'02 3.0 Whistling Noise Acceleration Need Advice
 

Upon intial normal acceleration and the when maintaining speed, but not during hard acceleration, I get a whistling noise. It sounds like a bird chirping without the chirp, just one long continuous whislte.

I took it to the dealer and they explained to me it was normal, that it had to do with the DISA valve. I have searched for this problem already on these forums, but with no luck on finding any info. I have also googled it, to no avail.

Question: Is this sound normal? I did find one article describing a problem close to this, it also said that all bimmers do it to some degree. However, I have driven in several X's of varying types and have never heard it. I suppose I could be more sensitive to this high piched whistle than others, but all the service coordinators and techs heard it, so I think not.

My dealer is ordering a new DISA valve to see if it helps.

Any opinions\links\advice would be greatly appreciated......

Only a guess but could be the ribbed V belt that`s worn? I`m sure the dealer would have checked this tho. Mine doesnt whisle or make any noises like that at all so it`s definitely not normal.

Did the dealer hook it up to the machine to see if there were any errors in there?

Belt is new......I have had the car for 3000 miles.....bought it with 47k now at 50k. Did not make the noise when I bought it. It is certified, so everything is under warranty. The dealer is ordering the part. There are no warning lights or messages popping up.

Whistle noise link

Found a link to a post on bimmerfest. This is almost exactly what I am experiencing. Thinking the tech maybe on to something with the DISA valve. Directly related to intake, and my noise is more accurately described as "sounds like a supercharger".

I have a 2002 3.0 w/54k and have never heard such a sound.

Knock on wood . . . .

i have an 01 3.0 and have noticed the same noise. I figured it to just be a wind noise off of the mirrors or sunroof.

Defintely not wind noise, seems acceleration related. Happens from a stop, slow acceleration and then at "maintain speed acceleration". Hard acceleration it is non-existent. Maybe a bad bearing on a pulley?

By the way, thanks for all the opinions guys....really appreciated.

Here's my service history for a "whistling" (mine was more of a growl) sound from the intake plenum on a 2002 3.0:

1st time: Installed foam donut absorbers on two metal lines that run near the firewall (didn't work).
2nd vist: Oil Service (did quiet the engine somewhat but still didnt work)
3rd: The BMW senior engineer suggested, replace belt and belt tensioner (helped somewhat but still an ocassion whistle)
4th visit: Tighten the pleunum and cleaned intake (again failed)
5 visit: Insisted they change the idle adjustor module as suggested here. Sound appears to be gone or I just gotten used to it.

Start with the idle adjustor; demand that the dealer replace that part. If that fails, try the belt & tensioner.

The day after I took delivery of the car the belt and the tensioner were replaced. The day I took delivery I really put the car through its paces. After I arrived home, parked and was at idle I heard a different belt/fan noise. So took back the next day. The replaced the front fan, rear fan, belt and tensioner all at once. Noise disappeared.

Until 1 week ago, everything was fine, then this noise.

Am I right in assuming the idle adjuster is the same as the DISA valve?

Kewl had this very same problem: he replaced the VANOS adjuster and it went away. I should add that a certain degree of whistling is normal with all these 3.0 engines.

Thanks for the info.....any idea what the part number on the intake adjuster would be?

i have this same type of noise on my 02 3.0, and i took it to the dealer about a month ago. they said they lubricated some axel thing and it was a little loose, so i was like ok its fixed. so i get out of the parking lot and the noise was still there!!! i would of went back in, but i knew i would have killed the guy, because number one he was already an a-hole, and number two they gave me the wron time and i ended up being late for work. so i continued driving and the noise was there without me accelerating. the more i accelerated the more the noise went away, until it completely dissapeared as soon as i passed 40 mph. i am takin a day off from work this saturday, and i am going to the stealer to make him fix my prob. let me know what you guys think i should tell this clown. my car whistles while im just rollling witouht accerleating until the speed of about 40 mph, and when i am coming to a stop it goes crazyyyy!! let me know what you guys think...thanx in advance

same thing here, the stlr told me the chirping was coming from substandard brake pads/rotors the previous owner installed . I will get the brembos and axxis pads this spring as oppose to $1100 charged by the stlr

Mine had a slight whislte/whine sound this summer when I ran the A/C. They told me it was the A/C compressor.......it might be going bad - it didn't do it all the time though - said it could go out tomorrow or last another 10 years - very unpredictable. It didn't whine w/out the A/C on...........It was noticeable though, but not enough to pay over $1,200 to get a new one.............

I am working on the same problem.
 

My tech says it is the evaporator, or something similar.

He rode with me and drove it and actually heard what I was hearing. He knows what it is but said it would be an invasive repair inside the dash of my 2005 4.4i.

For me, it only occurs when I have my fan on. It doesn't matter whether or not recirculation or the A/C compressor are on. It is strictly tied to the fan being turned on or completely off.

When I turn my fan off, the whistle (sounds like high pitched valve knock to me) fades away after about 5 seconds and stays gone until I turn my fan back on. It sounds really deep down near my tranny.

When the fan is off I really enjoy the noise of my 4.4 engine. Too bad it sounds like 74 Dodge Rambler when the fan is on :( .

