I've been hearing a whining noise after my car has warmed up for a while. You can barely hear it from inside the cabin, but it is quite loud when you're outside the car.

I do not hear the noise when I first start the car, but I DO hear it after driving for a few minutes. If I shut the car off for a while, the sound is gone when I restart the car. It returns again after the car has been driven for a few minutes. It doesn't seem to change much with rpm, but it does change just a little bit. It actually gets higher in pitch when my rpms drop, and it VERY briefly chirps upward in pitch when I shut the car off.

When I open the hood, the noise seems to be coming from the passenger side of the engine bay (the right side of the car), and not the intake/driver side (the left side of the car).

It doesn't matter if the a/c is on or off. It doesn't matter if the radio is on or off. I don't think it's the alternator. I've read descriptions of alternator whines here on the Org (yes, I searched), and I've also experienced the whine of alternator failure before on my Sentra. I've heard some people make references to the tensioner pulley or belt noise in threads about whining here on the Org, but my symptoms seem different from those problems. I've also read descriptions of whining from the power steering pump, and I've experienced that sort of whine before on my father's old Dodge minivan. This whine doesn't change volume or pitch with steering input.

The closest thing that I could find to my problem here on the Org was a description of a whining water pump in the 4th gen forum. An Org member there said that he had a whining sound that only happened after the car had warmed up for a few minutes.

Any thoughts or suggestions?

 

No suggestions, eh? I was sure one of the Maxima gurus around here would have some useful input.

 

STRANGE NEW DEVELOPMENT

I was driving along today hoping that the noise had gone away, but sure enough it started whining after about ten or fifteen minutes of driving. At first I said that the noise does not change pitch with rpm, but it sounds like it might change just a little bit. As my rpms DROP (around idle), the noise gets a tiny bit more high pitched, and as my rpms rise, the noise seems to drop in pitch up until around 1500rpm.

Normally when I shut the car off, the noise very briefly gets very high in pitch right before stopping. Today I didn't get to hear that noise, because (and this is even weirder), the noise mysteriously stopped while I was cruising around a parking lot looking for a space. I had my passenger window down so I could hear the whine, and it just abruptly stopped while I was circling the lot. It didn't fade away or change pitch. It was just there (and loud) one second, and it completely disappeared the next.

When I go out and start my car again, I'm sure that the noise will be "gone" like it always is when I first start the car. Maybe this time it won't come back after a few minutes of driving. That would probably bother me, though. I hate it when a problem "fixes itself."

 

it could be your belts, how much milage you got? i hear the same noise, and it sounds like its coming from the belts.

 

60,000 miles very soon. I'm at 58,900 or something.

Doesn't belt noise normally work the opposite way from my problem? I have no noise when I start the car, but the noise usually starts up after a few minutes of driving. I've hard cars with belt noise problems before, and they usually start whining when you first start the car (especially if it's cold or wet), and then they get quiet after a while of driving.

 

Id go ahead and change my belts anyways, wouldnt wanna be driving down the road and then the belt slips off or it breaks

If it depends on your ac it might be the ac compressor which is big $$$ so id go with the belts first

 

mine has 40k and when i start it, it whines, but keeps whining when its warm also. does the warranty cover the belts?

 

Weird cause I heard some whining from my car too, but it was when the car was off. It was a ticking noise with a weird whining noise.

 

I am having that whine sound too and I have 120+k on my car. I bought a salvaged car to restore it to its feirce luster and better. I have been wondering if mine is due to the tension pulley

 

my 2k max had same exact problem of whinning from 40k till 52k then alternator finally went so i replaced and no more noise. not sure if it was the alternator all that time or by putting new one in adjusment of belts, but it did finally stop, thank goodness cause i could'nt stand it!!!

 

it could be the alternator, the noise is def coming from the belts area. the sound makes me feel like my car is cheap, like somethings wrong with the engine.

 

Hi. You have described my problem. The whinning noise only happens when my car is warm. If it is 40 degrees it takes 15 min to start the whinning. Today it is 70 and it started whinning immediately. How did you solve you problem?

 

I'm having a similar whining noise, not too loud though.

 

It really sounds like belt/tension pulley/ or alternator though.

 

Your alternator belt is slipping. Less so when cold, more so when warm/hot.

 

i Have the exact same problem as spiromax
i have removed both belts and noise or whine is still present
i have replaced a vacuum hose and had a small intake hose leak that i repaired, noise is still present
i also replaced the water pump and timing chain tensioner and noise is still present.

not sure if this helps anyone, but may save someone a few bucks on what not to change.

 

can you record the noise on your 1080p phone you probably have pls?

 

Thay all have the whine. I took mine in for an oil change one time some time ago and brought it to the attention of my service tech. Popped the hood and had their lead tech come out with the SM and went over the noise. The fluid level was fine and no issues with belts. It is not the alt either. It is an electronic power steering pump and this is the sound it makes normally. We went to two other brand new Maxima's on the lot and cranked them up and it made the same sound. Nothing to worry about. Once the hood is shut, you can't hear it. Pop the hood, there it is.