BIZARRE intermittent humming/resonance in Platinum Shorty

[star-art]

Driving in 2A, tires properly inflated, stereo off, on one particular stretch of road our 2018 Platinum Shorty recently started making a rather bizarre humming noise. The truck was brand new in March of this year and the noise just started a few weeks ago (~7500 miles).

It's definitely not engine or tire noise. It starts out low and barely audible, quickly grows in intensity until it hurts your ears, then fades away. It sounds like it's coming from the front speakers which leads me to believe it might be some sort of interference in the Active Noise Control.

The best way I can describe it is the sort of noise you get when a microphone picks up interference and "hums" loudly. Believe it or not, that's how they made the lightsaber sound in Star Wars and what we're dealing with is not dissimilar!

I've been trying to nail down the exact circumstances under which this happens. So far, I've noticed it mainly between 30-35 mph and peak volume seems to be around 30 mph. At slower speeds I don't hear it and once we get going faster road noise takes over so I can't tell.

This problem is so bizarre I'm not sure where the dealer will even start (assuming they can even recreate the problem if we take it in for service).

 

[99WhiteC5Coupe]

Make a recording with your phone and take it to the dealer, with an exact description of when it occurs.

I suspect you will be told, “Sorry - no codes, nothing to fix.”

Many dealer technicians have lost the art of troubleshooting - they have become computer code readers.

The dealer may have a to contact some sort of Ford technical assistance to help you.

Good luck.

 

[star-art]

Tried this morning, no luck. BUT, one thing was different. I believe the noise occurred when a particular person's iPhone was placed in the tray in the center of the dash (on top near the center channel speaker). This person wasn't in the car with us today. I don't know yet if it's just that iPhone (it's getting old and may be malfunctioning) or if any iPhone placed there will cause this issue. Still, it's the best lead we have. Will test the theory soon. . .

 

[Bones]

I own a 2018 Expy Platinum that has been humming to me since it was new. The hum is coming from the passenger front engine area. It has done it after it has been started and at idle. I have turned the sound system off and that doesn't make a difference. Most of the time it hums while decelerating and accelerating through 35-40 mph and 45-50. During the hum I can get it to stop by slightly pushing the accelerator. I have watched the turbo gauge and it was idle showing no pressure. I have used my cell phone to video the turbo gauge, tac and speedometer during the humming but the humming frequency isn't being picked up by my phone. Of course the dealer couldn't replicate it. Now with my driver's mirror whistling and the hum I'm just humming and whistling along with it.

 

[star-art]

Hmmm, strange but I'm not sure what you're describing is the same problem we're experiencing. Our sound is some sort of resonance. It's definitely not coming from the engine or the engine compartment. It's inside the cabin. It sounds like it's coming from the speakers. It also sounds almost exactly like "microphone hum." But, since the stereo is off, this leads me to believe it must be the Active Noise Control. This system generates sound waves that counteract noise in the cabin.

 

[Flexpedition]

Driving in 2A, tires properly inflated, stereo off, on one particular stretch of road ....

This noise occurs on a particular stretch of road, and you are searching for what again?

Am I missing something?

 

[aggiegrad05]

This noise occurs on a particular stretch of road, and you are searching for what again?

Am I missing something?

Any chance this particular stretch of road is in New Mexico?

http://thesingingroad.com/

 

[star-art]

No, not in NM. LOL Sorry if this sounds confusing. We live in the country. Each time we leave our house to head into our small town, we have to drive the same stretch of road. Much of this is in a 35-mph zone on flat land. This is where the sound becomes noticeable (it's intermittent but it can get quite loud). There are low-hanging power lines that cross over this road at several points, hence the thought it could be some sort of electrical interference. Once we reach town, there's one spot in particular where the speed limit drops to 30. We hear the sound the loudest here. Again, it's not constant but comes and goes. In some places it gets so loud it literally hurts our ears. After that, we typically get on the freeway to head into the city. Then, road noise is so loud that we rarely notice the humming noise (but we do still hear it from time to time).

 

[Scottorama]

I would guess its the noise cancellation system. I will never buy a vehicle with noise cancelling in it, as they never work right 100% of the time. And when they go wrong, its not a pleasant experience. Gm and Ram also have issues with their noise cancelling, if you look at their boards.

This is the main reason why I will not buy the current version of the Suburban. I have test drove quite a few, and all of them give my son an immediate headache, and the noise cancelling also produces all sorts of unexpected noises that are not fun to experience. For me is the ear pressure when you hit cruising speed that makes noise cancelling unpleasant.

Read through this and see how many people hate the noise cancelling on the GM's:
https://www.gm-trucks.com/forums/topic/162779-2015-yukon-noise-in-cabin/

 

[star-art]

Interesting! It seems I may be right in my guess as to the diagnosis. So far, we have discovered that a particular cell phone might be the culprit in our case. Still waiting for a chance to test this theory. . .