2021 Ford fiesta 1.0 ecoboost Chirping noise heard from under the dashboard when idling

[Zubair1980]

Hi All... Had the ford fiesta for about a year now. Purchased from Ford. Done 30000km. Vehicle serviced by Ford. Car runs as per normal without any performance issues however when the car is idling, there is a chirping / sqealing noise heard inside the car under the dashboard. The noise can also be faintly heard under the car but its hard to pin point exactly where its resonating from. I could narrow it down to the rear of the engine only.

The noise described disappears immediately with the slightest touch of the Accelerator and comes back once the car is resting at idle. When driving there is no sound and no performance issues at all.

I have also noted that when driving the car in wet weather, the noise disappears and comes back after a few days of driving in dry weather.

I have asked the dealership to look into it however i been given the run around and was advised it could be due to the windshield being replaced and maybe "a piece of something was left behind"

Has anyone experienced anything similar to this on their Fiesta and if so what was the cause? If anyone could suggest possible e fixes that would also be appreciated.

Thanks

 

[Zubair1980]

Cold start. Note once engine is at idle rpm, the noise starts. Becomes more distinct when i move to the passenger side under the dash. Note when i rev the noise disappears and then comes back after idle rests

 

[econoboxrocks]

Sounds like a belt.

 

[Zubair1980]

Sounds like a belt.

Thanks, is there anyway for me to test this? My knowledge on engines are at basic level, i can see one visible belt located below the coolant tank.

 

[econoboxrocks]

It may just be your fuel injectors. They are noisy. Some people talk about a clicking sound, wondering if there's something wrong. It's just high-pressure direct injection.
Try to isolate where the sound is coming from.

 

[Handy Andy]

When you have the time - look under the hood, and find the serpentine belt that drives the alternator, AC and water pump.

See if there is some repeat to the pattern of chrip as to the inter-twined wind travel of the belt.

Watch for a mark, chip or even a wobble on the pulleys - it may indicate which one has that debris.

Shut off the car and inspect, then start and drive then let idle - investigate and repeat as needed until you're sure of the location of that noise. It's important!

If the belt got nicked or on pulleys the route it takes - there may be some material from the "Gasket material" from the windshield in the "track" or grooves of the pulleys, or belts - path, that chirp indicates to me, that debris is embedded in the belt, causing a slip or vibration squeak, but if it repeats in only one location it usually means the belt has to be replaced. (or the location of the debris is making the noise there - so a wobble or slip may be noticeable, so check that same area for possible damages when the engine is off.

And keep an eye on several points where that squeak can reappear, including the water pump - replacing a windshield requires to have the front air cowl and wiper arms removed or lifted off so they can remove and replace that glass - if they overstressed something - it's there issue not yours - you gave, entrusted, the vehicle to them to fix.

Replacing the belt is cheap insurance for if they give you grief over it, force the issue of warranty but if they shrug it off, you might have to replace the belt or become friends with a mechanic whom can do the do the job without complaining - you might have to bail on the dealer and find a new place to service the car.

Mostly due to the $$$ - mechanics, since the pandemic, are getting more scarcer and the market is making it more $$$ to service ANYTHING.

You'll have to locate this sooner or later, for the belt can jump and leave you stranded if that debris collects or gums up the grooves on the belt or snaps from the tension.

 

[Zubair1980]

This is extremely helpful, thank u guys i will have a look into it and update

 

[Zubair1980]

So ive done some investigating. I found the noise resonating primarily from under the dash. I looked at the driver side and removed one panel and found two pipes coming from the engine bay towards the gear shift. When i touched the pipe closest to me the noise got softer. When i pushed the pipe against the other pipe the noise stopped.

Please see the attached images

What are those pipes for? What would cause them it to make such a noise

 

[Zubair1980]

Please see video for more clarity

 

[Handy Andy]

Ok, lets see if the noise if from the transmission.

Start the car, let it run - warm it up - purposely get it to the point you can easily hear that noise.

