ALL POSTS - motor whine or "HUM" (Milling Sound)

Got the car back today.... it's like "butta".

While I was at the dealer, a blue Rav4 EV pulled in behind me with a complaint of motor noise. Apparently, it's even louder than mine.

The Tesla guys had all kinds of equipment strapped all over my car while they went driving around. I hope they learned something. The shop guy "was told" not to help me get my car in the diagnostic mode.

On the way home, a black Model S got a good workout on the freeway ;-)

TonyWilliams said:

Got the car back today.... it's like "butta".

While I was at the dealer, a blue Rav4 EV pulled in behind me with a complaint of motor noise. Apparently, it's even louder than mine.

The Tesla guys had all kinds of equipment strapped all over my car while they went driving around. I hope they learned something. The shop guy "was told" not to help me get my car in the diagnostic mode.

On the way home, a black Model S got a good workout on the freeway ;-)

Click to expand...

Congrats on getting your excessive noise/hum issue resolved Tony! Would you be able to "record" your new motor/tranny assembly in the exact same way and post it to youtube? A side by side comparison between your previous recording and this new "butta" would help us determine the extent of this excessive noise where Toyota would admit to it and do something about it.

TonyWilliams said:

Got the car back today.... it's like "butta".

While I was at the dealer, a blue Rav4 EV pulled in behind me with a complaint of motor noise. Apparently, it's even louder than mine.

The Tesla guys had all kinds of equipment strapped all over my car while they went driving around. I hope they learned something. The shop guy "was told" not to help me get my car in the diagnostic mode.

No the way home, a black Model S got a good workout on the freeway ;-)

Click to expand...

Wow! Very interesting. It does concern me a bit how the motors/gearbox will hold up over the long term in both the Rav4 EV and Model S along w/what would happen if Tesla went under.

For those who don't get the "butta" reference, Steve Jobs (apparently in 06) said "scrolls like butter".

My issue is "infant mortality". If the motor isn't making the noise now, it's not likely to be a problem long term. It's a simple gear box. Nothing more.

There appears to be a distinct second issue. The other Rav4 in for "motor noise" was completely different, and possibly related to the inverter.

Tony, now that you have your new motor/gearbox for a while now, can you comment on whether you can still hear "any" motor noise OVER road/wind noise, at speeds above 35mph? Thanks.

occ said:

Tony, now that you have your new motor/gearbox for a while now, can you comment on whether you can still hear "any" motor noise OVER road/wind noise, at speeds above 35mph? Thanks.

Click to expand...

I can still hear the gear box noise at very light power settings. Otherwise, no, it's not noisy at highway power and speed.

I brought mine in to Toyota Carlsbad and happened to pull in right behind Tony the day after he had his motor replaced. It was making a loud sound between 5-40mph, a kind of grinding like a down shift when slowing and a whine when accelerating. They took a sound byte of a test drive and "sent it to Tesla", they then approved a replacement of the motor/gearbox assembly and told me it was being drop shipped.

Gravlock said:

I brought mine in to Toyota Carlsbad and happened to pull in right behind Tony the day after he had his motor replaced. It was making a loud sound between 5-40mph, a kind of grinding like a down shift when slowing and a whine when accelerating. They took a sound byte of a test drive and "sent it to Tesla", they then approved a replacement of the motor/gearbox assembly and told me it was being drop shipped.

Click to expand...

Wow! How did you get Toyota to accept the problem so quickly!? Your noise problem must have been pretty loud.

Anyways, I finally got to recording of my rav's motor hum:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8-Chf_doE8Q

I didn't put the mic under the hood like Tony did, instead I used a camcorder so I'm recording what you would hear from the cabin. It doesn't sound as loud as Tony's, but it's definitely different than road noise. Those of you who have a rav4ev, please let me know if it's similar to what you hear in yours...is this "normal"? I've driven 2 others (yblaser's and one from Tustin dealership) that isn't louder than road noise, but I've also driven 2 others (a new new from Irvine Toyota, and one extended rental from South Coast Toyota) that have even louder hum... so I can't be sure anymore!!

