2018 Expedition Max whining noise

[mark newman]

2018 Ford Expedition Max 4x4 with Ecoboost makes a whining noise after outside air temps exceed about 60 degrees and after hitting about 25 miles per hour, a/c is off, trans in auto or Manual, My Ford Dealer in Las Vegas now says it's coming from the bell housing on the 10 speed transmission after they just replaced a rear wheel hub and bearing last week thinking that was the cause. They are saying this noise its not covered under warranty, they say its normal operating noise even though I've had it for a year and never heard this noise before, it just started a few weeks ago. I can't believe this noise is normal and I just have to deal with it. It sounds like a friction noise, and I know friction causes wear. My whole family has owned nothing but Fords for the last 20 Years, this will be my last one if they don't resolve this. I also just had a very disturbing timing chain noise repaired under warranty last week @ 24.000 miles no less, it may have been cam phasers or something similar. This will be the forth problem with our Max since buying it last year. They had to replace the dash a few weeks after we got then car because it lifted up in the center from our Vegas heat. We treat this car like a baby, it has not been abused, my wife primarily drives it and we only towed a 6000lbs trailer once for about 5 miles. Anyone else experience this whine problem?

 

[Black]

Try another dealer

 

[mark newman]

Yep! that may happen after talking to the service manager on Monday.

 

[scottdm]

Does the sound change pitch with engine RPM or with driveline speed? Almost sounds like a bearing going bad.

 

[mark newman]

Good question! The overall sound pitch gets higher at higher driveline/road speed speeds, over 50mph its pretty high and hard to hear. When I punch the throttle at 25mph to raise the engine rpm's for a second it doesn't seem to affect the pitch or speed of the whine. The weirdest part is the pitch of the whine (or) "rpm pitch of the whine for a better description" seems to change up and down while at a steady engine rpm and mph. You can hear this in the audio at 22 seconds and again 34 seconds, I was locked at a very steady speed around 8th gear and you can hear the whine change pitch. Im pretty sure its coming from the drive train and not the engine based on the above. If it does end up being the trans bell housing I'm not going to accept this is normal. Its too loud to ignore.

 

[scottdm]

Yeah, time to try a different dealer if you're getting the run around at your dealer. This is not normal. Mine has never made this noise.

 

[mark newman]

Im going to talk to the service manager tomorrow, then I'll decide what my next step will be.

 

[shane_th_ee]

The loudest whining noises I hear are usually from somewhere in the back after about 5 minutes of driving. The sound varies, but is usually kinda high pitched and long the lines of "I can't reach my water bottle" "why do grandma and grandad have to live so far way"... maybe I should bring it up with the dealer next time I take it in...

 

[mark newman]

Lol, Sounds like the whining noise in your vehicle is serious. You better be careful that can cause an accident.

 

[Artie]

I’ve heard some sort of a whine out of mine if I’m at highway speeds with the 4x4 running but nothing like what’s on your video.

 

[Bill Schell]

Good question! The overall sound pitch gets higher at higher driveline/road speed speeds, over 50mph its pretty high and hard to hear. When I punch the throttle at 25mph to raise the engine rpm's for a second it doesn't seem to affect the pitch or speed of the whine. The weirdest part is the pitch of the whine (or) "rpm pitch of the whine for a better description" seems to change up and down while at a steady engine rpm and mph. You can hear this in the audio at 22 seconds and again 34 seconds, I was locked at a very steady speed around 8th gear and you can hear the whine change pitch. Im pretty sure its coming from the drive train and not the engine based on the above. If it does end up being the trans bell housing I'm not going to accept this is normal. Its too loud to ignore.

Umm, yea, "normal" NO! I'm telling ya, the more I read on this forum, the more pensive I'm getting about my recent purchase. I did invest in a Premium Care ESP but some of what I'm reading about, over and over again, speaks to piss poor engineering. Worse, that Ford is attempting to stiff-arm customers and "wait out" their warranty period with ******** TSB's and "that's normal" responses. Much as I love the looks and ride, I'll sell this $@#^&* in a heartbeat if it becomes a repair shop queen.

Edit: forgot to mention that "if it's normal" every frigging one of us would be hearing the same noise. Ask them to explain that.

