Question - Does your car make the high-pitched ringing sound near the glove box?
 

Hey guys, new member here :)

I have posted this in the australian section thinking it may have only effected american cars (left hand drive) but seems it effects everyone

Thread - http://www.the370z.com/nissan-370z-g...cy-update.html

Ive been lurkin on these forums for a lil while, considering buying a 370z...it looks good, looks like a mans car. Used to drive a boxster, then a TTv6..both great cars but for me in the end i just felt they look like womens cars..kinda gay looking

So my question is before i buy a 370z, has the well discussed ECU problem been fixed yet? And anyone with a 2010 model, is the new ECU all good?

Really appreciate the help as i don't want to buy a car that constantly makes a high pitch ringing sound...thats the only thing stopping me at the moment

Thanks guys, from Sydney Australia :hello:

- Ty

I've got a 2010 roadster ... never heard any ringing sound near the glove box. Wait ... just once. It was more of a high pitched whine though. It was the sound I made when I realized the damn car manual wouldn't fit in the glove box :)

I've yet to hear this high pitched ringing. Be a real man and go buy the car!

^ +1

to OP your excuse of not getting the car is ...kinda gay lol
i didnt know noise from the ECU was a problem
just test drive one and see for yourself

I have it in mine.

Oh ya I forgot...that's just my wifes head as I floor it then jam on the breaks...
At least it leaves her speechless .... Well once in a while.

Mine still does. I'm hoping the "serial number A or B" thing has something to do with it. This thing drives me nuts. I just took it out last week to get the cobwebs out when it was about 12°F out, and it rang as loud as it did all last year.

And for the douche who said there was a TSB for this, thanks for your mis-information. I had one of the first ones in Wisconsin, so it was an early build. It's nice to be back in my FX for the Winter. I can hear when I get out of the thing. A few of my passengers have ridden in my car and asked, "What is that noise? Is that your radio?" I turn off the radio and HVAC, and demonstrate that it's not. Try taking a long trip. Listen, I love the ride and the sound of the car, but the high-pitched whine is unreal. Your ears ring for hours after you get out. Some people apparently don't have this problem. Good for them. I wish I was in that boat.

I do! I thought that there was something wrong with my hearing... It actually got louder after I hotwired my radar detector; I don't know if that has anything to do with the high-pitched sound, but it sure is noticable with the radio off. Someone please diagnose this issue!!!

Not sure if I would have bought the car if I had known about this issue, but mine did not start until about 8500 miles.

If you listen to AM radio or do alot of driving with the radio off, then my car would annoy the hell out of you.

Pisses me off Nissan is not on the ball with a fix. ridiculous.

Nope.
__________________________________________________ _________________________
'04.5 Touring Coupe: No feathering. No starting problems. No oil-consumption. No problemo.

I have it too and have posted on that thread too. Had it since the first day, bought the car with 8 miles on it.

I hope its the A/B serial number issue too. I am just in no mood to make another trip to the dealership because I had a very hard time negotiating the price and I kinda hate them and they hate me now. lol.. unless I can reach the service techs without meeting my finance/sales guy!

I have a slight whine every now and then I will notice it. But I typically do the young guy thing and play my dam loud rock n roll!!! hehehehe I have yet to take it in to the shop because I dont have the time. Im rocking close to 12k miles now and my car was in several peoples shops for half of last year! I love to drive this car :D and that love out weighs any lil annoying sound from the ECU... (Must refrain from 04.5 joke grrrrrrr...... so tempting uhhhhhhhh.... ok Im good :stirthepot:)

I hear it, but it doesn't bother me at all. It bothers my wife tremendously. I was able to trace it to somewhere near the throttle body though, not the glove box.

i dont hear anything but then again i might be deaf from the music.

i dont really see it as a problem(it became a problem when someone made it a problem) i know i have the noise but over time i dont hear it anymore especilally when the music is on or windows r down, even that all i hear is the exhaust
the high pitch noise....is NOT that Loud(mines and other 370z ive been in

as far as i know i have not heard anything if the noise would cause a problem on how the car performs

just to put thing into perspective...some people mind the noise some dont...so its up to the person that means it is up to you to decide if a little noise would affect your decisions
I(or should we say we) would not try to convince you on a decision..its your call
you seem to contradict everyone that is saying get the car so if you dont want to get it...dont get it

im sure the next car you look at would have a problem YOU wouldnt like... :P

"It became a problem when someone made it a problem"

