JTS97Z28

iTrader: (4)

I have a 2007 Type S 6mt with 65K miles. Exactly at 45 to 48mph range you hear a high pitch whine coming from the front of the car. I know what gear whine sounds like and im 90% sure this is what that is. Happens in any gear and you can change the pitch depending on load. You can hear it while constant cruising, acceleration, or deceleration. Since the car was recently acquired I changed the tranny fluid to GM synchromesh and that did not change the whine. The noise quickly goes 100% away before or after 45-48mph range. This is NOT tire noise just to make that clear before people mention its the tires. The noise is not horribly loud infact you only hear it with windows up and radio low so its not really even a big deal, but is something I would like fixed nonetheless.
My car is obviously beyond bumper to bumper warranty, but is still within powertrain warranty which does cover the transmission. I took the car in once and I kid you not the stupid technician blamed it on a non OEM air filter. I personally went back and spoke to the technician and said your going to honestly sit here and tell me that gear whine was from a non OEM air filter. I laughed and said give me my car back and im not paying the $99.99 diagnostic fee and I left. Its unbelieveable the things a dealership will do to get rid of someone. BTW I put a new OEM filter in the noise did not change one bit...as I knew would happen.

Just wondering if anyone else has experienced something like this and if so was it infact the tranny? or a wheel bearing or something else? I thought I eliminated it being a wheel bearing because if I swerve the vehicle in that speed range it does not change the noise whatsoever. Usually if its a wheel bearing you can get the whine to come and go depending on the load on that wheel.

Thanks,
James

invalidalias

is it like a whine like you're going in reverse? Could be that a ps rack was done and the top boot is missing. That could cause some unwanted noise. Also as you hear the whine does it match engine speed as in rpm or road spead like a stead climb? Another thing to consider is use your phone and record a video or something so we can hear it.

JTS97Z28

iTrader: (4)

No its not a power steering rack noise and as I said in the post its a speed related whine (remember...45-48mph) regardless of which gear or rpm you are at.
I guess what I should have said it IS a gear or bearing type whine. No question about it but im just wondering if anyone else has experienced this and exact what was the culprit? I do want to get it fixed and if its tranny related which I think it is it should be covered under the powertrain warranty which is still good for another 5K miles.

Thanks,
James

eg5

iTrader: (4)

sounds to me like you've figured it out.
next step, how is the dealership going to fix this. mileage and year car? either your tranny ran super hot(no oil) or you or previous owner beat it to hell.

JTS97Z28

iTrader: (4)

I already said mileage and year car. The tranny's oil level was fine. The only work that was done to it was the 3rd gear TSB a couple years ago. As far as abuse I have no reason to believe the guy I bought it from who owned it since 4 miles on the odometer, who is a 47 year old father of two and a airline pilot beat the crap out of it. The car is in phenomenal condition it just happens to have a slight gear whine that I noticed and I wanted to see if anyone else has experienced something similar with their 6mt.

Thanks

justnspace

iTrader: (1)

James, sorry to hear.

Going through 2 cars with slight annoyances must get pretty annoying.
Hopefully you can identify and possibly solve this noise.

JTS97Z28

iTrader: (4)

Yeah this one is not a big deal just figured I would get it taken care of before the powertrain warranty expires. I also wanted to see if anyone else has experienced something similar. Either way though I am MUCH happier with this car. Drives sooooo nice and smooth compared to my other one.

justnspace

iTrader: (1)

^i'm happy that you went with the same color and same car, albeit a year older?
relatively the same miles?

mau108

no whine that I can notice, but I will double check today. I have GM Synchromesh in mine aswell

I hate cars

It might just be the final drive whine. Many of the autos have it but I haven't heard of the manuals having it (haven't searched for it either). I don't see why the manuals would be immune to it since the final drive is very similar.

If it's independent of the gear it's in and engine rpm, only road speed related, this is your best bet.

Does it have to be fully warm or will it make the noise when cold too?

