Recently had a quickie oil change on my Forester (manual, 118K, blue) and have just noticed an unusual noise. After I drive a bit and the engine warms I hear a whir or whine even though the RPMs are normal. What I’ve learned is that the whir/whine isn’t heard when I first drive the car (when it’s cold), it increases in pitch with increased speed, and is most noticeable at 35/40 mph and above. The noise remains upon deceleration but decreases in pitch, and then goes away altogether when the car comes to a stop and idles. Any ideas would be greatly appreciated. Thank you in advance.
First step is check the transmission gear oil level. What has been known to happen sometimes is that someone will inadvertently drain the transaxle by mistake as the plug is similar to the engine oil drain and they’re located in roughly the same territory.
No one should confuse those 2 plugs but it has happened and at times has led to catastrophic transaxle consequences.
I’m betting they drained your gear box. Don’t drive it until you chech the level. I would check your oil level too. If they drained your gearbox and not your engine, then they added oil to a full engine it’s a mess. Don’t use these places. Find a good mechanic and let him do your routine service.
+1 to OK4450 and to knifenimore.
Quickie lubes often make this mistake. We get lots of posts here wherein this has happened. Their business model takes marginally trained kids and makes them change fluids in record times with limited access to information. I’d recommend not using a quickie lube again.
Regarding this specific incident, and if we’re right, document the error and request that the quickie lube buy you an extended powertrain warranty.