Transmission whine....advice please.

[longlegpete]

I would have to go for one of the first 2 options with the first  being the option i would take, if its going to be doing 15-20 k a year then if it's a problem that's going to get worse then it won't be long before you find out, i would make sure you have roadside assistance of some kind just in case and see what happens,  as you say, fixing it may cost 1,000s

[guest5079]

Whilst it is no consolation, a couple just up the road have just bought a 62 plate Ford C max? a posh Fiesta.  You can hear that coming from quite a distance, it sounds like a turbine.  It clearly doesn't bother them OR Ford's have pulled a fast one.
A whine can be caused by a slight variation in machining with no detrimental effect. Many vehicles develop them.  However if the dealer mentioned it then if it is a problem the old sale of goods act raises it's ugly head.
I was reading an old copy of Which I think late 2015 over a 56 plate VW that developed rust on the front wings. I think the car was purchased in the last 2 years from a VW dealer. VW quoted about £1000 to replace the wings and after a fuss offered to make a contribution. 'Which' took it up VW dealer had to pay the lot. NOT fit for purpose.
So if you feel up to it and are concerned just suggest to the Dealer that if they think it's a problem then fix it FOC.
Of course it does depend on many variables like who has done the servicing? Not having a CVT box I  don't know much about them but reading posts it does seem that there is considerable variation in when the 'oil' should be changed.  Perhaps, if the car has been serviced by Honda this could be mentioned.
Good luck.

[Ozzie]

I know this may sound weird . .. . ae you sure its the transmission??

I had an Astra before the Jazz, and it had a whine that got more obvious the faster the car went, and then disappeared at about 60mph. It turned out to be a shield that protected the front disc brake had become distorted and air was passing at an angle that caused a whistling effect that got louder the faster we went, until at 60mph the air flow was too great to cause the whistle. A bit of flexing on the shield and all was fine.

[mikebore]

Thanks for the comments, reassurances and advice.

I am not 100% convinced it is CVT transmission whine, which is one of the best reasons for going option 1. If it is something more superficial it should become clearer what that something else is.

I know you weren't suggestion my noise is a disk brake shield, but my whine is really only audible at low road speed. Above about 20 it either stops or is drowned out by other noise sources. At least that is how it seems to me but I have very poor hearing.

[mikebore]

I can now update and close this thread with a happy/sad ending.

After I last posted I drove for another 3000 miles. During this time, the noise got noticeably worse. It was a long way from unusable, but enough for some people to comment, and certainly not tradable/sellable.

I opened a case with Honda UK, who said initially I should deal with my Honda dealer. So I had a meeting with the Honda Service manager, (not the people on the service desk). My main question was whether it would be better to face up to the problem now with a five year old, usable car, or wait until the car was older and worse. He was very clear, Honda would more sympathetic to a 5 year old car than a 7 year old car, and anyway it might fail more seriously before then.

I had a long test drive with the chief mechanic who felt that problem was probably differential bearings. The estimate (not quote) for this was about £650 labour plus £150 parts, which the Service Manager was confident would be paid by Honda UK (parts only).

So I told them to go ahead. They removed the gearbox and stripped it down. It was not diff bearings, but the main cone bearings in the CVT. These are not replaceable except by replacing the whole CVT unit, part cost £5,165.22.

Honda UK were willing to contribute £1,400 so the whole job would cost me £4,200.

Options I considered hard:
1. I found an independent transmission specialist who would do it for £2,500. Couldn't get a clear answer about the source of parts.
2. Honda reassemble with fault (£350). I find garage to fit a used CVT I found on eBay for £250.
3. Legal action to pursue Honda for bigger contribution. Honda UK advised me to start with MotorCodes

I had another meeting with the Service and Sales managers at my local Honda with all cards on the table, and asked what were Honda (UK and Dealer) going to do to make me a happy Honda customer again.

A day later they came back and said that they would take my car in its un-repaired state for its standard trade-in value minus £500, against a new Mk 3 Jazz. So the whole problem would only cost me £500, but I would have to buy a new car. They didn't fiddle the trade-in price because they had previously given me a trade-in value for it before all this blew up.

Although not normally my policy to buy new, this seemed like the best of a bad lot as far as extricating myself from the situation.

I said to them that some people would say I was mad for buying another CVT after this, but apparently Honda UK Parts dept have never had to supply a CVT unit in the UK, so I have to assume that I was just very unlucky.

The happy ending is that I am enjoying my Mk3 SE CVT!