2003 Toyota Camry Strange Noise in 03 Camry XLE

CAMRYOWNER03

MEMBER
2003 TOYOTA CAMRY
4 CYL
2WD
AUTOMATIC
95,000 MILES

My 2003 Camry XLE (4 cyl.) Has started to make a very odd sound, which starts at a high pitch and becomes lower, like child imtating a ghost. The sound appears to come from inside the cabin. It is very intermittant, and seems happens while I'm running errands (several short trips in a row) and when in low gear (going no more than 5 mph, such as turning into a parking space or coming to a stop). It also increases and decreases in volume. I can't attribute it to running the heater or A/C, since neither has been engaged when the sound appears. I took the car to my mechanic, who kept and drove it for two days and never heard the sound. They checked the belts, hoses, transmission and transmission fluid, and could find nothing wrong. I got the car back and it was fine for two weeks. The other day, it started again.

I'm quite puzzled. Is this something to worry about?

3 Replies

KHLOW2008

MECHANIC
41,814 POSTS

Hi CamryOwner03,

Thank you for the donation.

From the description of the noise, it should not be anything serious and nothing to worry about.

Noise are never easy to detect and being intermittent makes it more difficult. From the symptoms, I believe it is caused by a vacumn valve. The internal diaphragm of the valve is vibrating and emitting the noise.

The next time problem occurrs, shift to neutral and rev up engine slightly to test. If noise level changes with engine speed, that would most likely confirm it to be vacumn related.

Does noise goes away after changing to lower pitch?