Ok...

Chock your front wheels so that you can put the car in gear, but it's not moving.

So shut down the car, chock the front wheels...

Start it back up.

During this test do not accelerate the vehicle - keep your foot off the gas pedal. You can be injured if you don't.

It's in Park right?

Still hear that noise?

Put your foot FIRMLY (not stomping hard, but firmly) on the brake...

Then place the transmission lever into Drive.

Begin to release brake pedal. But not all the way, keep the car in gear and slowly lift your foot as if your getting ready to creep the car forward - but keep your foot on the brake

Still hear the noise?

Does the noise arrive now? As you lift your foot off the brake to a given level of height?

Since the wheels are chocked, release the brake take your foot off completely.

Noise - is it there?

Now, still in DRIVE - Lift the HANDBRAKE handle - does the noise appear or disappear?

Place your foot on the Brake - place lever into PARK.- noise there?

Apply the Handbrake and see if the noise CHANGES or goes away, disappears...

Let us know of the results of this.

Why?

Transmission pump might be going out.

The solenoid that shuts it down (In Idle) - the pump is still working - but the IDLE UP and Brake OFF signals turn the solenoid that operates that fluid flow from the transmission pump - engages and so the fluid in the transmission covers or lubricates the problem area so the noise goes away.

I put up a post in a thread about this elsewhere...
https://www.fordfiesta.org/threads/...3-fiesta-sticks-while-driving.8383/post-22877

 

[Zubair1980]

Thank u for the feedback,

Car is manual transmission but Here are my observations:

01. Car in 1st gear, handbrake up, clutch in, and when i press the brake pedal(slightly or even fully in) the chirping is a higher pitch (chirping actually gets faster when brake is pressed)

02. Car in 1st gear, handbrake up, clutch in, chirping is still there. Placing handbrake down does not affect the noise at all

03. Changing from 1st gear to neutral and the chirping becomes higher pitched and faster. Exactly the same pitch as when i pressed the brake.

04. Clutch in, 1st gear selected, handbrake up, if i lift off the clutch to clutch point, the noise goes away and returns the moment i press the clutch back in.

Handbrake up or down has no impact on the chirping. The noise is present at both cold start and even after the engine has fully warmed up.

 

[Handy Andy]

Well, if it's a manual you obviously won't have a transmission pump - but what you may have from that noise is a piped in sound from the engine and clutch area.

This may mean the engine has a slight vacuum leak or they did a TSB on a evap solenoid which may make a noise - you might want to ask if they did any TSB;s for the EVAP system while it was there.

Else - the chirp is a whistle from possibly the brake booster or the regulator that is that funky twin circled device with 3 hoses one to the engine two others, one to the snorkel and the other to the brake booster.

• IF the brakes being applied - it won't cause the noise or make it louder, but they do make the systems idle up function cause the speedup so it increases the chirp rate.

Or the clutch throw-out bearing is showing some wear.

• The slop from the clutch pivot arm that pushes on the bearing - the investigation might have to go down to the bell housing and even underneath the car by that area to see if the chirp is louder.

I myself have "whir" sound that is the rotation around that throw-out bearing and pivot arm - I got used to it, had it all the time since I've owned the vehicle - if it helps you, this audible sound can be used to help you with engagement of the clutch in traffic situations for the engines are quiet but the drivetrain shudder and clutch engagement noise to slack pickup quietness is present enough to help you find the clutches' grab moment so you're not run over by other drivers too busy focused on their phones to the look up for the movement from the dashboards shadow effects.

Scary as hell, but it's why I put a trailer hitch and drawbar on the back, so they will lose their AC from puncture if they get too close.

We are going to have to see what you discover...

 

[jiffycake]

Bump.

Did you ever figure out the problem or find a fix?

Sent from my Pixel 5 using Tapatalk

 

[Handy Andy]

The noise as shown in the vid, is from the shifter X-Y cables that are from the shifter (Manual) to the transmission shift assembly inside a small black housing cover right on top of the transmission.

