You have crickets. I have woodpeckers. (Fixed)
 

As of this weekend, my crickets evolved into woodpeckers. I change has and the crickets pretty much went away. However the high pitched noise that we know an "love" was replaced with a more knock-on-wood sound. This new noise of mine follows the same pattern/frequency as true crickets which leads me to believe that the sources are the same. The difference is that this notice can only really be heard from inside the car, but it is much much louder.

Either way, I'm at the dealership getting it checked out. The service attendant im working with obviously knows about the car. Right off the bat, he told me that the crickets are definitely a recognized annoyance within Toyota. He also informed me that there is a fix for it. This fix may be what fixes my woodpeckers. The car is getting checked out now.

Keep us posted!

Yup keep us in the loop

Will do. Here is a little additional info. I've used 93 octane from Sunoco, 711, QT, BP, and Shell in the past without any issues. When I switched, I had a near 50/50 mix of QT and Shell. It was fine for a few days, maybe three. The I went on an airport run which is about 50 miles. That's when the woodpeckers moved in.

Assuming this happens at idle, does the sound go away when you clutch-in? Could be the flywheel rattle issue which apparently happens to some folks only at idle.

Not at all the issue...or I should say was the issue. This was also audible along side the induction whine.


Update:
Two hours later, I have a new fuel pump. Now I don't even have crickets. It will be a while before I know if true crickets come back since I will soon be going away for the rest of the summer.

So here is the diagnosis. The fuel pump technically did not fail, but there was a mechanical issue with it. The service rep, didnt know exactly what have out or how long it would have lasted. I think my case is the first of this nature. My personal speculation is that it probably would have completely failed if I didn't have it dealt with.

I had my high pressure fuel pump replaced by Toyota on Saturday too, crickets gone. Phew.

How many miles did you put on that fuel pump before woodpecker moved in?

I had 5025 miles on it. The original crickets started around 300 miles.

I have a audio recording. I just have to sift through 11 minutes to get the best clips.

Apparently, there is a revised fuel pump that fixes the issue, instead of relieving it for a couple hundred miles (early cases where the dealers replaced the pumps with the same, but new part). I'm assuming you got the "new design" pump installed?

Yes, the pump I received today is a revised model and not just the same thing. So I should not get any crickets. If the crickets stay away, then so will the woodpeckers.

hm... i just got my new pump do you feel a difference when putting your foot on the gas pedal? like the feedback you get? mine felt different when i pulled off the lot, and feels like it runs smoother. don't know if i have the new revised pump installed bc my service guy s aid there isn't a replacement yet

I just went out for a drive "cuz I was bored". The replacement performed like a champ. @Kosmos, it didn't feel as restricted/stifled as before. It may be placebo effect, but I think it feels better. Ya I had fun with that Miata.

So it is a easy fix?? If it start take it to the dealer and get a new fuel pump?

Exactly, but do not expect to get the same problem. You can go and complain about crickets though.

My crickets started developing around the 500mi mark...

Hey there :)

How is your new pump goin ?

Does anybody know what's different about the newly designed pump ?

Cheers :happy0180:

It performed the same as the old one, but isn't actually broken. Aside from the very slight chirp (not to strong yet), it's running just fine.

When the tech manager talked to me about the old pump, he stated that he had no idea what part of the pump failed. He did say that there was a new part number for the pump that I received as a replacement.

I guess I should take mine in next chance I get. I heard woodpeckers today for the first time. I wasn't sure if anyone else had heard them before but was redirected here from the idle chirp post. I'd really rather my pump didn't fail on me.

Not the next chance you get, ASAP!

I had mine done three weeks ago. Theyre back already.


I have named my car Jiminy

I have an appointment this Friday for it. How severe is this issue?

I don't think anybody on here knows, only you and the OP have claimed the issue and a random service manager claiming it was about to fail seems... well I trust very few mechanics.

I wouldn't be surprised if certain people write it off as just another noise from a budget sports car.

@Nevermore

I honestly don't know how severe it was, but it sounded worse by the minute. I didn't want to chance something going really wrong. It is a fire fluid supply after all.

@strat61caster

This isn't the type of noise you write off. It is very loud. You will easily hear it over the exhaust.

Mine isn't quite that loud, at least not yet. Like I said though, it's going in Friday, so all should be good.

Completely agree with the way you handled it, everything worked out. I'm just dubious of someone saying that it was on the verge of failure by noise alone, no matter how alarming the noise. I'm certain if it's as loud as you are describing I'd be reacting the same way.

I agree with you.

Lol this is good news but the wording made me lolz.

Well I'm pretty sure it's the same damn pump.

I'm curious about this "woodpecker sound". Any videos? I have what sounds like a woodpecker and crickets but that could also just be normal engine sounds im hearing.

Well, I have good news, bad news, and some news. The good news is, I haven't heard the woodpeckers since that one and only time. The bad news is, the dealership refused to fix my pump. This being because of the some news, which the tech I spoke with stated was they weren't going to replace it because my car has already had the pump replaced once with the updated one. It's a design flaw, but the pump will not fail, has not failed, and does not need to be replaced because the noise will just come back. They'll replace it when the fix the pump design.

put a couple tanks of ethanol free gas through the car. i started to get crickets, put the ethanol free gas in and they went away and haven't been heard from since. check out "pure gas" .com or in your phone's app store. It will show you all the ethanol free gas stations closest to your location.

I do actually. I have to sift it out of about 11 minutes of driving though.

This thread isn't about crickets buddy.

^

Maybe Scott is referring to the possibility that CORN made your fuel pump noisy (whether it be crickets or woodpeckers)

Ethanol sucks. I also use only GASOLINE

Looked like you thought the "crickets" might have something to do with the "woodpeckers". If that was the case, the logical thing to do is to get rid of the primary cause before it develops into the secondary problem?

I'm curious as to what the woodpecker sound is. I have a feeling I'm hearing the same thing but not sure if its the same noise being referenced in this thread. I def have the cricket noise tho and its super loud. I love this car but I feel I'm hearing a new noise on a daily basis. Getting very annoying.

I dont understand why they would not replace it. It is warranty work and it is paid for by mother Toyota. They do the work and Toyota reimburses them for labor and parts. At the end of the month, their service department is in the positive with part "sales" and labor income.

Ethanol content in fuel has been legally mandated for over a decade in certain parts of America, the fault is not with the fuel but rather with the system designed to use it, and whether or not it is a 'fault' is debatable, it's an intermittent noise.

But I digress, woodpeckers are interesting but so far have affected 2 cars one of which still has the pump with no faults :iono:

Ya, I didn't look at it from your view. I completely agree with you.