Hum noise at specific band on 2013 SL, dump it?

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hackdroot

Well-known member
Joined
Apr 15, 2017
Messages
93
Location
East Bay Area, CA
For the past two days, I've noticed a hum coming from under the hood which starts to ramp up at 55mph and ramps down at 60mph. It's not terribly loud at all, and sounds like driving over the grated section of a bridge.

I've owned it for about 8 months, has 41,500 miles now, probably owe about 10k on it. This purchase was just to get my feet wet on an EV and to see how well it would work for my commute. So far I love the car and am sold on an EV for my driving needs. I had planned on keeping it for another couple of years and then either selling it or trading it in for a longer range EV.

Well, since it's not under warranty, I'd be on the hook for any repairs, and I'm assuming they would increase my investment into the vehicle significantly beyond the value of the car. Also, this assumes that the dealership can properly diagnose and fix the problem the first time around. I can't afford to throw money at problems unnecessarily.

Not sure what to do at this point. I'd probably be fine leasing something else right now, but would not get out from under this one as a trade in. I could try to sell it, but would have to disclose the issue with the hum, or I would be unethically dropping my issue in someone else's lap. I could continue to drive it, but would hate to get stuck on my commute, which is not a convenient road to break down on due to narrow or nonexistent shoulders.

What say you, forum?
 
Good Afternoon,
Hmm, initially, I would say that something is loose and vibrating at that speed - have you looked around under the hood and checked that everything looked like it was secured correctly? If there is a local mechanic you trust, it might be worth while to get it checked out - a quick test drive and diagnostic should be inexpensive (or even free, depending on your relationship with that shop). Just a buzz at one minor set of speeds like that doesn't sound too serious, but I would check it out / have it checked out.
 
This question is the same as any problem with a car.... You would be foolish to "dump" the car because of a symptom. The normal thing to do is to take the car to Nissan and have them look at it......

This forum is for discussion of issues, but no one can discuss another's car symptoms, especially on such new technology.... With a gas car, yes, a mechanical person could have some idea about symptoms. We, as a group are not for free long distance diagnosis...
 
Is there any vibration associated with the noise? Vibration at a certain speed can be caused by bad or unbalanced tires. You could try swapping the front/rear wheels to see if that changes the symptoms. Other things to check would be the state of the CV joints and the level and condition of the oil in the gearbox.

The motor, battery and inverter shouldn't make any significant noise unless there are mechanical parts of them that are worn out and vibrating. I'd start with the normal mechanical parts that might be causing this and check those or have a trusted mechanic check them out.
 
goldbrick said:
Is there any vibration associated with the noise? Vibration at a certain speed can be caused by bad or unbalanced tires. You could try swapping the front/rear wheels to see if that changes the symptoms. Other things to check would be the state of the CV joints and the level and condition of the oil in the gearbox.

The motor, battery and inverter shouldn't make any significant noise unless there are mechanical parts of them that are worn out and vibrating. I'd start with the normal mechanical parts that might be causing this and check those or have a trusted mechanic check them out.
Click to expand...

Some front tire vibrations will only be felt through the steering wheel, and only if you are feeling for it, so to speak.
 
No vibrations whatsoever. I just rotated my new tires about 400 miles ago, but they've been fine up util a couple of days ago. Maybe I'll reverse that rotation and test again during the holiday downtime.
 
If the noise's onset corresponds with the tire rotation then that is your most likely suspect. I just had my snows mounted, and while they all look fine, the particular order on the car this time resulted in my Leaf pulling to the left. Tires rotated again, pulling gone.
 
hackdroot said:
For the past two days, I've noticed a hum coming from under the hood which starts to ramp up at 55mph and ramps down at 60mph. It's not terribly loud at all, and sounds like driving over the grated section of a bridge.

I've owned it for about 8 months, has 41,500 miles now, probably owe about 10k on it. This purchase was just to get my feet wet on an EV and to see how well it would work for my commute. So far I love the car and am sold on an EV for my driving needs. I had planned on keeping it for another couple of years and then either selling it or trading it in for a longer range EV.

Well, since it's not under warranty, I'd be on the hook for any repairs, and I'm assuming they would increase my investment into the vehicle significantly beyond the value of the car. Also, this assumes that the dealership can properly diagnose and fix the problem the first time around. I can't afford to throw money at problems unnecessarily.

Not sure what to do at this point. I'd probably be fine leasing something else right now, but would not get out from under this one as a trade in. I could try to sell it, but would have to disclose the issue with the hum, or I would be unethically dropping my issue in someone else's lap. I could continue to drive it, but would hate to get stuck on my commute, which is not a convenient road to break down on due to narrow or nonexistent shoulders.

What say you, forum?
Click to expand...

My '13 had the same resonance at the same speed a year ago, i.e. about 41K miles - now 58K. Dealer confirmed it and indicated
that a warranty part was replaced. While driving the next day, I noticed the same resonance at 55 - 60. I decided it was a waste
of time to re-visit the dealer about the issue. Now at 58K it's still there but not as noticeable. It may have occurred after hitting
a curb and likely related to the axles/CV joints, or just a random minor drive-train design/anomaly that maybe not noticeable
to most. Since my typical speed is at where the resonance occurs, that's the speed where potentially the greatest wear occurs.
 
lorenfb said:
My '13 had the same resonance at the same speed a year ago, i.e. about 41K miles - now 58K. Dealer confirmed it and indicated
that a warranty part was replaced. While driving the next day, I noticed the same resonance at 55 - 60. I decided it was a waste
of time to re-visit the dealer about the issue. Now at 58K it's still there but not as noticeable. It may have occurred after hitting
a curb and likely related to the axles/CV joints, or just a random minor drive-train design/anomaly that maybe not noticeable
to most. Since my typical speed is at where the resonance occurs, that's the speed where potentially the greatest wear occurs.
Click to expand...

Exactly. My average commute speed is where the peak of the hum occurs. I'm very mechanically inclined when it comes to my cars, but unsure what is a serviceable on the leaf. At 41k, is the gear oil level/condition even potentially a suspect?
 

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