Loud hamster wheel squeal noise - help

[Darwin84020]

Hello all,

Need some advice. I took my Yaris 07 HB to the dealer today, and told them the problems, and they dismissed it as a CSV value problem after saying they looked at it for about 30mins. Saying it was because of my AFE CAI stage 2. However this is not making the hamster wheel squeal, noise, the tech, tried to convince me it was because I had it tied down with a zip tie to hold in place.

The sound, sounds like a ball bearing that are not oiled correctly and needs more oil, and is not in the engine compartment area. The only way to hear the sound is to lean under the drivers door, and it sounds like its right there or with a few feet (muffler pipe). The muffle pipe is giggling alot, and is getting corroded with some minor to medium rust, no holes i can see, and the rubber gaskets holding the muffler pipe in place look fine so far.

Now it is really noticeable right after driving and pulling into park right after having in the higher RPM state, next to a car where sound is amplified. Then if I let it sit running in park for about 5-10mins it will lessen in sound, but is still there. Almost like the fan belts are loose or those fly wheels need greese, but not in that area of the hood.

I have read many post on the forms, saying water pump and alternator @ 40K miles, but the sound is not in that area, and no fluid residue of any sort to signify the water pump.

Having the air running, with or with-out the air conditioning enabled, does not make a difference, and it happens in all gear modes P-D3.

There are no CEL, and performance wise the car is running fine, but this sound is driving me crazy.

My car specs are as follows:
Yaris 07 HB auto, with a AFE CAI stage2. no other mods, with about 36,500 miles.

Darwin

[PhillyG]

could the exhaust hangers be squeaking on the exhaust?

[Brett777]

Hi I have a similar noise on my 08 Yaris sedan, driving me crazy. Only occurs mostly when engine is hot. I drive at low speed or accelerate gradually, the problem is you can only hear the noise inside the car but as soon as you are outside or under the bonnet you dont hear it. If i must describe it, it sounds like the sound flagpoles make in the wind, very high pitched. Had it at Toyota, they cant help me, useless, they replaced aircon compressor didnt help at all. Seems to get worse after i drive in wet weather. Which makes me think it is a lubrication problem, I really dont know, please can someone help me.

[yaris2010RS]

^ wow, check ur accessory belt, sounds like it needs adjustment or time for a new one

[Vinceb]

Agree with "Yaris2010RS. Check the tension of the serpentine belt, is there a tensioner pulley on the yaris or is tension kept on the belt from the tightness of the alternator? I haven't done enough work on it as of yet and don't have any manuals for it. anyway, if it has a tensioner pulley, that could be the problem. depending on how bold you are, back off the tension on the belt, remove it, and spin each pulley freely to see if they squeal. if not that, crawl under the car and look for loose plastic splash shields, or the metal exhaust shield. Other than that, not sure what it could be without seeing it.

Since the Yaris has a timing chain, I don't think you'll mess up the timing by removing the belt, but look for TDC (top dead center) marks on the pulleys, if they are there, you will have to re-align before putting the belt back on. this could be alot of work for the cramped engine compartments of the Yaris.

[WeeYari]

Originally Posted by Vinceb

is there a tensioner pulley on the yaris

No, there unfortunately is no tensioner

Originally Posted by Vinceb

I don't think you'll mess up the timing by removing the belt, but look for TDC (top dead center) marks on the pulleys, if they are there, you will have to re-align before putting the belt back on. this could be alot of work for the cramped engine compartments of the Yaris.

Worrying about TDC is not an issue

[jeff69dini]

Originally Posted by Darwin84020

Hello all,

Need some advice. I took my Yaris 07 HB to the dealer today, and told them the problems, and they dismissed it as a CSV value problem after saying they looked at it for about 30mins. Saying it was because of my AFE CAI stage 2. However this is not making the hamster wheel squeal, noise, the tech, tried to convince me it was because I had it tied down with a zip tie to hold in place.

The sound, sounds like a ball bearing that are not oiled correctly and needs more oil, and is not in the engine compartment area. The only way to hear the sound is to lean under the drivers door, and it sounds like its right there or with a few feet (muffler pipe). The muffle pipe is giggling alot, and is getting corroded with some minor to medium rust, no holes i can see, and the rubber gaskets holding the muffler pipe in place look fine so far.

Now it is really noticeable right after driving and pulling into park right after having in the higher RPM state, next to a car where sound is amplified. Then if I let it sit running in park for about 5-10mins it will lessen in sound, but is still there. Almost like the fan belts are loose or those fly wheels need greese, but not in that area of the hood.

I have read many post on the forms, saying water pump and alternator @ 40K miles, but the sound is not in that area, and no fluid residue of any sort to signify the water pump.

Having the air running, with or with-out the air conditioning enabled, does not make a difference, and it happens in all gear modes P-D3.

There are no CEL, and performance wise the car is running fine, but this sound is driving me crazy.

My car specs are as follows:
Yaris 07 HB auto, with a AFE CAI stage2. no other mods, with about 36,500 miles.

Darwin

same problem on mine recently, just started too, oh well, can't see anything out of the ordinary, only seldom happens, sounds like something needs grease, lol

[yaris2010RS]

Jeff69 from canada, welcome to the fourm and my name is also Jeff (the 69 part we dont have to get into now....lol)

i recomend checking the accessory belt (the belt that runs alt.) if u have no idea what im talking bout if u list ur region in canada u are in im sure some local members would be glad to help u out.