[flipexed]

Took her to the dealer in early January to try and diagnose a high pitched whining noise that increases with acceleration. With the excellent advice on the forum I suggested to the dealer that it might be the timing chain and brought in the TSB.

The dealership was dumfounded and called the Nissan tech line. Tech line said to go ahead and perform the TSB. Waited a week for the parts to arrive and dealership did the work.. turned out to be just a 1-day job. Picked up the truck the next day and on the way home the sound started yet once again.

Dropped the truck off a few days after to get diagnosed once again and come to find out that the next step was to replace the oil pump and seals. The service manager said it might be the culprit... which means they'll have to basically dismantle the whole engine to get to replace the pump. 2 1/2 weeks to get the parts in... WTH?

They are now 2 days into the repair in a crappy pontiac g6 rental and don't ever think this issue will ever get repaired. I'm scheduled to pick up the truck tomorrow so we'll see what happens.

Overall i'm satisfied with how the service department is handling my issues.... even though in the service manager's opinion its just a normal sound... thus why he had to get the go ahead from the Nissan tech line to do the repairs.:thatswck:

Some people can live with the noise... it does not affect the functions of the truck in any way and its not detrimental to my safety or the safety of my family BUT it annoys the heck out of me. I love the truck... even with the noise its the best vehicle i've ever owned. I just want my truck back without that effing noise.... is that too much to ask?

In the end at least its not a Toyota.

 

[dubie2003]

How many miles do you have on the truck and did they make sure to eliminate the accessories at the culprit?

 

[flipexed]

How many miles do you have on the truck and did they make sure to eliminate the accessories at the culprit?

Brought the truck in with 19K... currently the truck has 21K. If they are the accessories I would hate to be them... as they would of have just performed almost 3-4K worth of repairs. But yes they took the accessories into consideration as well. Aftermarket radio and lights checked out.

I along with the service techs tried to pinpoint the noise with stethoscope tool to no success.

 

[00 FRONTIER]

How loud is the whine? Mine makes a whine, but its fairly faint and I attribute it to pulleys and belts. Hasnt gotten any lounder and the service mgr said it was normal and felt it was the belts too.

I will wait it out until the noise gets louder or changes to something more concerning, if it does anything. I dont really want anyone tearing into a brand new engine.

Oil pump makes a whining sound? Interesting.

Well, at least you got the updated timing chain and tensioners.

 

[PoolRunner]

I'm going to watch this thread. My '08 V6 just started making a whining noise last week. I have 44,700 miles on it. My noise sounds like 2 or 3 canaries chirping and the noise is pretty loud when first cold started. Once the engine warms and the RPM speed settles at 750 or so I can only hear the noise from the front of the truck at the grille. It's constant and doesn't go away after driving for awhile. It's actually embarrassing when pulling up to a store or gas station and my 2-year old truck sound like a 10 year old one.

Anyway the best I've done in pin-pointing my noise is I've taken a can of WD-40 and sprayed the lowest pulley I can see from looking down in the engine bay. I think the pulley I'm spraying is actually the alternator? but anyway the noise stops immediately and comes back after about a day. At first I thought it was my idler pulley but after holding it with a stick and putting pressure on it with the engine idling the noise was still there, even after spraying WD-40 on it.

I've been wanting to make an appointment with my SA but have been so busy with work I'm going to have to wait. But I think it's my alternator or the belt as well??

 

[flipexed]

Well I am so glad to get the truck back... i hate driving cars. They replaced the oil pump and the seals. But the noise is still there. The service manager said the next step they will need to take is getting the regional specialist to address the problem. Which is fine by me.

00 Frontier... i have the opposite opinion. If there is something wrong ... I would have them address it from the begining and diagnose it b4:
1. it gets incrementally worse and/or causes more damage
2. before the warranty runs out

I wouldn't take the service manager's word for it either.... if i did that i would of never gotten that TSB and the oil pump work done. If you stay adamant about it they will fold.

