I have a 2016 Dodge Journey R/T with 32,000 miles on it. A while back, I noticed a slightly rough idle. It isn’t rough like a misfiring spark plug or anything, just sometimes kind of shakes very slightly when in idle, such as at a stop light or in a drive through. Shortly after, I noticed a kind of whistling noise. I took it to the dealership and they could not find anything wrong with it. The noise turned into more of a louder whistle/high pitch squeal. I took it to the dealership again, and they still found no issue. There are no errors on the computer and no vacuum leak, as they tested specifically for it. I took the car to a mechanic shop and they told me it was my harmonic balancer. I took it back to the dealership, and they advised my harmonic balancer was fine; however, because it is under warranty, they replaced it anyways. The more squealey noise got better, and now we are back to just the slightly rough idle/whistle. Here is what I can tell you:
- the noise happens when my car is parked, but not at a regular idle. I can recreate the noise by pushing on the gas.
- I notice the noise when accelerating from stops, such as at a light or in a drive through. It sounds similar to a tea pot whistling and is fairly faint. At a certain speed I don’t tend to hear it, because the road noise drowns it out.
- The sound seems to be coming from the same area where the harmonic balancer/serpentine belt are; however, the balancer is brand new and the shop indicated the belt is fine.
A couple of family friends as well as my husband indicated it sounds like some sort of air leak, but because nothing shows up on the computer, the dealership won’t do anything. In fact, they keep telling me they can’t hear it, despite the fact that everyone else I know can. I am beyond frustrated. Any thoughts?
Thanks in advance!