Walked out to the garage last night and a low volume "whirring sound" could be heard toward the back of the car.[07 ES350, 50k mi] Ignition was off, car not driven in a couple of hours, nothing left on. Sounded like an electric motor.

Fuel pump . . . auto leveling ?

I grabbed the key fob, turned the car to "on" position, then turned it off and it the noise stopped.

Anyone ?. . . . (Buehler . . .oh, Buehler . .?

Thanks

CQRT in AZ

 

Gremlins??

 

Just got my first ES350 after Prius trade-in. The Prius made all -kinds- of strange sounds in the dark of the garage at night. Interesting if this 350 has something similar.

 

Ha - - I knew a guy that had a Gremlin in college . . what a dog of a car!

The ES does have auto leveling- doesn't it ?

CQRT in AZ

 

If you mean an air bag or shock type automatic load leveling rear suspension, nope.

 

Hhhhmmmmm..... I thought that was going to be the answer . . .

CQRT in AZ

 

I would think that possibly when you turned the car off you did whatever it takes to put the car back in the accessory or run position. I forget how that happens but have done it before - usually notice by the radio still being on. And having done that it probably was the fuel pump making that noise.

Dave Mac

 

Thanks Dave . . I'd wondered that too . . except the Fob was nowhere nearby . . but, I suppose stranger things have happened.

Thanks All - - -

CQRT in AZ

 

The transformers for the HID headlights make a whirrring, humming sound that you can hear once the engine is shut off. Does the sound stop after the headlights time out and turn off? I know that you said it was coming from the rear, but maybe in your garage it just sounds like it?

 

I think that happens when you turn it off, with the car not in park.

 

and of course, it hasn't done it since I posted the question . . .it had done it a few times to that point, and each time, I honestly thought it was suspension related from the rear axle area of the car . . . .

Stay tuned . . maybe it's got a mind of its own . . I'll try to do a better job of isolating the source of the sound next time.

Thanks

CQRT in AZ

 

My car has done this many times. It is a very soft sound and is coming from the rear end. I would compare the noise that it makes to an air compressor.

 

It's the sound of the fuel evaporation system leakage test.......it's explained near the front of your Owner's Manual (page 18 for the 2011) under "For your Information".

 

It's the sound of the fuel evaporation system leakage test.......it's explained near the front of your Owner's Manual (page 18 for the 2011) under "For your Information".

Ah, that makes sense.

I am almost certain the fuel pump only runs if the engine is starting or is already running.

Safety feature in case of a wreck and a fuel leak as in a severed fuel line.