Very Common Honda Buzzing/Whining/Humming Noise

This is a very common issue on Honda Oddysey, Ridgeline, Pilot and with the 3.5 Liter engine. many technicians/ Mechanics confuse this alternator noise with a power steering noise. I'm going to show you how to figure it out.

[fishingkayaks]

I have a 2011 Honda was the My car was humming just like yours in the video. I could have sworn it was the power steering or the idler....but it wasn't. I disconnected the alternator and the sound are the best for posting this!! You saved me from buying the wrong parts! pure genius! Keep it up Hektor!

[skttnm]

I had a similar whirling/whining noise from my 2007 Honda Civic. It was in fact caused by low power steering fluid level. This noise happened during acceleration and I had no issues with steering.

The very simple way to know if it is power steering is to check your power steering fluid levels. Too easy. Check your manual index in the back and it will tell you the page where the power steering fluid cap is. Mine was in the upper left corner looking at engine with hood open. If fluid is below the two lines, and you can see the fluid shadow from outside, then get some Honda power steering fluid and fill it up between the two lines. If that is your only issue, it will fix the problem with the noise. Be sure to use only Honda power steering fluid. If you go to Auto Zone, they have their own brand, but it says specifically Honda only on it. I’m sure others may have that, too.

This is the quickest and simplest way to rule out power steering or to determine if this is all you need to fix the whirling/whining noise. No sense taking things apart or buying parts you don’t need until you’ve done this first.

[drsus]

DUDE!!! Ive been hunting this F’ing!! noise for a year how!! The damn dealer refused to admit it was “unusual” that my 40k mile truck made a whine noise. I unplugged it and sure enough, damn whine went away. THANK

[charlieedwards]

Hey dude... Thanks for taking the time to put this video out there. Was thinking the noise was my power steering pump. NOT, was my alternator.

[billszymborski]

Add me to the list that confused this with the power steering pump. Thanks for doing this and helping so many of us! I've been working on my own cars for 50 years and this one stumped me. I changed the Alternator and fixed the problem! Thanks for helping us save time, money and frustration!

[Alopnaw]

This is the exact sound I was troubled by. Now I know what my car problem is. Thanks heaps man!

[Jblasian]

Car been making this noise for 3 weeks and each person told me anything from, the belt, the pulley, the power steering, even a bad spark plug. I knew those werent correct so I been waiting until someone tells me something remotely close to the problem. Thank you for doing this video because google did not even understand the sound, it got mistook for squealing and screeching.

I tried to describe that it makes sound the same sound as remote car makes, still nothing. So thank you!

[RyeRyeL]

Question, my alternator makes this noise. Is it safe? As in, will it cause any damage to the car? To be honest I don't care about the noise, I just don't want to damage the electrical system. This is on a 2008 Honda Civic which I only purchased 2 months ago (yay)

[dexterdexcool]

Wowow more people need to see this, there's too many hondas being misdiagnosed for this kind of noise. The alternator, i would have never thought. Good video Homie Hektor!

[agedretainer]

You're on point with the diagnosis and misconceptions by some people like me. I thought it was my power steering because there is no charging warning light on the dash. So I kept driving till my battery went flat. The mechanic who replaced it said it was due to burned diode.

[CrzyDucks]

I literally found the problem just as it was going out had to do a alternator job at one in the morning ! Thanks for posting this

[augme]

Wooowww you such a life safer, couldn't thank you enough, change my alternator and noice started 3 engr suggested my power steering pump, bought 2 different power steering pump but issues persisted, after seeing your video had to change the alternator and everything normalises.. love you bro

[Kenji_Numura]

Hey Hector! Thank you for showing the diagnostics!!! It helped me a lot!!! My 2014 Honda Pilot is showing the same whining noise but I'm not sure IF it's a water Pump, power steering pump and alternator!! Until you unplugged the green connector in the alternator and the sound disappeared. Same thing what I discovered on mine! Thanks a lot bro!!

[gamezflats]

2012 Honda Pilot
Had the same issue, at first I thought it was a power steering at one point the noise was coming by the transmission, had no check engine light .... replaced the alternator with oem honda parts from Napa auto parts, no more loud noise
for your video 👍

[davidbautista]

Hahahaha! The interruptions at 2:00 had me laughing, awesome tips homie!

[bkdarch]

Had same whine after 3 months of use of napa replacement reman alternator on 2010 Accord EXL v6. thought it was ps pump bc how could a replacement alternator go bad in 3 months?... (Factory Honda one lasted 125k) When ps pump replacement didn't stop noise I used a 2x4 to the ear and isolated the alternator.. pissed...napa rebuild just cost me 2 hours labor plus $150 on ps pump and another 2 hours labor on r and r this alternator for the 2nd time...(pulling elect fan sucked)..found your video and did the connector pull and that confirmed it.. also multimeter at full load was 12.7 old alt and 14.5 new... Thanks for the tips.

[vxnguye]

Thanks Homie Hektor - nice work! I have a Honda Pilot with this exact noise. Can I just replace the "diode" and not the whole alternator -- will that fix my problem? Will that be cheaper than fixing the whole alternator? Is replacing the diode difficult ?

[Nicolandia]

I have a 2011 Honda Pilot that is making this exact noise… what is a fair price to get this repaired at a local shop? I know prices will vary, but a round about price would be very helpful. I appreciate the support here! Thank you!

[guiox]

Our 2008 Honda Civic Coupe started doing this same exact noise at high RPMs. Thank you for posting this vid! It was very helpful.

[pteytran]

This was gold knowledge man. Thanks for sharing. Isnt there still a faint whining noise after you unplug it though? I think my pilot makes that whining noise in your video after you unplug it.