I had a regional engineer take a ride as well and they are due to call me soon with a recommendation. I'll post my fix once it happens. Meanwhile, try driving with your fan off and see if that completely eliminates the whistle.

Post your successes....

Let me ask you a question: Have you recently entered a cold snap in your local weather ?

I have the exact same problem but it only shows up on really cold days and usually only when the car is churning at exactly 2800 rpm. Took car to dealer they replaced the belt and the tensioner. Picked up car to drive home and it made the same sound as before the "fix". Weather warms up a few degrees and sound goes away and stays gone until the following winter (a.k.a last night). Dealer now says it's the valve and the interplay of heat/cold and temporary icing............. :confused: He also says it is "normal" for the 3.0 engine. I tend to agree as after 2 winters it hasn't affected performance in the least.

Luck :thumbup:

I drove my 4.4i home from the Performance Center (SC to MO) in February and I didn't really hear it. I started hearing it in the summer time and it has been increasingly getting on my nerves. Mine is independent of the weather and strictly dependent on whether or not my fan is powered off or on. Good luck!

Weather dependent.
 

I'm also observing the same behavior in my 2003 3.0. Its only when I start in the morning, when the temp is below 40 degree F. It dissappears once the engine warms up.

Hello Everybody, im not new here but i havnt been posting for a while but i dont know why i just shadow around i guess. Anyways um my x5 is 03 with about 43000miles on it and i started to hear the whinning noise and at first i thought it was the diff bc i kinda drive the car like i stole it : ) but i drive safe but i started to realize that when i was on the highway or on regular streets that when i hit about 60 or a tad below and if i were to hold the peddle steady the car started to make that noise and for me its comming from the front left driver tire area, also keep in mind that my driver side front axle broke off when the car had i believe about 32,000 miles on it and i was hell with the stealer bc they were blaming it on me saying the car was involved in an accident but i kept pushing and they didnt find any damage to the car so they changed the axle new boot new bearings etc. and everything was solved until the noise started to bug me and i drive a lot so it does get really annoying.

I think I have the fix
 

My service advisor called me today saying a new TSB was sent to him this morning which addresses this issue.

TSB: 641805

This TSB addresses the transmission-whine-sounds that come into the cabin while under power. The problem is an evaporator hose that exits next to the transmission. A two-way valve opens whenever the fan runs on the climate control system, thus allowing sounds to be transmitted up the hose and into the cabin. Solution: Install a one-way valve with the part indicated in the TSB.

I plan to have mine done in the next couple of days and will report the success of this procedure. I can consistently repeat the problem so I'll very quickly know if it worked or not.

Chris

Ah now I have this very same problem, sometimes the whistling noise gets severly loud for about 20 seconds then goes away but you can still hear it when accellerating

Update
 

Been to the dealer, they replaced the DISA/Variable Intake Adjuster valve. No luck. Sound is slightly less than before, but still there. Could be temp related? It is alot colder out now than when this first started. This sound does not seem to be having any kind of adverse affect on the vehivle at all. She runnin' great. It's just annoying.

Chalk me up for having the same sound. Guess I will mention the TSB next time we take it in.

my '03 4.6is does the same exact thing.
and here i thought that this was normal for
this engine. and yes, it does remind me of
some sort of blow-off valve/supercharger.

Same with mine. I hope its normal since it's a problem with everybody because another dent in the wallet to replace something in the x will just take away from my savings for my Brembo BIG brake kit.

so, is this blow-off valve sound normal?
i'm wondering whether i should take my
4.6is in for a checkup and while there
have them replace my burned out
brake lights.

I think the TSB I mentioned a few posts down will take care of it.

New owner here(72hrs ago)...

Just noticed the acceleration whistle on my 01' 3.0 and its driving me nutZZZZZZZZZZZZZ.

Does anyone have any specific info on that TSB regarding this issue?

This did the trick for me. Just ensure your tech doesn't mount this dangling hose right next to the driveline. If he does, your whine will not go away. Mine is fully gone with proper installation.

TSB: 641805

This TSB addresses the transmission-whine-sounds that come into the cabin while under power. The problem is an evaporator hose that exits next to the transmission. A two-way valve opens whenever the fan runs on the climate control system, thus allowing sounds to be transmitted up the hose and into the cabin. Solution: Install a one-way valve with the part indicated in the TSB.

Best of luck to ya! And welcome to the best X board in the world!!! :welcome:

I've been dealing with this noise for over a year now (whining noise under acceleration). Every time I have brought it to the dealer's attention (Center BMW, Van Nuys, CA), they have told me that it was normal. I even had the shop foreman drive around with me until he heard it. He still said it was normal of all X5s. It may be a common problem, but it sure as hell isn't "normal." I've heard it on several 3.0 X5's around town as well, so it is very common. Let's see if this Tech Bulletin gets me anywhere with my dealer. It's going to be interesting since I'm now on my extended warranty. I'll keep you all posted on what happens. I hope you all do the same.

It's that whining noise under acceleration.

If your dealer gives you the run around when you come in with this TSB, please PM me. I'll give you the name and phone number of my service tech and you can have your service tech call mine. My tech remembers my install very well.
Chris

gollum - try this fix Here (post by zee28), might just solve your problem if you still have it.