That doesn't make sense. The sound is there on alot of cars, it bothers alot of the drivers as you can read in the first link i posted so it's indeed as im learning from this website, it's a prob. Just because the noise does not effect you, does that instantly make it "not an issue" Thats an interesting way to look at things in life "if it doesn't effect me then its not a problem"

I know what you are getting at, don't worry bout the small things etc but your car doesn't make the noise loudly at the moment and thats awesome for you, i'm happy for you and you are lucky you didn't get one of the other cars that are alot louder/ hard to ignore. Some guys on here are saying its so bad it makes their ears ring for hours afterwards.....sounds pretty ridiculous for a car to do that to its owner doesnt it.

So far in this thread 7 people have the ringing sound in their car, 5 do not...one guy even said its so bad he is not sure he would have bought the car if he knew about it prior......sounds pretty bad

I'm not askin you to convince me to buy the car like you are saying, i'm here to find out how bad this issue really is on the 370z. Thats why i made an account her before purchasing the car, see i was all set to buy it then started reading the threads regarding the noise, turned me off the car instantly which is a shame because in every respect it seems great.

I have driven it for a few days, the dealer lent a 2009 model to me, not a long enough timeline to see the problem. On that particular car i could hear a noise, even with the radio on....pretty crappy but nothing really to worry about BUT i have read on this very site that it gets worse/louder. If that happened i would not want to drive it, would annoy the hell out of me and my girlfriend/people riding with me and felt $70k wasted

So the reason i am here is not for you to convince me to buy the car, but rather, like i said in my first post, to find out if the 2010 models are clear of this problem and find out how it effects you guys with the 2009 too

Posted in the huge thread on the issue

" Originally Posted by bumblez View Post
Finally, I went to Nissan dealership for replacing ECU to get fixed high pitch noise today. After the tech replaced ECU, I did test drive and that noise was still there.WTF!!!? I've been waitng for almost 5 hours at the dealer today!!
So the general maneger called to the nissan department rep. And
They said they found the ECU which has serial number end with B, makes high pitch noise. Old ECU should be change to New one which has serial number end with A. My service maneger checked ECU's serial number on my car and it's end with B. That's why my car still make noise even though they changed to new ECU. My stupid service maneger didn't check it before he placed order.

Anyways...I hope it's true this time.
Dealer just gave me a rent car(sentra) and I have to wait another 1weeks to get it fixed. I will update if its fixed."

The discussion about the ECU ending with B and ECU ending with A was never resolved. I would love to know if the ECU A does fix it up 100% and have pmd bumblez.

Thanks to everyone who responded in this thread and the australian thread as well. The couple of guys with 2010 were kind enough to reply, both said no noise yet which is a really good sign for everyone :tup:

From here if more 2010 owners report no problems then we could safely assume Nissan has fixed it and we will all be extremely happy...and i will buy this bad boy in black with

Volk TE37 (Flat Black) Custom Time Attack
Front: 19x9.5 (+22) 265/35/19
Rear: 19x10.5 (+12) 305/30/19

- Ty

Just to be clear, the noise I hear is definitely coming from the throttle body area under the hood, not the passenger footwell. From inside the cabin, you could mistake it as coming from the footwell, but it's not.

As I mentioned, it doesn't bother me but it bothers my wife. It's not the volume because it's really not very loud. It gets drowned out by the radio, tire noise, or wind noise if the window are down. It's also not super-high pitched. It's about the same frequency as the emergency broadcast signal tone, if you know what that sounds like. It's not like a dog whistle or something only teens can hear. I think it's just the constant tone that bugs my wife. I didn't even notice it until she pointed it out. Of course now I can't 'Un-hear' it.

For comparison, If my miata made this noise, it would be impossible to hear at all. The general cabin noise level is probably 2x that of the Z.

Cool, thanks Ubunoir :tiphat:


- Ty

Ok... here is update for my highpitch noise.
My dealer just change ECU which is ending with A..
That noise has been reduced a little bit but still can hear.
General service maneger was not there when I picked up my car.
I think he might say try another ECU.
Anyways... we gonna talk about this on monday.
I will ask them to change to another Z.
If they say NO?? I will hire an attorney.:shakes head:

**** man...i really hoped it would have been fixed for you!!

At least its been reduced a lil bit, how loud is it now? can you still hear it even if you have the aircon on/ or radio on??

