Loud sustained whine after powering off

My Nissan Leaf Forum

Help Support My Nissan Leaf Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.

bmori

New member
Joined
Jul 20, 2018
Messages
1
Hello,
I got my used 2015 Nissan Leaf about a week ago and today there was a new noise. When I shut the car off, it started making a very loud sustained high pitch noise near the dash. I walked out of the car and checked that the noise was not coming from under the hood. It was the loudest by the dashboard.

It went away after about 5-10 minutes. Then when I got home and shut off the car it happened again. It again stopped after about 5-10 minutes.
I recorded some of it if you want to hear:
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1CJkreSIZhv_RCLY1bP6VdVC25B7jMVJb/view

I found out today that the 12 volt battery needs to be replaced. Maybe these are related.

If anyone has an idea of what this is I would appreciate any tips.
thanks
 
Did it sound like a notification sort of sound or like some accidental sound? In other words, was the car intentionally indicating something to you. e.g. did it sound like the "door open" or "lights on" chime, or did it sound like some sort of capacitor buzzing or something unintentional like that?
 
Hello, did you find the cause of this sound? My car began doing the same thing this morning and I now have a ev system warning light on.
 
Any update on this issue? Was it the 12v battery? My 2016 has now done this two days in a row. Same symptoms, after shutting it off a loud sustained whine that continues for several minutes, then stops. While it is making the noise I can't start the car. It may initialize after a couple tries but the power steering and brakes are not operable. Come back later and it seems to work again. I could post an identical audio of the sound as the original poster. I'm planning to call the dealer in the morning.

Update: The issue turned out to be a bad cell in the 12v battery. The dealer replaced it under warranty and the issue is resolved. We had a cold snap that explains the sudden appearance of the issue with the 12v battery, as would be the case with an ice vehicle.
 
Wondering if you found an answer to this. My 2011 is making the same noise. It only turns off if I unhook the 12V battery.
Any help is appreciated.
https://youtu.be/ilFQ4Tkv2UM
 
Our 2012 is doing the whine this very moment, has been for about 15 minutes now. We have unplugged the 12v and it continued to make the noise.

Any other ideas?
 
I just had the same issue with my 2015. One day it wouldn't actually start (would not go into gear and the dash lights were all on). I plugged it in and got it to start later that afternoon. I had weird intermittent problems with it over the next few days. Once it started but the red brake light and car with exclamation mark was lit up (EV SYSTEM warning). Random issues with it not going into gear. Mostly seemed like if I had the radio off, seat, searing , and heater off it would start. Finally one day it wouldn't regen brake and wouldn't charge after plugging it in. This was over the coarse of a week. I had the exact buzzing sound a few times when I turned if off too. Took it to the dealership and they replaced the 12V battery and everything is back to normal. I hope this helps save some people some heart ache and money in the future. Just replace 12V battery (check connections and battery terminals et al. ). Good luck and happy leafing
 
Hi Everyone,
Nissan Leaf 2015.
I am having the same issue,it has been suggested that the most likely cause is the 12V battery,I replaced the 12V battery but the noise is still there.
Everything on the dash is normal the only time the noise stops is when I unlock the doors and comes back after about 15 Seconds,car is driving as normal but the whyne never goes away.
Please help if you can,because of covid I want to avoid the dealer if possible.
Thanks.
 
Same thing. 2011 LEAF. No signs of problems. I park, turn the car off, and hear the whine. The car is now otherwise unresponsive as if the battery is dead. I got the cheapest Duralast battery from Autozone. Assuming it's dead, it lasted less than two months. It was a warranty replacement for the same battery that lasted less than a year. I don't know if it's really the battery or something wrong with the car. I haven't taken my car in for service for many years -- I know there's at least one computer update it hasn't had -- the dealership said I was better off without it.
 
Seems to be happening a lot now to random people, anyone with the whine have a volt meter to check the voltage on the 12v battery while it is doing it?
 
Hello there. My vehicle has started to have the same issue. It is a 2012 SL.
I’ve tried to pull all the VSP fuses, no luck.
Only disconnecting the battery has silenced it.
Any suggestions towards resolution would be appreciated.
 
