Whistling noise coming from the front of the car? - Toyota Nation Forum : Toyota Car and Truck Forums

matrix_luver · 08-03-2009, 09:59 AM

I recently noticed that there is a whistling noise coming from the front of my '10 Matrix when I drive around 50/60 km/hr. It sounds like a whistling wind noise or so, or a slight squeaky belt noise. I can only hear it though when i don't have the radio on and the windows closed.
Called the dealership and they said that it might go away by itself as the I just got my car 3 weeks ago and the car needs some time to run smoothly. This answer doesn't make any sense to me.
Anybody experiencing a similar problem?

NefDream · 09-13-2009, 11:43 AM

Hi there,

I bought my 2010 a month ago and I'm having the same whistling noise problem. Mine comes at 45/50 km/h and goes at 80 km/h. The seller asked me to verify if it wasn't the roof rack (with the wind)... but I know for sure it's coming from the front and not from behind.

Have you asked again the dealership what is wrong?

Thank you for letting me know.

matrix_luver · 09-13-2009, 03:45 PM

Hi,

I brought my car to the dealership and apparently it was the alternator... Got it replaced last week. The noise didn't go away at all, but it got worse. Now, when I start the cold engine i.e. in the morning, I hear a loud squeaky noise! Really upset about all the trouble. This is a brand new car and I won't accept leaving this problem unresolved. Got an appointment this week again to get this problem checked up.

I can tell you that it is definitely not the roof rack. I don't have anything on my roof and I still have exactly the same issue as you do.

Will let you know once I got this resolved.
Did you go back to the dealership at all?

Quote:

Originally Posted by NefDream

Hi there,

I bought my 2010 a month ago and I'm having the same whistling noise problem. Mine comes at 45/50 km/h and goes at 80 km/h. The seller asked me to verify if it wasn't the roof rack (with the wind)... but I know for sure it's coming from the front and not from behind.

Have you asked again the dealership what is wrong?

Thank you for letting me know.

keyboardracer · 09-15-2009, 10:05 PM

Sounded like a belt noise to me.. Since I used to be a rustproofer worked at a dealership. It safe to say there might be some over spray to your belt/pulley..

you can ask your buddy sitting inside and rev the engine to 1950 rpm and hold it for 3 minutes i think you might be able to reproduce the noise

jdhog · 09-16-2009, 12:26 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by matrix_luver

Hi,

I brought my car to the dealership and apparently it was the alternator... Got it replaced last week. The noise didn't go away at all, but it got worse. Now, when I start the cold engine i.e. in the morning, I hear a loud squeaky noise! Really upset about all the trouble. This is a brand new car and I won't accept leaving this problem unresolved. Got an appointment this week again to get this problem checked up.

I can tell you that it is definitely not the roof rack. I don't have anything on my roof and I still have exactly the same issue as you do.

Will let you know once I got this resolved.
Did you go back to the dealership at all?

Dude, serarch this and the corolla forum there is a post somewhere about some TSB Cam timing parts and one of the symptoms is squeeky or and rattling cam parts on a cold start up in the 1.8

I'll see if I can link you to the post.

Here ya go. It was originally posted over in the corolla forum:
2009 Toyota Matrix/Corolla TSB

Nrthyrkr · 09-27-2009, 12:26 AM

Hi,
Bought my '10 Matrix 1.8L Auto brand new about a month ago.
Car was fine until I went in for the 1st oil change and brake recall.
Have been experiencing the whistling noise intermittently ever since.

My Matrix has about 3000kms, no roof rack, no knocking during cold
starts and gas mileage is good - 7.5L/100kms (32 mpg).
The whistling noise does not occur while using cruise control.
Happens only at certain points of the gas pedal position.

Went back to the dealership, test drove with the mechanic but could not
replicate the noise. Mechanic looked under the hood, checked
belts and intake but could not find anything wrong. Have any of the
users on the forum been able to diagnose the problem?
Will be great if you could share the info and also the
dealership info (Toronto area). Mine is DVN Toyota.

Im_crewman · 09-27-2009, 09:32 AM

I own a 2010 XRS and I also have the whistling noise. I have no roof rack, but i do have a bug deflector and fell it is just coming from this. It's a speed sensitive noise that i believe is more body panel related.