From here i would get the general manager in your car to hear it and really if they can't fix it demand they replace the car, you didn't pay your hard earned money for a car that makes abnormal noises and ruins your driving experience.

I actually just test drove a black 370z auto 30 mins ago and this time made a point of listening out for this sound you guys are talkin about. Basically i drove the car as i normally would and could not hear any noise. Then i went through 1 by 1 turning things off to see when i could actually hear it.

Whilst driving - windows up
1. Had the radio on and aircon on - couldn't hear it
2. Turned the radio off, aircon on - still couldn't hear it
3. Turned the aircon off, basically everything off, windows up and i could hear a very faint sound, my girlfriend could hear it too

She said as soon as i turned the aircon back on, on the lowest setting, the sound vanished. I then turned the radio on too and of course she couldnt hear it at all. This car had 20kms on it and was brand new but it was a late 2009 model bordering on 2010, so i really wonder if the sound would get louder/worse or effect earlier models more??

I am going to test drive the car again next week but for a few days this time to see how it goes, i totally forgot to lift the hood and listen for it so i will do that too. Going to get my brothers and friends ( all around 20 years old ) to listen out for it, see on a scale of 1 - 10 what they would rate the sound at.

It's possible that all the cars have some very low sound that is not noticable but just over half of the cars are effected by this being louder than the rest being the ECU and or wiring (based on what people on this website and friends who own have told me)

The dealer i went to today was really the nicest car dealer i have ever met, he was above and beyond normal experience. I told him about this website and the only thing stopping me purchasing this car is the potential ECU sound issue. He guaranteed if it happened he would fix it no matter what it took, i'm sure he would even give me that in writing too, which i would need before i bought the car, i will let you know how i go.

Thanks for reading my long *** post! And i really hope you guys with the issue louder than normal, i really hope it gets resolved for you so you can enjoy the car :driving:

Peace

- Ty

As you know, every people has different hearing level. For me, that high pitch noise too loude. Even though I turn on the radio and air conditioner, still can hear that noise clearly. It has been reduced since they put new part yesterday. However, I could hear that and I don't want to drive this car anymore. Some people think that noise is not an issue but as you said, I didn't pay over 30K to have a car that makes noise and not repairable. Last week, I test drove an another car in the dealer which is same spec but has sports package on it. I could not hear the noise from that car.:shakes head: If I have chance to replace to another one, I hope I can change to that one I tested dive.

hi everyone

sorry to dig up this old thread just wanted to know if a solution to this ringing sound has been found. I have just gotten a '09 Z and have exactly the same problem. seems to be coming from somewhere behind the passenger seat tho...

Almost like a buzzing noise? I read somewhere on here that its a wireing harness of sorts that is hitting the brace between the truck and seats. You're not alone we all have rattles. I have the one you are describing.

Hey guys does the car have an inverter or ballast / transformer of some sort? That kind of sound is very common to inverters...

fullmonty, i have that too (i have the high pitched noise AS WELL AS this other buzz like two live wires are touching each other regularly emitting a spark - i couldn't find a thread on the forum that described this other one). Have had both issues since bought the car at 7 miles.

Im also in the market for a Z soon! Is this problem only limited to 09's or also 2010's?

Just the '09s. Same with the Infiniti Gs. No issues with 2010 models.

The fix for the Infinitis has been an ECU replacement. Sucks that Nissan is dragging their butt for you Z guys. :(

Bleh the recent poll shows us that even some guys with 2010s have the ringing noise, it would drive me insane

I think i have decided i am going to buy a Cayman S at this point

http://www.the370z.com/nissan-370z-g...-you-have.html

That is the link to the recent Poll for anyone that missed it

To sum up quickly

370Z NOISES: You Have Them?

YES: 2009 Coupe ECU = 29

YES: 2010 Coupe ECU = 4

NO: 2009 Coupe ECU = 19

NO: 2010 Coupe ECU = 6

Wow its over HALF of all owners have the sound, that is CRAZY

ty, the sound you hear is just the normal noise in your head :happydance:

it's like the sound you get stuck in ur ear after a night out at a club with too loud music or sometimes when you're in an extremely quiet room.. except in both instances it goes away and in the Z it doesnt as long as you're driving. how would an ECU emit such a sound? i get the funny impression that something is vibrating at its harmonic resonance...

i def have it noticed it the other day
thought it was the radio

its the ecu..

