Drove for a day trip yesterday and noticed a whining sound when slightly pressing on the accelerator. The sound diminished when I let go of it or I pressed harder. Noticed this sound around 70 mph on both 6th and 5th gears. This noise is too annoying to be normal. Everything else is quiet. Anyone else?

 

Radio was off at one point and sound persisted. The sound doesn't "fit" with the rest of the other vehicle's sounds.

 

normally that whinning sound is my wife.

 

Yeah, I get this sound too:

***AIEEEEE, SLOW DOWN, YOU'RE GOING TO KILL US!!! AIEEEEEE!!!***

If I drop below 90 that sounds goes away...

 

yeah, i also get it, but i'm ignoring it, figuring it's normal

 

mine does the same too...except mine makes this noise at idle...sounds like a supercharger...

 

I hear a high pitched noise coming from mine as well. At idle I can hear that sewing machine sound coming from the engine but also some sort of a whine that's seperate from the engine noise. Likewise during acceleration, except that during acceleration it'll show up and then disappear and then show up again and disappear. It's not a constant thing.

 

Does the frequency (pitch) of the sound go up and down corresponding to engine speed? (Can you hear a similar sound at a lower speed in 5th and 6th gears, just lower in pitch?). If so, it's most likely gear whine from the tranny or differential. Gear whine is caused by the meshing of gear teeth, which results in a tonal sound. Under the light load condition it is probably most pronounced, which explains why it is only present when you press on the accelerator very lightly. Gear whine is present in all vehicles, just to a varying degree. If the sound is very annoying in your car and the dealer verifies that other RX-8s do not exhibit the same problem, this should be covered under warranty. The repair may involve replacing one or more gear sets or the entire transmission or diff unit. Good luck!

 

Your problem is not the same, because you hear the noise while idling. The drivetrain is unloaded in this condition, so it couldn't be gear whine. czr experiences the problem in 5th and 6th gears only, with a light load on the drivetrain. I have no idea what you're hearing, but if I had to guess I would say it's intake noise. I would need a better description of the problem. You say it's "separate from the engine noise". What exactly do you mean? Does the pitch go up or down with engine speed, or does it remain the same? Is it louder under heavier throttle applications?

 

After spirited driving mine has a high pitch 'whine' as well, even at idle.

 

mine seems to whine under medium accelleration in thrid

 

I get this sound w/my 8 since day 1. It's barely audible unless you really listen and seems to come from the drivers side of the engine compartment. I've written it off as being a normal operational sound.

 

I can hear the sound at lower speeds as well. I hope it's nothing serious, but I'll check with the dealer. The tranny is smooth and I wouldn't want anything done if it was minor, but I'd want it resolved in case it escalates into something bigger while it's under warranty. Thanks Buckeye!

 

is the pitch of the sound proportional to vehicle speed?

if it is, i'd look into the transmission. my mom's protoge makes a whine in 5th gear.

 

its the sdais opening at 6 g.

 

No, it is not. Cruising in 6th gear at 70 mph doesn't put the tach over 4000 rpm.

 

Mine is a constant noise- I've tried to isolate it down and im fairly certain its actually my alternator. Why would the alternator pick up a high pitched whine after I've been running pretty hard?

 

czr, I hear it too. It's present at any cruise speed in 4, 5 or 6 gear anytime you give slight throttle. I'm with Buckeye on this - chalk it up to gear whine. Wouldn't worry about it.

 

I was just wondering if you got this fixed. Do you have any other speakers installed? It wouldn't matter if your radio was on or not if you had an amplifier that was wired through an ignition switch. I don't know if the factory amps come on and off with the radio or the ignition. Any way, if you had an amplifier of any kind that was on it is possible you were getting some noise through there. Just a thought.

 

I get a sound similar to what I would expect if the motor was pinging.
It is always there at certain speeds in certain gears.
This car makes some 'different' noises.. that's for sure..

 

Its cuz of your supercharger.

 

I, like everyone else, think I have this noise too. However, I would describe it as a metallic ringing noise. I have only heard it at the highway speeds (although I haven't specifically listened for it at lower speeds...) while I'm slightly accelerating. I may be imagining things, but it also seems to change if I pull back (in 6th) on the shifter a bit.

I'm not concerned about it. However, if we learn to understand it might be one of those qerky things that we end up loving about our cars...

B