[idtem]

Does it get louder when in park and pressing the accelerator? Also does it sound like the noise when a power steering pump is low on fluid or bad?

I had that similar noise and the alternator was bad. You can unplug a wire from the alternator and if the noise goes away you know the alternator is bad. Pull back the water protector cover on the plug on the alternator and squeeze the prongs to unplug. It is typically a mint blend green color. Start car to see if noise is gone. Alternator is bad if noise is gone.

I have a 2007 with 155K miles on it. It makes a loud whirring noise that gets louder when you accelerate. Based on this my mechanic replaced both front wheel bearings and hubs. It was still making the noise so he replaced the intermediate shaft on the front passenger side.

Still making the noise so now he thinks it's coming from the transmission. He said it could be a carrier bearing in the differential (or a pump). Only way to fix is rebuild or replace the transmission, according to him.

Wondering if anyone had this issue and how you resolved it?

 

[Twice_the_fun]

I have a 2007 with 155K miles on it. It makes a loud whirring noise that gets louder when you accelerate. Based on this my mechanic replaced both front wheel bearings and hubs. It was still making the noise so he replaced the intermediate shaft on the front passenger side.

Still making the noise so now he thinks it's coming from the transmission. He said it could be a carrier bearing in the differential (or a pump). Only way to fix is rebuild or replace the transmission, according to him.

Wondering if anyone had this issue and how you resolved it?

I have the same vehicle, same vintage, and chased what sounds like the same gremlin. I believe you may have a clogged drain port under your center console. If you look from under the car you will find a black rubber nipple almost directly above the driveshaft. You can unclog with a small screwdriver or piece of wire. Be ready to release a good amount of water. This water is setting below the fan in this location, and when you accellerate the fan blade gets into it and causes the sound. I know, seems crazy, but is what I eventually found after spending a good amount chasing the issue. Best of luck.

 

[ConrodM]

I have the same vehicle, same vintage, and chased what sounds like the same gremlin. I believe you may have a clogged drain port under your center console. If you look from under the car you will find a black rubber nipple almost directly above the driveshaft. You can unclog with a small screwdriver or piece of wire. Be ready to release a good amount of water. This water is setting below the fan in this location, and when you accellerate the fan blade gets into it and causes the sound. I know, seems crazy, but is what I eventually found after spending a good amount chasing the issue. Best of luck.

Would that be the rear AC fan you are referring to?

 

[plplplpl]

Would that be the rear AC fan you are referring to?

Yes, in this case the front rear.

 

[ConrodM]

In this case the front.

I found the squirrel cage fan in center console (driver’s side) with metal screen filter (super dirty but now clean) while drying out floor carpet. It looks like the fan is for rear AC which I was referring to. Is that the fan that has the water under it? What am I missing?

 

[plplplpl]

OK yeah, back. I edited my previous reply to correct. Thanks for pointing out my [email protected] brain [email protected]

 

[Batterycap]

It does not make the noise in Park, I checked that.

I like it. If you have a long screwdriver (emphasis on long), put the blade side down on the alternator where it will not slip. Do this while the car is idling. Then, put your ear to the handle side of the screwdriver. Basically, try to stick the handle in your ear. Listen. Get your wife to rev it up a bit. It's an informative exercise. You can do this all over the car, as long as it is in park.

 

[Bigbearsfan]

My wife used to drive a 2005 CRV EX AWD. It had the same problem. I couldn't isolate the noise. We had the stealership change the differential fluid and the AT fluid. The noise didn't completely go away but it quieted down significantly. My guess is differential.

 

[jaussiln]

I have a 2007 with 155K miles on it. It makes a loud whirring noise that gets louder when you accelerate. Based on this my mechanic replaced both front wheel bearings and hubs. It was still making the noise so he replaced the intermediate shaft on the front passenger side.

Still making the noise so now he thinks it's coming from the transmission. He said it could be a carrier bearing in the differential (or a pump). Only way to fix is rebuild or replace the transmission, according to him.

Wondering if anyone had this issue and how you resolved it?

I had the serpentine belt tensioner pulley go bad at about the same mileage twice. I also changed the idler pulley at the same time. For your problem, first think simple. Get yourself a mechanics stethoscope or a long handled screwdriver. While in park, put it on various parts of the engine, alternator, idler pulley bolt, or tensioner pulley bolt, fans, etc. All will give you unique sounds. It will be rather easy to tell if you have bad bearings in the alternator, or pulleys, or if it is a valve tappet noise, etc. If these simple things are not the case, then go for the more complex. P.S. Unless your transmission is really broke and it doesn't move, Run away from those mechanics that tell you about a transmission rebuild. P.S.S. I have a 2WD 2006 pilot with original engine and transmission with 308,000 miles and it still runs well.

 

[jaussiln]

I had the serpentine belt tensioner pulley go bad at about the same mileage twice. I also changed the idler pulley at the same time. For your problem, first think simple. Get yourself a mechanics stethoscope or a long handled screwdriver. While in park, put it on various parts of the engine, alternator, idler pulley bolt, or tensioner pulley bolt, fans, etc. All will give you unique sounds. It will be rather easy to tell if you have bad bearings in the alternator, or pulleys, or if it is a valve tappet noise, etc. If these simple things are not the case, then go for the more complex. P.S. Unless your transmission is really broke and it doesn't move, Run away from those mechanics that tell you about a transmission rebuild. P.S.S. I have a 2WD 2006 pilot with original engine and transmission with 308,000 miles and it still runs well.

