Vigo , Strange Underbonnet Noise On Starting Up.

[taxexile]

Vigo 3 litre , 4wd auto. 55000 kms , almost 4 years old , serviced according to the book at toyota.

occasionally when starting , within 5 seconds there will be a noise coming from the back half of the engine compartment on the drivers side , low down.

it sounds like a low hiss , as if air is being released , or pumped into something , it lasts for about 5 to 10 seconds , happens only occasionally , and has been doing it for a couple of months now. sometimes it is a quiet noise , sometimes a bit louder , although even when "loud" it can hardly be heard over the sound of the engine ticking over. pressing the accelerator to speed up the engine makes no difference to the sound or length of time it persists for.

i took it into toyota , but naturally it failed to make the noise in the presence of the mechanic , from my description , he suggested it might be the alternator pulley bearing and he would need to take the alternator out to investigate further.

all the systems on the car are working ok with no red lights coming on or showing whilst this noise is occuring.

before taking it in to toyota , has anybody got any ideas as to what this noise might be caused by ??

thanks.

Edited December 11, 2008 by taxexile

[Thumchok]

Vigo 3 litre , 4wd auto. 55000 kms , almost 4 years old , serviced according to the book at toyota.

occasionally when starting , within 5 seconds there will be a noise coming from the back half of the engine compartment on the drivers side , low down.

it sounds like a low hiss , as if air is being released , or pumped into something , it lasts for about 5 to 10 seconds , happens only occasionally , and has been doing it for a couple of months now. sometimes it is a quiet noise , sometimes a bit louder , although even when "loud" it can hardly be heard over the sound of the engine ticking over. pressing the accelerator to speed up the engine makes no difference to the sound or length of time it persists for.

i took it into toyota , but naturally it failed to make the noise in the presence of the mechanic , from my description , he suggested it might be the alternator pulley bearing and he would need to take the alternator out to investigate further.

all the systems on the car are working ok with no red lights coming on or showing whilst this noise is occuring.

before taking it in to toyota , has anybody got any ideas as to what this noise might be caused by ??

thanks.

Had same problem with mine around 60 000klm . Still under warranty and they ordered the part in and replaced it free .

From what I got out of the missus it has something to do with one of the belts or the air conditioner .

Sorry couldn't be of much more help , but I suspect that it is a common fault .

[Lickey]

Sometimes tourque converters make a noise on start-up, due to low oil level in the auto trans, or other problems with the trans,

Try checking the trans oil according to the handbook, does it have a dipstick for this? if so, if the oil is not clear or cherry red and smells like burnt chestnuts, you could be having trans probs in the future,

I dont know the service intervals for trans oil change, but 55k in 4 years is low,

Im sure you would know if the starter motor was still engaged after start-up, this would change with engine revs and eventually burn out..

Lickey.

[goldfish]

i took it into toyota , but naturally it failed to make the noise in the presence of the mechanic , from my description , he suggested it might be the alternator pulley bearing and he would need to take the alternator out to investigate further.

From your description it doesn't sound like a bearing, and he shouldn't need to remove the alternator to check

[Lickey]

If you suspect belt noise which is common after start-up because the alternator is working hard to replace the battery voltage drop, get yourself a can of wd40, lift the bonnet, get the missus to start the engine, let it tick-over and spray the belt pulleys, if the noise goes away, no problem, its just one of the belt driven items working hard for a few seconds,and dont worry about the lubricant on the belt, it will dissapear in 15 seconds or so.

Lickey.