The noise - is from the transmission - engine - but it's transmitted to the passenger compartment thru those shifter cables.

That is those hoses you see. they would head off to the shifter assembly.

Part Number:
8A6Z 7E395-A
(Motorcraft)
OR
​

So the noise is from that "gymbal and cable" assembly - that to me transfers or translates the motions of the shifter and your input. The noise more than likely from the clutch and throw-out bearing - follows it back into the passenger compartment.

The noise can also be from the shifter forks, when the shifter is at "idle" or neutral - the shift forks for all the gears are at rest. Doesn't mean much but read further into the issue of the shifter aspects and the brackets at the transmission side - you have three forks all of them arranged on a rod tied to one cable (your Up and Down) and another - side to side which controls WHICH fork is chosen. This side to side is different - they are tangs that are notched and lets the forks of the other two float at their resting spot - when you select a gear - you have to move the side-to-side which changes which tang this rod lines up to - the up or down motions press or pull the rod, and that assigned fork then works the input of the up and down one - since you moved that knob - to one side or the other allowing the gear to move in or out and the opposite side of that gear to move out or in.

So the chirp - if you press in the clutch and it still is there, then the chip can only be from a motion - which is not at the transmission, but either at the clutch and flywheel or towards the engine.

​

So - again, pressing on the brake, push the clutch in all the way - still a chirp? The engine side is causing this - you should hear gear churn and lash while the transmission is turning with the engine. This is normal. Then when you take away the energy to turn the transmission even in neutral - through pressing in the clutch - the transmission spins down - letting you shift into or out of gear easily.

If the chirp disappears. Then the transmission or clutch assembly is causing this - so attempt to press the clutch in at various pressures on the pedal - to affect the ability of the throw-out bearing, in the above, it's the Release Bearing - the fingers or the piston located and using the pressure plate - and help determine the amount of pressure where the noise stops, is the device that is taking in the pressure and causing the noise.

IF say, a finger is rubbing or worn, the chirp would lessen or disappear when you apply enough pressure on the pedal to move the piston against the fingers - it would indicate clutch assembly.

IF the noise continues even with the clutch in all the way, then the flywheel, or even a water pump bearing - can cause this chirp or if you have a mechanics stethoscope - you might track it down to the very spot making the chirp - which in the stethoscope, sounds more like a squeal - by using such a tool, the loudness reveals that location is where the problem lies. Alternator or AC pump can do this too.

But the rear of the engine part, tends to lead me to the transmission and perhaps a cable shifter assembly rub from extra tension it puts on either Y (your north and south, Up/Down on that Fork) or X (your selector for which fork - locator rod side to side, East/West motion) - the assembly is in a box, and it's got a cover. So do you have the IB5 or the IB5i - have similar shifter parts, but their location of torque applied is slightly different. - it may mean they have to tweak the shifter cable - but which one?

​

The Transmission has a set of gears that track the rotation of the shaft they are on, and are sandwiched between the main gears as a means to help those main gears, are another set called synchronizers - the gears are on a shaft, but do not necessarily rotate as the speed of the shaft they are on, the synchronizer gears are, but in the splines, these main gears use a means of floating on the shaft and there are the synchronizers on the splines of that shaft turning at similar speed.

So not to go too deep, the part I'm concerned about is at the box. Box where the shift levers are, the cables go into it.

These cables - to stay rigid enough to transfer the input from you, use brackets on that box to hold them fast to the transmission. As you drive there are motor mounts that allow the engine and tranny to move - the cables give you enough flexibility to allow the vehicles engine to move on its mounts but allow you to shift - hence those brackets.

IF you struck something or the box got damaged, those brackets that hold the cable in place to transfer your input to the gears (translate in a way) can CHANGE their aspect in relation to the shifter you use, and the gearbox's own shift forks and levers. IT can induce a rub you don't want.

