5AT whine/whistle when cold
 

Hi Everyone,
I have a 5AT 2004, 29k miles. I just bought it last month and I noticed a whistling/whining noise when it's cold. I took it to the dealer 3 times, but no help. The car must be fully cooled to be able to hear it. It does it between 1800-2000 RPM, as the RPMs pass through that range. It's especially loud when I keep the RPMs there and it is about to shift. The Infiniti service manager said that it could be due to the larger exhausts in the coupes and the hot gases entering the cold pipes could cause that whine. Or he said, it could be because the transmission fluid is cold. But I am not buying that. Why don't new cars do it too when cold. When the car is in manual mode, it doesn’t make the noise at these RPMs. I see quite a few people with 6MTs have the whining problem. Does anyone with an AT have the same problem and how was it fixed.

can you tell where the whine/whistle is coming from? i think all intakes make some sort of whistling affect...kinda :p

its probably the intake

or plenum spacer!

Welcome to the forum.....congrats on your car........

If your car has an aftermarket intake CAI, odds are thats what it is......
I have the same car.....never heard anything like that even when it wasn't garaged and 0 degrees outside.....

A couple of the intake systems were known to make that sound....most found it to be desireable...........

My Tacoma(5-speed manual) does the same thing only when it's cold. I think it's probably the input shaft bearing on the transmission or possibly the clutch pilot bearing in my case.

Make sure your tranny fluid is filled up to where it's supposed to be. If it still keeps doing it, you've already told the dealer about the problem... they would probably cover your transmission if it needs to be replaced under the Infiniti 6-year 70K mile powertrain warranty if the problem got significantly worse.

I think the noise is coming from under the hood, at about mid egine level, but I could be wrong, it's hard to tell.
The mechanic said the transmission fluid was the right kind and the level was good.
Many of you suggest that it could be an aftermarket intake. If it was that, I wonder why it doesn't whine at 2000 RPM when it's in manual shift mode. It only does it when in Auto. It would still whine in manual if it had an aftermarket intake, is my assumption correct?
Thank you for your input guys.

whining...
 

I have an 03 5AT with a pretty distinct whine. It only happens between 1st and 2nd, and 2nd and 3rd and gets more intense right before a shift. It doesnt happen if I rev it up in park. I just installed an intake, and then a spacer. I noticed it after I put the spacer on. I uninstalled the intake checked for any leaks, and reinstalled. Still the same. I took a peek at the spacer, reinstalled and retorqued. Still the same noise. I guess I better start thinkin tranny huh?

When my friend got in, he thought I had installed a turbo, looked over and grinned at me. I only wish. Now It's like that bump on your arm that wont go away and you keep asking yourself, "self, do I have cancer?"