i know, i know, can i be a little MORE vague!?!? anyway, when i accellerate my 350, i hear a whirring noise from the engine very slightly - its more obvious at low rpms. the hummng goes up and down with the engine idle. i dont remember it being there a few hundred miles ago. i wasnt even sure if i was hearing things - but my wife drove it and said "i think your car is making a whistling noise!" so i knew it wasnt just me. sounds kinda like an air leak...i dont really know. is it just the normal engine sound after break in or could it be a problem? car has 3500 miles on it now.

 

Maybe someone installed a CAI without you knowing

 

If I understand your description correctly, I hear the same thing from my 350 at lower speeds. It's kind of a subtle whine, almost like the gear whine you'd hear in a manual transmission car. I always assumed it was normal...just a trait of the direct injection engine and all the plumbing. It fades away beyond 30 mph or so.

 

Do you have your iPod or something hooked up to the AUX? There sometimes is some electrical feedback/noise that occurs if the Aux line-in is not seated properly onto an iPod. Of course, you're talking about it fading after reaching higher speeds but that also could be attributed to more road noise just getting louder than the electrical noise. Just my two cents.

 

Funny you should mention the ipod thing, because the sound is a LOT like that sound - i made sure i turned off my radio just to make sure when i heard it first. You can hear the sound outside of the car too, so thats not it....but the sound, as i said, is VERY similar, but coming from under the hood. its not the loudest noise in the world, with the stereo on even a little, its hardly noticable. when i get to 5k miles i'll have them take a listen. i just dont like little noises and annoyances, it really Drive me Nuts! (thats why i wanted to turn off the seatbelt alert!)

 

Thats just the turbo spooling up

 

Well, might as well take it into the dealer then and see what they have to say. Fight On. How do you like our 2006 recruiting class?

 

I wasnt sure if i was on the lexus or the sc forum there for a second! I'll just have to see what they say, i just hope i dont get some lazy lexus dealer that won't take me seriously.
regarding the recruiting class, i'm very excited...its seems like pete carroll really like speed on his teams. i kinda was thinking we would get more lineman on both sides of the ball though, but instead we got a lot of skill guys - but really good skill guys! Fight On to you too!

 

I have the same issue with my IS 250 AWD at speeds of between 68 and 70 mph. I have had it looked at by the dealer and have taken out other IS 250 AWD and have heard the same noise at the same speed. The explanation given to me is normal vehicle harmonics--whatever that is!

 

...that we have the same problem. The whirr i hear is more audible in the 0-30 mph range. Actually, I can put the car in park and Gently press the accellerator and can hear it rise with the throttle. Your problem does sound like some wierd harmonic issue. Its interesting that other 250's did the same thing at the same speeds, I really need to find another 350 to compare it to. my neighbor just got one so maybe i should get to know him a little better! or i could go to the dealer and have them start one for me. i'm also not sure if the sound has been there all along or if it just popped up. i really took notice of it when my wife commented about it as she doesnt drive my car all that frequently.

 

If you're talking about a whistling sound, my IS 350 has that too. I've heard this noise in BMWs too, so I assume this is normal.