​

You know as time progressed, your vehicle shift lever can migrate - from the symmetrical location just above the centerlines of the shift aspect the transmission sees and center of the shift rectangle you see (where your shifter is) - to a drift to the left or right - even up or down - so let the thing go into neutral and check to see if there is excessive free play - or not enough free play - in the shifter - and where it "rests" at - if it's in the center - then see which cable you can make the noise change or disappear from by moving left or right or up or down - because something is not centered.

The speed increasing is from the PCM anticipation of take off - where the engine now idles up in speed - only so much but is sensitive to your throttle input. The process is normal - I wish myself, FORD didn't do this - it wastes a lot of gas in stop start traffic - if there was a way to disable this I'd love to know how. But the chirp "increasing" is from the idle-up event - so again it places more focus on the clutch and engine than the transmission - so to me the transmission is the messenger, but the chirp is from the power delivery side - not the transmission

 

[Fil]

Hi,
Any resolve? I have the exact same issue.
I noticed that when i switch on AC the noise is getting much smaller, and when i switch it offagain - comes back.

Would love some feedback

 

[Handy Andy]

There have been some updates in other threads about the chirp - which in some ways can be considered a whistle - which is from the engine.

In this current- Read this as - your post thread; the cables transfer the chirp noise into the car thru the cables - so the noise seems to be more focused on the clutch and shifter - especially the engines output revs up during "idle-up" where you are shifting into low-gear ready to move.

Please verify that noise is truly from (arriving through) the cables and not from something else - which this chirp can be misidentified as a whistle and because of this - has several causes other than clutch pack throwout bearings

• (Believe it or not - upper sensors that detect the cam position can cause this noise - they might need replacement but if the engine has high mileage - the cams own tolerances are getting to a point where the cam shaft is worn and drifts with oil pressure changes - low oil pressures during idle put the cam lobes in one position then when the oil pressure rises - the cam lobes float to a new position and so it doesn't strike or rub the sensor causing this noise so it disappears
  • - so just replacing the sensors might not remove the noise - for in that event you just spent money trying to diagnose a condition caused by age and wear - which then indicates you need a rebuild - else put up with the noise until a time where the vehicle is traded in or your able to afford the cost of the rebuild.)

The intake uses several seals and is a sealed unit that comes together from two smaller pieces that one fits the intake while the other is used for the throttle body and IATMAP - Intake Air temp and Manifold Absolute Pressure Transducer) which affect emissions; plenum effects and determines volume in the final size; two pieces during it's final assembly before it's put on the motor as part of the fitment process Ford does to the line of motors they build.

You might want to observe using a mechanical Vacuum gauge (needle drops or rises or pulsates to that noise) and listen - probing thru a mechanics stethoscope to probe the intake and upper valve cover for even then the Engine ports. - possibly from the spark plugs ports - one of the plugs is leaking thru a seal - and causes air to leak in that is above the pressure in the cylinder - which the cylinder being past the throttle is more of a vacuum - the intake manifold and spark plugs are also possible to cause this as well as the PCV valve and it's own fitment - the housing it uses has a seal that can fail as time progresses.

Try to "count" the number of pulses - if you can do this for like those that determine heart rate by counting the pulses - then you can find the actual rate - if it's 700 - then 700 RPM refers pretty close to idle speed and so it's rotational to the crankshaft - if this pulse rate is less that 700 - like 400 to 500 - then the chirp rate is 1/2c the output - which then is the CAMSHAFT rotation rate - it was how one local user found the noise - which was described above - a new cam position sensor - which later resulted in a rebuilt motor because or the wear of the cams damaged the next sensor after it replaced the original one.

In another thread @SyntheticAtmosphere brought up the issues of a faulty spark plug can cause this whistle and it's pulse rate is much like the camshaft rotation rate

 

[Gatesy19]

Hi

Hi

Hi Zubair I have the exact same noise from my fiesta . Was just wondering if you managed to get it sorted and if so what was it ? Thanks in advance 👍