"That sound is not normal. A new truck should not sound like that." <---- repeat that a few times around other customers

Again this is a high-pitched whine that increases with acceleration from around 800rpm and up.

 

[frontback]

dont like to hear this kind of problem, hope you can solve this issue....

 

[flipexed]

The service manager left a message for me that the tech line has now suggested that their next attempt it to replace the throttle body seals. If they do that and it still does not solve the noise problem then they will get the regional rep out.

My pops told me that since this will be the 3rd time in the shop for the same problem that it may fall under the Wa St. lemon law. I didn't know that was possible. It would be a shame to see the truck go. Even with the noise I still love driving it.

 

[devious1]

That sucks. The throttle body is very logical and my question is...Why did they not check that in the first place? They replace two things that take days to repair but the throttle body would have been quick. Sucks for you and it sucks to be without your truck but it sounds like this is working out for you. Tell them to just give you a new truck while they're at it. Well you shouldn't have any chain problems now.

 

[00 FRONTIER]

00 Frontier... i have the opposite opinion. If there is something wrong ... I would have them address it from the begining and diagnose it b4:
1. it gets incrementally worse and/or causes more damage
2. before the warranty runs out

I wouldn't take the service manager's word for it either.... if i did that i would of never gotten that TSB and the oil pump work done. If you stay adamant about it they will fold.

"That sound is not normal. A new truck should not sound like that." <---- repeat that a few times around other customers

Again this is a high-pitched whine that increases with acceleration from around 800rpm and up.

The whining sound I have has not gotten any worse and I only have 7k on my truck so it still has plenty of warranty left. While I dont really think the sound is normal, I do have to remember that its a mechanical device and noises here and there are to be expected.

And yea, I take what the service mgr says for what its worth. If I think something is really wrong I will bring it to their attention and be more adament that it is repaired or have a good explanation on what the noise is or why it happens.

In your case I feel that something is wrong and hopefully the dealer can get it figured out. I am still baffled on why they replaced the oil pump, just doesnt make sense to me. I would think they would start with belts, pulleys, alternator, etc. and move onto bigger things. Unless things are slow and they need warranty work

May want to look into lemon law, however I am not sure how that applies if the dealer has a difficult time finding what the problem is and is replacing parts shotgun style.

Anyway, if all else fails and the truck goes bye bye, I'll take that ARB bumper off your hands...

 

[flipexed]

Well got a call from the service manager that the parts arrived. Bringing the truck in tomorrow... crossing my fingers.

 

[D-mo]

keep us updated ... thx.

d-mo

 

[flipexed]

Problem Fixed!

Well I guess 3rd time was the charm! Talked to the service manager who said that the culprit was a the oil cooler assembly. It seems that there was ablockage in the assembly that was making the whining sound. The oil cooler assembly was replaced under warranty.

It doesn't make sense to me why it took so long for them to find it through process of elimination in the 4 1/2 days they had the vehicle :crikey:. Oh well In the end I got the chain tsb completed and a new oil pump + seals and a new oil filter assembly. The truck is running like a champ and I don't have that high pitched noise anymore!

If anyone is interested here is the part they replaced under warranty:
Frontier Oil Cooler Assembly

 

[Clint]

Well I guess 3rd time was the charm! Talked to the service manager who said that the culprit was a the oil cooler assembly. It seems that there was ablockage in the assembly that was making the whining sound. The oil cooler assembly was replaced under warranty.

It doesn't make sense to me why it took so long for them to find it through process of elimination in the 4 1/2 days they had the vehicle :crikey:. Oh well In the end I got the chain tsb completed and a new oil pump + seals and a new oil filter assembly. The truck is running like a champ and I don't have that high pitched noise anymore!

If anyone is interested here is the part they replaced under warranty:
Frontier Oil Cooler Assembly

Great news! Thanks for following up with us. Hopefully this info helps someone else here from going through a lot of grief trying to find a cause for a whine.
Nissan should compile a list of known noises and found causes and let all the dealerships have it.

Clint