 

[scottdm]

Umm, yea, "normal" NO! I'm telling ya, the more I read on this forum, the more pensive I'm getting about my recent purchase. I did invest in a Premium Care ESP but some of what I'm reading about, over and over again, speaks to piss poor engineering. Worse, that Ford is attempting to stiff-arm customers and "wait out" their warranty period with ******** TSB's and "that's normal" responses. Much as I love the looks and ride, I'll sell this $@#^&* in a heartbeat if it becomes a repair shop queen.

Edit: forgot to mention that "if it's normal" every frigging one of us would be hearing the same noise. Ask them to explain that.

Agree that the "Oh, they all do that" doesn't do it for me. This is my first Ford, and I'm pleased for the most part. Fit and finish of exterior body panels is the primary gripe that I have, but I can live with it. I was willing to give the Expedition a try since the 2nd gen 3.5 EcoBoost and 10 speed have been in the F150 since 2017, so figured they would have most major power-train issues ironed out. I also purchased the Premium Care ESP to be on the safe side.

 

[Williamb97]

We have our 2015 Expedition in the dealership now for a similar noise.

 

[Wangle]

Our 2018 Limited is not making this “normal” noise. Sounds like it would help keep me awake on long drives. I am going to make an appointment to have this noise installed.
Try putting the gear selector knob in manual, and drop down a gear or two to see if their is a change in pitch.

 

[mark newman]

I'll give that a try. I don't recommend having the noise installed, it stays in your head like Baby Shark, even after you've parked the vehicle and walked away.
Here's an update, the dealer gave me this to read and said there was nothing I can do about the noise, they say its normal, (SO BUYER BE WARNED)
SSM 47812 - 2017-2019 F-150, 2018-2019 Expedition/Navigator/Mustang, 2019 Ranger – 10R80 - Whine Noise
Some 2017-2019 F-150, 2018-2019 Expedition/Navigator/Mustang, 2019 Ranger vehicles equipped with a 10R80 transmission may exhibit a whine noise. This may occur at idle and while driving coming from the bell housing and front pan area of the transmission. The whine noise may become louder when at operating temperature and increases with higher engine RPM in the PARK position. A small amount of whine noise is considered to be characteristic of the 10R80 transmission due to the offset gear drivetrain in the front support and has no effect on durability, just my sanity.
I opened a case file with Ford customer service yesterday 10/24/2019. I received a call from a Ford district Rep. today. He was absolutely not interested in listening to my audio recording and said refer to the above Service Message. I told him my dealerships shop foreman drove the vehicle with me and the service manager in it. The shop foreman said to me that he had never heard this noise before, But then said refer to the above Service Message. The service department has not diagnosed the transmission as the source of the noise, they are just guessing based on the above information, they after all just replaced a rear wheel hub and bearing a few days prior thinking that was the cause. The Ford district Rep. did not care, I told him my Expedition will not and has never made the noise in park or idle he did not care. He was not concerned about my problem at all and said there was nothing they could or would do. Wow! (I'm in Shock.) I'm not sure what to do next. I don't think anyone would buy my car after driving it and hearing the noise. I could trade it in for a Toyota and lose my shirt.

 

[Matt23]

I had a similar situation with my 2018 Platinum at about 12000 miles. I ended up getting my rear differential completely rebuilt and it resolved the problem.

 

[Deadman]

Like my kids say, I couldn't fix your brakes, so I made your horn louder.......
Time for a louder radio lol

 

[mark newman]

Matt23 did they tell you your noise was normal and if so how did you get them to rebuild the differential?

 

[mark newman]

I had a similar situation with my 2018 Platinum at about 12000 miles. I ended up getting my rear differential completely rebuilt and it resolved the problem.

Did they tell you your noise was normal and if so how did you get them to rebuild the differential?

 

[Soliyou]

This is very disturbing!

I would try to pinpoint the origin of the noise myself then go to the dealer for a second attempt.

Does the noise happen while coasting?? Try to throw it in neutral (not sure if this is possible with these electronic shifters) and see if the noise goes away. If not then it is a bearing somewhere in the driveline.

If the noise happen in neutral, take it to a garage to lift it while somebody pushes the gas and listen from under there.

I would also put a GoPro at different spots to see which location has higher whine.