It could also be the timing belt tensioner. When was the last time you had the timing belt changed? If never, it is time.

 

[malpal75]

I think you need a new mechanic. The work he has done should easily have been differentiated.

You say you have never changed transfer fluid, and I presume your rear differential fluid? Tranny fluid is due every 30,000 miles. The tranfer case and rear diff should have been done at 60K. Read and understand the owners manual!

The transfer case and/or rear diff (VTM4) are the most likely sources of your noise. It is critical thst you use Honda VTM4 fluid on the rear diff. There is no aftermarket version. I'm guessing your mechanic is not particularly Honda trained. Find someone else. New fluid will not cure the noise, the gearing has been damaged somehow, but it will reduce the noise for a while.

At 155K, if you can get by with the noise, the Pilot might go another 100K unless you tow with it.

How would he differentiate the noises? He listened to it with a stethoscope and rotating the tires to a high RPM. He did test drive it a few times.

 

[malpal75]

I have the same vehicle, same vintage, and chased what sounds like the same gremlin. I believe you may have a clogged drain port under your center console. If you look from under the car you will find a black rubber nipple almost directly above the driveshaft. You can unclog with a small screwdriver or piece of wire. Be ready to release a good amount of water. This water is setting below the fan in this location, and when you accellerate the fan blade gets into it and causes the sound. I know, seems crazy, but is what I eventually found after spending a good amount chasing the issue. Best of luck.

Got a picture of this?

 

[STMech]

I have a 2007 with 155K miles on it. It makes a loud whirring noise that gets louder when you accelerate. Based on this my mechanic replaced both front wheel bearings and hubs. It was still making the noise so he replaced the intermediate shaft on the front passenger side.

Still making the noise so now he thinks it's coming from the transmission. He said it could be a carrier bearing in the differential (or a pump). Only way to fix is rebuild or replace the transmission, according to him.

Wondering if anyone had this issue and how you resolved it?

Did you ever check the VTM4 fluid? We've been kicking this discussion around for several days, but I don't see any mention of you or your mechanic checking the rear diff fluid. If it's never been changed that you know of, it could easily be the problem. It's not that hard to change out. You need a safe way to jack up the rear, a breaker bar to loosen the fill and drain plugs, new washers, a gallon of Honda VTM4 fluid, and a hand pump to fit the jug for refilling the diff.

 

[smithwales]

I have a 2004 with 170k miles and have had this noise for the last 70k. It’s subtle, my wife doesn’t hear it, but wondering if it is the VTM4 fluid then I could be making matters worse by ignoring it. The noise/whine doesn’t bother me anymore but if it’s a symptom of some other issue I need to have it checked out. Thank you all for the info!

 

[thejakester00]

Yes, in this case the front rear.

I have a 2007 Pilot with the same symptom of the whining sound. After some time, the alternator stopped charging. After replacing the alternator, the whining went away.

 

[malpal75]

Did you ever check the VTM4 fluid? We've been kicking this discussion around for several days, but I don't see any mention of you or your mechanic checking the rear diff fluid. If it's never been changed that you know of, it could easily be the problem. It's not that hard to change out. You need a safe way to jack up the rear, a breaker bar to loosen the fill and drain plugs, new washers, a gallon of Honda VTM4 fluid, and a hand pump to fit the jug for refilling the diff.

I haven't got to it yet but I am curious how you would differentiate the noises (bearings vs axle vs transmission). It's definitely in the driveshaft somewhere and not the alternator due to it not doing it in Park. The noise is more of a whirring sound, almost a growl (not whining) that's why it was mistaken for bad bearings, the noise would normally be diagnosed as a bad wheel bearing.

 

[STMech]

You are pointing at the drive train. I would just fix the cheapest things first. Servicing the rear diff fluid is cheap. New tranny is not cheap. The VTM4 unit has magnetically actuated clutch discs lubed by fluid. Whirring sounds are typical of dirty fluid in the unit. That's my guess.

 

[vwvannut]

is it the old exhaust rattle issue? I had something similar at about 2k rpms, it turned out to be the front downpipe. the pipe felt solid and was not rusted through anywhere, however when i put a large hose clamp on it, my noise went away

 

[Quadad]

I haven't got to it yet but I am curious how you would differentiate the noises (bearings vs axle vs transmission). It's definitely in the driveshaft somewhere and not the alternator due to it not doing it in Park. The noise is more of a whirring sound, almost a growl (not whining) that's why it was mistaken for bad bearings, the noise would normally be diagnosed as a bad wheel bearing.

Thanks for info. I just picked up a '04 EXL w/100k mi. and it started making that "whirling" sound when I drive, not park. I hope you find out, so I know what's wrong with mine.

 

[plplplpl]

Thanks for info. I just picked up a '04 EXL w/100k mi. and it started making that "whirling" sound when I drive, not park. I hope you find out, so I know what's wrong with mine.

Are you sure in your case it's not the alternator? Does the whirling sound match RPMs? Test it.