Whining noise...

Rich-hill

Member
Hi all,
I wonder if anyone can shed any light on this?

On starting the car I can hear a slight whining noise from the engine, and hear it with window up or down.
While driving I can hear it in 1st and 2nd gear upto about 10mph (car park speed) after that i can't hear it. I'm not sure if this is because it goes away or it's drowned out by engine speed.

The whining does get louder and engine revs increase, noise is apparent at idle, in gear and neutral.

Any ideas or is it just normal? As I haven't had the car long t may be normal?

It isn't really loud but I am aware it's there
 
You need to start some analysis to eliminate until you find it.

Most obvious start place is to open the bonnet and listen to the ancills. Alternator, idler pulleys, fan, water pump, etc. given it appears to be a pure engine related issue.
 
cj10jeeper said:
You need to start some analysis to eliminate until you find it.

Most obvious start place is to open the bonnet and listen to the ancills. Alternator, idler pulleys, fan, water pump, etc. given it appears to be a pure engine related issue.


Where are the above located under the bonnet?
 
Rich-hill said:
Hi all,
On starting the car I can hear a slight whining noise from the engine, and hear it with window up or down.
While driving I can hear it in 1st and 2nd gear upto about 10mph (car park speed) after that i can't hear it. I'm not sure if this is because it goes away or it's drowned out by engine speed.

The whining does get louder and engine revs increase, noise is apparent at idle, in gear and neutral.

Any ideas or is it just normal? As I haven't had the car long t may be normal?

It isn't really loud but I am aware it's there
I have one of these, but it comes from the passenger seat.... increases in volume as speed increases :roll:
 
Rich-hill said:
cj10jeeper said:
You need to start some analysis to eliminate until you find it.

Most obvious start place is to open the bonnet and listen to the ancills. Alternator, idler pulleys, fan, water pump, etc. given it appears to be a pure engine related issue.


Where are the above located under the bonnet?

They are all connected to the long serpentine belt. That said if you need help locating them, then perhaps you'd be best to drop by a garage for help. With knowledge you can use a probe to listen to each of them for noises, but if done wrong you can endanger yourself on moving parts.
 
Rich-hill said:
Hi all,
I wonder if anyone can shed any light on this?

On starting the car I can hear a slight whining noise from the engine, and hear it with window up or down.
While driving I can hear it in 1st and 2nd gear upto about 10mph (car park speed) after that i can't hear it. I'm not sure if this is because it goes away or it's drowned out by engine speed.

The whining does get louder and engine revs increase, noise is apparent at idle, in gear and neutral.

Any ideas or is it just normal? As I haven't had the car long t may be normal?

It isn't really loud but I am aware it's there

ive had the same noise, more of a whistle than a whine, my mate thouht it was supercharged when i picked the car up lol

ive had 4 z4s as well and never had this noise, this is the first auto ive had tho so put it down to that

its not caused any probs in the 5 months of ownership and im covered by a AUC warranty so im not gonna worry about it
 
Springer123 said:
Rich-hill said:
Hi all,
I wonder if anyone can shed any light on this?

On starting the car I can hear a slight whining noise from the engine, and hear it with window up or down.
While driving I can hear it in 1st and 2nd gear upto about 10mph (car park speed) after that i can't hear it. I'm not sure if this is because it goes away or it's drowned out by engine speed.

The whining does get louder and engine revs increase, noise is apparent at idle, in gear and neutral.

Any ideas or is it just normal? As I haven't had the car long t may be normal?

It isn't really loud but I am aware it's there

ive had the same noise, more of a whistle than a whine, my mate thouht it was supercharged when i picked the car up lol

ive had 4 z4s as well and never had this noise, this is the first auto ive had tho so put it down to that

its not caused any probs in the 5 months of ownership and im covered by a AUC warranty so im not gonna worry about it

This is the type of noise I think I have, sounds like a mini supercharger or steering rack as they all use to whine. But above 15mph I can't hear it anymore
 
Do you have a performance air filter fitted? I get a whistle sound on gear change with a pipercross that wasn't there with stock...
 
Valvetronic engines have a vacuum pump which makes a slight turbine or hoover like whine, it's normal AFAIK.
 
Rich-hill said:
Springer123 said:
Rich-hill said:
Hi all,
I wonder if anyone can shed any light on this?

On starting the car I can hear a slight whining noise from the engine, and hear it with window up or down.
While driving I can hear it in 1st and 2nd gear upto about 10mph (car park speed) after that i can't hear it. I'm not sure if this is because it goes away or it's drowned out by engine speed.

The whining does get louder and engine revs increase, noise is apparent at idle, in gear and neutral.

Any ideas or is it just normal? As I haven't had the car long t may be normal?

It isn't really loud but I am aware it's there

ive had the same noise, more of a whistle than a whine, my mate thouht it was supercharged when i picked the car up lol

ive had 4 z4s as well and never had this noise, this is the first auto ive had tho so put it down to that

its not caused any probs in the 5 months of ownership and im covered by a AUC warranty so im not gonna worry about it

This is the type of noise I think I have, sounds like a mini supercharger or steering rack as they all use to whine. But above 15mph I can't hear it anymore

yeah same here, disappears after 15/20 mph, its defo not feedback thru the speakers which has been suggested as ive tried it with and without the stereo

is yours auto, god knows why that would cause such a noise, its just ive never had a auto z4 before

wierd, but i kind of like the noise lol :thumbsup: just hope its not a part on its way out
 
Mine does this from cold in the morning, an almost electronic hum - lasts for all of 5mins, if that, and like you say goes away at higher than very low speed. Then gone and only comes back if the car has cooled right down. could just be the vacuum pump as bcworkz says, working harder on start up ?
 
Bing said:
Mine does this from cold in the morning, an almost electronic hum - lasts for all of 5mins, if that, and like you say goes away at higher than very low speed. Then gone and only comes back if the car has cooled right down. could just be the vacuum pump as bcworkz says, working harder on start up ?


Now you mention it I don't think I could hear it when I got home so when Rhine is hot.

Mine is a manaual
 
Mine's auto - but I don't think that will make a difference if it is the vacuum pump... Shouldn't worry - I don't anymore, on the basis that it goes away and nothing smells like it is burning :P
 
I tried to get a video to see if it picked up the sound.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XJgR5ApsmrA&feature=youtube_gdata_player
 
I have two Auto 2007 z4s, and they both do this ... if we are talking about the same whine noise. I sometimes get irritated by it ... switch off the radio to try get a better listen ... seems to be coming from behind the radio area ... increases with speed ... then forget about it ... put the radio back on.

I suspect that they all do it, and the others who have not noticed are less sensitive / fussy about such things.
 
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