Blowing sound from engine when accelerating

[JazzyJ]

Picked up my 2017 Jazz 1.3 EX last week and very happy with the drive. However, there is one annoyance that hopefully someone may be able to help with. At idle and under light acceleration the engine is smooth and quiet. When I accelerate hard from say 2000rpm in a high gear (say shifting from 4th to 5th) there is a blowing sound that is coming from the engine bay on the passengers side. If the revs are kept high when changing gear the blowing sound doesn't happen. It only appears to happen if you accelerate hard from a low rpm? Any ideas or guidance much appreciated!

[richardfrost]

That is the sound of the sharp intake of breath of a generation of old bloke Jazz drivers at your aggressive acceleration! 

Welcome to the forum. Someone a bit more technical might give you a more factual answer.

[VicW]

It could be engine air intake noise. On a mk2 the engine air intake is under the bonnet, on the left hand side forward of the passenger, behind the battery. It is fed by air from the front of the car via a section of trunking but there is a gap where the noise may be coming from. The mk3 could well be the same set-up.
At higher revs the engine noise may drown out the intake noise but at low revs and wide throttle openings you may be hearing intake noise.

Vic.

[JazzyJ]

Thanks for that Vic. Would you say this is normal or something that needs investigating?

[VicW]

The only thing that I would suggest is that you check that the intake side of the air induction system is in one piece with nothing disconnected. Check that the air filter housing is properly clipped together.
If you bought the car from a dealer, particularly a Honda one, you could take it back to them and mention your concerns. A test drive may show up something abnormal.

Vic.

[Downsizer]

The breathing apparatus in a Mk3 is on the left, but I can't replicate the noise in a cvt because if I put my foot down at 2000 rpm, the gearing changes down.  The 1.3 engine is not designed for hard acceleration at low revs, because it's in economy Atkinson cycle mode (see extensive discussion elsewhere in the forum).

[Twd99]

I don't have any noise.  I am very particular about rattle and noise. So if any I will know. Suggest you take it to the dealer as it is still under warranty.

[JazzyJ]

I've done a little testing today regarding the 'blowing'. The blowing does appear to be present when accelerating relatively hard in low gears (3 onwards) when under 2000rpm. Above this the blowing disappears and normal 'revving' can be heard. Interesting reading about the 'Atkinson cycle mode' - would you agree that this may be the reason for the blowing? Should have mentioned I have a manual gearbox and the blowing sound is very minimal but as I've tuned into it has become a little annoying. However, if this is 'normal' and my Jazz isn't alone then I can quite happily change gear more often and ignore the blowing if heard again. All your thoughts are very much appreciated!

[culzean]

Atkinson cycle works by holding inlet valves open during a part of the compression stroke, this lowers the compression ratio, as the revs rise the valves return to normal timing... The noise you hear may be the air being forced back into inlet manifold during Atkinson mode. It is only air moving around, the mk3 is direct injection and the injection timing varies, at low revs ( Atkinson mode ) fuel is injected at top of compression stroke and air/fuel  ratio is well over 40:1 and at higher revs it is injected on inlet stroke and air / fuel ratio is about 14:1

[JazzyJ]

Thanks culzean, very informative! In your opinion would the 'blowing' I hear be normal for the manual 1.3 engine?

[orcadian]

Hi Jazzyj,
I too am new to Jazz mk3 but ours is SE coupled to that well known Spaniard, Manuel Box and getting to grips with the different sounds compared with other vehicles owned. I have all but given up bothering with the blue/green speedo surround and try to drive as I would normally.  If you want to ‘get on with it’ then the engine does indeed sound ‘fussy’ and sometimes seems that you are thrashing it but glancing down at the Rev counter often only shows 4000 rpm at worst.  If you want to drive like granddad then when you need to accelerate it does sound loud but wouldn’t actually say it was blowing anywhere.  I also drive a Supercharge Daimler V8 and if you press the ‘loud’ pedal it just rockets away without fuss, with 370 willing horses, obviously chalk and cheese.  We both love the Jazz though and on a recent trip over the Lecht from Ballater to Grantown on Spey it was a pleasure to drive, providing it had at least 3000 rpm showing.

Ian

[JazzyJ]

Hi Orcadian. I must admit, slight 'blowing' to one side, I love the Jazz. Indeed, it ain't no rocket off the line but that's not why I bought it. If revved it accelerates surprisingly well and cornering isn't bad either. Couple that with good mpg (I'm getting 55+mpg at mo) and being able to throw loads of stuff in the back, what a car! I guess I'm just looking for re-assurance that I haven't got an 'odd' engine. Just to confirm, does your Jazz make a slight blowing/air flow sound from the passenger side engine area if in a high gear (say 3/4/5/6) when you try to accelerate relatively hard from around 1000-2500rpm ie when you're straining the engine?

[Downsizer]

If you've been used to driving a turbo petrol or diesel engine, you'll certainly need to do more gear changing, i.e. get the revs to 3000 plus if you're in a hurry.  If it sounds OK when doing so, I don't think you have a problem.

[orcadian]

Hello again,
Next time out I’ll get Christine to drive and try to get her to rev it a bit more than she would normally especially in the lower gears and see if I can hear anything.  As in a previous reply, I too have been around vehicles for over 50 years and with a background in Aero engineering usually quite good at assessing and detecting noise, vibration and harshness.  Only in the SV8 do I think I’ve gone deaf.

Ian

[JazzyJ]

Great! Look forward to your analysis!