I searched the knowledge base and the "mystery noise" threads and couldn't find anything near the wierd **s jingle I hear. The noise emminates from the left rear (possibly engine) and only surfaces when the car is cold and around the 1800 to 2k rev. It sounds like...well a small set of jingle bells, and just for a second or so...just enough so you hear it. Past 2k it disappears. When the car warms up I no longer hear it in the rev range. I have looked in the engine compartment and underneath the car and can't find anything "loose". I know these engines are noisy...but would like to know what the heck this particular noise is. Has anyone heard of a similar noise or share thoughts of what it could be?...

 

The symptom behavior suggests something in the exhaust is loose and rattling/buzzing until the exhaust gets hot and whatever is loose gets tight from the heat and resulting expansion.

Get the car in the air and with it dead cold take a soft hammer and bang on the various exhaust system pieces and listen for any noises. Since the noise comes from one side you should have a quiet side to use as a base line as to what both sides should sound like.

No need to get all Thor with the hammer. The converter bricks are at risk of being damaged if you pound on the exhaust system with too much vigor.

It wouldn't hurt to remove the oil filter housing and carefully pour the oil and filter element into a *clean* drain pan and carefully check the oil and filter and housing for the presence of a scary amount of of scary metal debris. I don't think you'll find any but just to be safe in case the noise is internal to the engine and signal the onset of a possibly serious problem.

 

Just behind the sunroof inside the headliner is a metal rod that spans the car from side to side to hold the headliner up. I get a jingle bell from this where it attaches to a hard black plastic fitting on the drivers side of the roof (you have to remove the coat hook, b pilar trim and drop the headliner on the drivers side to see it). I have had it apart three times and can not find anything loose or broken, but get the tinkling on a regular basis. If I even gently push up on the headliner (literally just touch my finger to it) where the rod attaches to the fitting the sound stops immediately. Very frustrating!

 

I have that. It's a cricket! Dammit!

 

lol my daughter was talking about my truck door squeaking and said, dad, do you think it is a cricking trapped in the door - just last night! :-)

 

LOL.. kids. that damn metal rod in the headliner is driving me.... argh!! sometimes i have one hand on the wheel.. another on the roll bar smacking the headliner LOL

 

Maybe the cat in the exhaust is going bad and rattles?