Swaped out my ECU, noise is gone. They wouldn't give me any info on the ecu they changed, just that it was a brand new 2010 one.

I'm pretty sure that sound is you whispering sweet nothings into my ear as i sleep gently like a baby

Csquared, I read that the ECU needs to be swapped from the model ending in B to A (or maybe vice versa), but can you share your experience with the service department, how you went about discussing it with them since ther's no service bulleteins...

As you know service depts always like to play games and blow you off unless you come on strong with technical details and confidence. I want to just get this resolved in one blow - how did you go about talking about it? Any details appreciated.

PS: I also read about some people saying the noise was still there after replacing the ECU - I WOULDN"T BE SURPRISED that they were just "told" it has been replaced by the dealership and no work was actually done, which is why the noise is still there. How can we get real proof (conveniently, except for taking the car apart ourselves to match the model!) that it is actually changed.. maybe asked to be shown the part before the car goes in for the swap?

would like to know this as well...

I'll let you know what I did.

First off I'm in Hong Kong so it might be slightly different when you go to your dealers.

Well I took my car into service and I explained the situation to the service manager, but I told him that I want to get a technician in the car with me to show him the problem. He said this was fine but I would have to leave the car there because it was lunch time and they were out. I told him that I wanted to be in the car with the tech to make sure he hears it. So I came back later in the day and went out with the tech to drive around the block. The tech could hear it but he wasn’t sure what the problem was. We went back and I sat down with the tech and the service manager. I made sure the tech said to the service manager that he heard a high pitched sound coming from the passenger side of the car. (I was not sure where the ECU was but now I can tell you it’s close to the glove box. If you get either the service manager or the tech with you, point that out to them, as in the sound is coming from the glove box area).

Once I got them both to acknowledge the problem I asked them what they thought it was. They both said they have no idea as they haven’t heard any cases here in Hong Kong. (We don’t have that many Zs running around cause they are so expensive here, people here love status symbols and you can get a z4 23i for 70k hkd less, I have the only yellow Z in hk!). I then explained to them it’s the ECU, that I have done a bunch of research and have forum posts explaining that swapping out the ECU fixed the problem. I also gave them links to all these threads. I then dropped off the car and went back to work. They said they would check if they have spare ECUs lying around to test. I told them that I would not accept this as it seems to be a universal problem with 2009 ECUs, that if they tried they had to get a brand new one, manufactured for the newest 2010 Zs.

I called them back later and asked them what they thought. They responded saying that they read all the treads but they could not just go ahead and get a new ECU from Nissan as it is such an expensive piece of hardware. They told me they would have to do a couple more tests to gather enough information to prove to Nissan, or the dealership since I was the only case in Hong Kong, that it was most likely the ECU. I said fine and asked them what tests they had to do. They tested the speakers but unplugging them all, then the fuel pump system. They then came back and said they tried insulating the ECU and the noise was not as loud so it is very likely the ECUs problem.
I went back to get my car and they said they will file a report and order a new part from Japan and would I can come back when I they received it.

Went back a week and a half later and got the new ECU.

I asked them for the serial numbers of the ECU but they wouldn’t give it to me but they did say that the new ECU had a completely different Serial number from my original one.

I’m not sure how you can check to make sure they made a change. I guess there are a few things you can do to try.

First, record or ask for the original serial when you first go in.
Then ask them to show you the ECU before they swap it in, and they should also have records of getting a new ECU from Nissan because Nissan should reimburse them if it is a warranty problem.

Also since it’s a new ECU it should reset all your trip counters, MPG average speed ETC. So check that once you get your car back. This is only a last ditch method since they could simply reset your original ECU and this would happen.

Okay I hope this helped out no time to read over it cause I’m at work. If you need any more infor let me know.

Happy for you CSquared.. . if only there were cases liek these in the US I'd go right down to the dealership! Congratulations. Hoping to find a case in the US like this that ended successfully!

thanks for sharing...i will try this with my dealer in singapore soon