump might not be having a problem (though an 01 shouldn't be having a problem just yet...).

In Texas we have emission tests for older cars. Part of this is putting the car on some sort of rollers where they can run the car up to various speeds while checking the exhaust. If you have something similar near you you could walk around the car while it is making the noise, maybe...

Luck
Kep