What would cause an occasional, odd whir or moan from the front of the car? It's kind of a brief combination of a whir and a moan.

It only lasts about ½ - ¾ second when it happens, and it does not happen often.

Does not seem to be related to steering wheel position or throttle position.

It seems to be an independent action, by itself, and does not seem to affect any part of the vehicle's operation.

 

electric A/C compressor?

 

Suspension related? My front end moaning was related to the shock spacers which when replaced eliminated the noise and immediately tightened everything up to just like the day I bought the car.

 

Could it be a hard drive about to fail??

 

This happens a lot more often, now.

I'm going to try to find time to ask about the crankshaft pulley spacer and the TSB related to that.

When I was in for the last service, I asked them to check on the noise but at the time they could not reproduce it.

It wasn't on the invoice that I'd asked for that, however. I suppose there's a chance they forgot to put it on the road.

The only comments I got back was about how quiet the car was.

0_o

 

My first thought was the same as TampaRLX's - the noise may be the electric A/C turning on. It would be an unusual noise since most cars don't have an electric A/C compressor and the heat of summer would explain the increased frequency of the noise.

 

Could it be the EPS motor?

Also when i remote start the car, and the ICE is off you can actually hear the electric A/C compressor working. It actually does make some weird noises, but i have never heard it moan.......

 

Could you post a sound and/or video clip, George, for optimal troubleshooting? I hear no moaning in my car and the only whirring is the electric motors when I'm at low speed, as I described in a video clip some months ago.

 

It doesn't last long enough to take my hands off the wheel and start the iPhone recording.

 

I've noticed something similar on my wife's. It seems to be most prevalent when the engine starts while accelerating from coasting at medium speeds or higher. Lasts about .5 - 1 second, and sounds like it is coming from the drivers front wheel area.

Does this sound like your issue? I'm planning on taking it in next week to confirm with the dealer. We only have 300 miles on it, so I would hope that it is normal operation, but it is still annoying...

 

If it were a sound I had not noticed before and seems to be new, I too would have it checked out. I was thinking perhaps the fuel pump cycling on when ICE kicks in? Also, there is a LOT going on with this car between power source shifting / blending, VCM , a new hybrid system and DCT being newly offered and none of us having prior experience with.

When I took my SH experience back in March of 2014, there were more sounds from that car, likely being a pre-production model. I even remember the DI ICE was much louder in the clicking sounds,,,,much more diesel sounding. The rep was very quick and repetitive about pointing out sounds from servos and systems that would appear new to me, Even in the RLX SH manual:

" Unique Hybrid Sounds When you first start driving this vehicle, you may hear some unfamiliar sounds, particularly when turning on the vehicle, while driving, and just after parking. Some of these sounds are unique to this vehicle‘s powertrain, fuel, and climate control systems; others are similar to sounds generated by conventional automobiles that typically are masked by louder noises absent from a vehicle of this design. These sounds are not a cause for concern, and you will soon recognize them as normal and thus be able to detect any new or unusual noise should one develop. "

 

Maybe! I wonder if the fuel pump is on the port side of the compartment.

I hope that the combination of shifting and noise happens on Wednesday so that the service manager can give me an opinion.

 

Here you go George:

 

By George (or at least by P George), that might very well be it!!

I'll sound like a genius on Wednesday when I suggest that it might be either the fuel control solenoid or the fuel pump.

LOL.... :-)

 

pgeorg is our resident expert on all things technical!

 

Not an expert unfortunately, i just have access to most of the material........

Thanks RLX-Sport Hybrid!