CALeaf12 said:
Hello there. My vehicle has started to have the same issue. It is a 2012 SL.
I’ve tried to pull all the VSP fuses, no luck.
Only disconnecting the battery has silenced it.
Any suggestions towards resolution would be appreciated.

High pitched coming from front under the hood? Could be the water pump. If its running that high and its not that hot out, then you might want to get it checked. Mine failed on my 2016 and was running full speed because the temperature in the PDM wasn't dropping
 
Another additional note, it had rained heavily prior to this occurring. Though it did not occur immediately after the rains. It was a few hours later. Someone from another forum had suggested perhaps a leak at the base of the windshield maybe letting water penetrate some electronics.
 
CALeaf12 said:
Another additional note, it had rained heavily prior to this occurring. Though it did not occur immediately after the rains. It was a few hours later. Someone from another forum had suggested perhaps a leak at the base of the windshield maybe letting water penetrate some electronics.

There should be some foam walling off the vent preventing water from getting inside the hood area. Do you see any signs of wetness? I live in the Pacific NW and I see nearly no sign of moisture anywhere at any time of the season. Right now, I have a very fine coating of dust on everything and just now starting to wind down the rainy season (FAR from dry but less rain)
 
DaveinOlyWA said:
CALeaf12 said:
Another additional note, it had rained heavily prior to this occurring. Though it did not occur immediately after the rains. It was a few hours later. Someone from another forum had suggested perhaps a leak at the base of the windshield maybe letting water penetrate some electronics.

There should be some foam walling off the vent preventing water from getting inside the hood area. Do you see any signs of wetness? I live in the Pacific NW and I see nearly no sign of moisture anywhere at any time of the season. Right now, I have a very fine coating of dust on everything and just now starting to wind down the rainy season (FAR from dry but less rain)

None that I could notice. No rain conditions for a little while. I am noticing a lot of leaves/debris build up in the hidden nooks and crannies under the windshield cowl. I guess I will need to get in there and clean it out. Perhaps the drains are clogged and causing an overflow condition.
 
CALeaf12 said:
DaveinOlyWA said:
CALeaf12 said:
Another additional note, it had rained heavily prior to this occurring. Though it did not occur immediately after the rains. It was a few hours later. Someone from another forum had suggested perhaps a leak at the base of the windshield maybe letting water penetrate some electronics.

There should be some foam walling off the vent preventing water from getting inside the hood area. Do you see any signs of wetness? I live in the Pacific NW and I see nearly no sign of moisture anywhere at any time of the season. Right now, I have a very fine coating of dust on everything and just now starting to wind down the rainy season (FAR from dry but less rain)

None that I could notice. No rain conditions for a little while. I am noticing a lot of leaves/debris build up in the hidden nooks and crannies under the windshield cowl. I guess I will need to get in there and clean it out. Perhaps the drains are clogged and causing an overflow condition.

My foam is basically like peel and stick weather stripping. Some on the underside of the hood, some mounted on the part next to the drain below the windshield. I would definitely keep the area clean. I am in a garage so minor issues here but if you park outside and live around a lot of Flora
 
Hey guys am also experience then same problem, it not starting and it shows the electric shift control warning light. Its brake system is also buzzing when i start before if goes off shortly. What could be the problem?
 
I’m currently having this exact problem with my 2013 Nissan Leaf, sustained high pitched whining noise, that’s stops when I unlock the car, or open the door, then starts up again soon after. Was wondering if you ever solved this problem and )
how you did it??


Shane101 said:
Hi Everyone,
Nissan Leaf 2015.
I am having the same issue,it has been suggested that the most likely cause is the 12V battery,I replaced the 12V battery but the noise is still there.
Everything on the dash is normal the only time the noise stops is when I unlock the doors and comes back after about 15 Seconds,car is driving as normal but the whyne never goes away.
Please help if you can,because of covid I want to avoid the dealer if possible.
Thanks.
 
Back
Top