I'm going to tape(painters tape works perfectly) up some of the gaps in the panels and see if I can eliminate the sound.

I have a 2.4 and I'm getting 7.5l/100 km's per tank(mostly highway).

jdhog · 09-28-2009, 12:50 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Nrthyrkr

Hi,
Bought my '10 Matrix 1.8L Auto brand new about a month ago.
Car was fine until I went in for the 1st oil change and brake recall.
Have been experiencing the whistling noise intermittently ever since.

My Matrix has about 3000kms, no roof rack, no knocking during cold
starts and gas mileage is good - 7.5L/100kms (32 mpg).
The whistling noise does not occur while using cruise control.
Happens only at certain points of the gas pedal position.

Went back to the dealership, test drove with the mechanic but could not
replicate the noise. Mechanic looked under the hood, checked
belts and intake but could not find anything wrong. Have any of the
users on the forum been able to diagnose the problem?
Will be great if you could share the info and also the
dealership info (Toronto area). Mine is DVN Toyota.

Lot's of folks in the corolla forum who have had the brake recall done are also getting whistling noises, some do some don't, but it must be something to do with the brake recall update.

Nrthyrkr · 09-29-2009, 01:48 AM

jdhog,

Thanks for directing me to the Corolla forum. Most people
seem to have the same problem after the brake recall job.

matrix_luver · 10-02-2009, 08:03 AM

Folks,
After I went back to the dealership to get my car checked up again, they finally found out that it is the hood deflector which I have on my Matrix and the antenna! I know, sounds silly, but when they took off the antenna and the hood deflector, the whistling noise disappeared immediately. To make sure that these things indeed make the noise, I drove around for a couple days without my antenna and deflector and the noise was gone! Unbelievable that the mechanics misdiagnosed the problem in the first place, so that they changed my alternator which was probably fine! Anyhow, they said that noise had something to do with thebody shape of the car...

But still, my car still makes this sqeaky noise on a cold start (especially now as the mornings are colder).
Thanks jdhog for the link! I will go back to the dealership and have the TSB checked.

chiruanna · 10-20-2009, 07:12 PM

I have a 2004 corolla LE and I've been having the same problem for over 6 months.

As far as I know I haven't done any recall, I dont have deflector or a bug protector. The antenna on my car is towards the back of the car. So, I dont think any of these are causing the problem.

And I'm not sure it has anything to do with the breaks.

It doesn't depend on the time of the day. I've heard noises on cold starts and even when it has run for a while. 70MPH seems to trigger it. Thats the only thing I can zero it down to.

Initially I thought maybe it was the wipers, but I drove the car without the wipers on but noise still persists. I think its some sort of resonating noise. I notice there is a grill sort of thing near the wipers. I think maybe its the problem.

This thing is driving me crazy. I can't go over 70 or 75 mph and it gets worse on a windy day.

I'm getting an appointment with the dealer this week. I hope they'll be able to fix it. I have a cross country trip coming up next month.

tucsondivots · 10-21-2009, 09:32 PM

I have the same issue on my 2009 Matrix. It sounds like a rattle somewhere near the front windshield, under the hood. Happens only at 70 mph and seems worse on windy days. It just sounds like something is loose but I have not found anything. It is definitely not brakes or the antenna.

jdhog · 10-21-2009, 10:28 PM

I've pulled the windshield wiper cowling off last year and put some weather strip foam along the clips, it was making a horrednous cracking noise, it's the cowling meets the windshield strip that making the noise.

Sounds like your might be something different though. mine was at slower speeds over any bumps.

NefDream · 10-22-2009, 07:42 PM

Hi guys,

Turns out the whistling noise was coming from the hood deflector. Toyota changed it three weeks ago, and no more noise since.

Happy now...

matrix_luver · 10-22-2009, 07:59 PM

Hi NefDream,

My noise also came from the hood deflector. They took it off and the noise was gone immediately. Now that I have that thing back on my car, the noise is of course coming back but it doesn't bother me anymore since I now know that it's not an engine problem or so.

So, what did Toyota change to make it go away?

Quote:

Originally Posted by NefDream

Hi guys,

Turns out the whistling noise was coming from the hood deflector. Toyota changed it three weeks ago, and no more noise since.

Happy now...