Mine has had this whine since brand new with 8 miles on it and hasn't gotten any worse in 100K. It can only be heard with the radio off, windows up, and under throttle and you have to listen very carefully. Some say it's the carrier bearings wearing, letting the backlash get too loose but since mine has done it since day one, I think some TLs just have this whine.

JTS97Z28

iTrader: (4)

Yes you are correct the whine is 100% speed related and doesnt matter what gear its in or if its accelerating or decelerating or in neutral. It will do it regardless of temperature. The whine from mine sounds like it might be pretty similar to yours just a trait of this particular car. Not necessarily a problem, but noticeable sometimes nonetheless. I have had manual Camaros, TransAm's, and Corvettes so I know all about mechanical noises and gear whine lol. Infact I went through 4 rear ends in my Z28 before I got one that didnt whine lol. Most shops can never get the gears set right so that they are perfectly quiet.


Justnspace,
As for my newly acquired Type S yeah its basically the same exact car except for the year. This one came from the original owner I flew down to Dallas to get it. It has about 15K miles more than my 08 did but is as clean and best of all doesnt suffer from the usual hot temperature lag and acceleration surging. Its soo nice to drive this car and not get all pissed as the car is acceleraing. The cool thing is I got what I think is a pretty good deal on it so I ended up coming out ahead after selling my 08 and all was said and done. One cool thing is the window sticker says Type S HPT and was slightly more expensive than the other Type S. Im guessing this Type S was originally equipped with the higher performance tires. Never actually saw one of those before.

I will post up a picture thread for the newly acquired Type S over in the photo gallery section.
Thanks for the input again guys.

Andy Tsang

Hey James, I didnt know you acquired another 08 TLS before this one. Hopefully you will find the issue with the whine.

JTS97Z28

iTrader: (4)

Hi Andy hows it goin? Yeah I wanted a 6mt Type S and the original one I bought had a weird issue the dealer couldnt fix and it annoyed the crap out of me. So I basically bought another one pretty much identical.

MarcDavidoff

Bringing this post back. To the OP, you ever figure this out? I notice my 6MT TL has this gear whine too. I've only owned this car for 3k miles. Mine seems to be mainly gears 4 thru 6 and at about the sakes speeds you mentioned - maybe 40-50 under light acceleration. Other manual hondas I've owned and the ones I currently own have this but not as noticeable. Just wondering if it is just normal on these TL 6mts. I have a record of the fluid being changed about 25k miles prior to me purchasing it and then I did the GM fluid shortly after.

mordor110

Like the Legend MarcDavidoff. I used to have a couple of those. Probably the best car Honda/Acura made quality & looks wise I think, with the exception of the NSX. (I still have a lot of parts for that car I need to get rid of)

Anyway, this may apply more to the OP, (if he's still around LOL) But check your motor mounts, especially the front one. It has a vacuum activated stiffener mechanism. If the mount goes bad the vacuum leak can sound like almost like a bearing whine. Happened on my CL and now I'm getting a similar noise on the 2005 TL occasionally. (When I turn the steering certain ways) Took me months to figure it out on the CL. Haven't investigated it yet on the TL.

JTS97Z28

iTrader: (4)

Wow this is an old thread, but to answer a couple questions about I I ever fixed it or not...no. And since everyone here knows I have had a small fleet of 3G TLs, I can say that all three 6MT Type S's I have had do have a small amount of gear whine. Even my latest Type S did it and I have owned that since 4000 miles. Since all three of them did it I think it's safe to say a small amounts t of tranny gear noise is normal.

MarcDavidoff

Thanks for the reply and info on the trans mount. That is interesting and I'll double check that mount. I'm pretty sure though it is the trans whining.
On the legends..yes I would agree that Honda went all out on them. I also had some 4th gen accords which were also probably one of the best Hondas. Up until recently I had three legends- 2 coupes and a GS. I sold one of my coupes but still have the black 6MT coupe in my signature as well as a sherwood green GS 6MT.

Thanks for replying back. You do have/had some nice TLs . Good to hear you have had a good sampling of them and that it seems pretty normal. For now I'll assume mine is normal too