Has anyone with a RAV4 EV out of state encountered this issue?

I'm really concerned about this issue now, as it won't be easy to get something like this addressed by Toyota outside of CA. I have to sign a form which acknowledges that Toyota might not be able to help me with major issues like these unless I bring it to a RAV4 EV certified dealer.

amped up said:

Has anyone with a RAV4 EV out of state encountered this issue?

I'm really concerned about this issue now, as it won't be easy to get something like this addressed by Toyota outside of CA. I have to sign a form which acknowledges that Toyota might not be able to help me with major issues like these unless I bring it to a RAV4 EV certified dealer.

Click to expand...

Not that I'm aware of.

NOTE TO ALL OUT OF STATE BUYERS:

I recommend having a local current Rav4 EV driver test drive your car at the dealer before shipping to you. My particular car had the noise from new, so it will be easy to identify the same situation.

That's something I'm considering doing, I'll have to find out who lives near Dianne's dealership, and figure out how to e-mail beer

Tony:

On your YouTube video ....


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8LiI5xmDRbw


What is the noise at the 2:29 mark? It sounds like static. I am assuming that is not the motor noise you are referring to.

Sport Mode said:

Tony:
What is the noise at the 2:29 mark? It sounds like static. I am assuming that is not the motor noise you are referring to.

Click to expand...

Sounds like wind noise... I probably should have listened to it first before posting, and edit that out.

Thanks Tony!

That helps me understand the motor sound you were hearing.


Any chance of posting a video of how your new motor sounds at those speeds and power levels?

Well I think mine's got this problem too. There's definitely a loud "gearboxy" noise especially when at 70+ mph. Can anyone recommend an easy way to get through the service department B.S. and get this taken care of, or recommend a good dealership in the LA/OC area. The guys at Power Cerritos are nice enough, but they admitted it was the first time they've had a Rav4-EV when I needed a software update to fix the "Check EV System" warning light...

I believe mine has it too........it starts at exactly 55mph.......I thought it was tire noise

fooljoe said:

Well I think mine's got this problem too. There's definitely a loud "gearboxy" noise especially when at 70+ mph. Can anyone recommend an easy way to get through the service department B.S. and get this taken care of, or recommend a good dealership in the LA/OC area. The guys at Power Cerritos are nice enough, but they admitted it was the first time they've had a Rav4-EV when I needed a software update to fix the "Check EV System" warning light...

Click to expand...

Carlsbad Toyota did mine, so I'd recommend having an "official" dealership that knows the game for SoCal. Yes, a Rav4 can drive there from almost anywhere from Burbank south. They sill hook you up with a loaner car.

Whoever comes to the June 8 meeting, I will be happy to drive your car after the meeting to give you my assessment of the noise.

TonyWilliams said:

Whoever comes to the June 8 meeting, I will be happy to drive your car after the meeting to give you my assessment of the noise.

Click to expand...

You could very busy that day!

Tony, is there any chance that your motor problem was due or made worse because of the towing you were doing?

Sport Mode said:

TonyWilliams said:

Whoever comes to the June 8 meeting, I will be happy to drive your car after the meeting to give you my assessment of the noise.

Click to expand...

You could very busy that day!

Tony, is there any chance that your motor problem was due or made worse because of the towing you were doing?

Click to expand...

Of course that's possible. Since it made the noise from new, before it had a trailer hitch, a trailer didn't cause the noise.

But, sure, if Toyota were to deny the warranty claim, they could very easily (and probably successfully) argue exactly that. The reality, of course, is pulling those light trailers doesn't put any more load on the gear box than going up a hill. The torque of the motor hasn't increased.

Don't worry, I considered them weaseling out that way, and was ready with plan B. Ask Nissan about telling Phoenix LEAF owners that losing battery capacity was normal, and how that worked out for them after I tested 12 LEAFs and published the results.

Tony,
I would very much appreciate you taking it for a spin!!