sounds like TOB but not TOB
 

Hey guys, unfortunately i've been experiencing a weird, whiney noise after cold starts, but not at idle. The noise only comes on when the engine is under load at low speeds (5-25 mph). Haven't taken a vid yet as it only happens when i'm moving. Car has about 73,000 miles. It is a 2013 so recall work was done only 4000 miles ago back in March (have not been driving regularly in lockdown).

- My first thought was that it sounded like an alternator whining on its way out, but I have not been hearing anything at idle. I do not always hear the whine when the alternator is running.

- My second thought was that this was the dreaded throwout bearing, however, when I depress the clutch at idle i hear the subtle whirring sound of the TOB acting normally. The dealer also checked the clutch and TOB during the recall work recently and it looked fine

- Another thought was that it might be a weird frequency resonance coming from the cat, but i thought this was a long shot as it sounds more like its coming from the engine bay and it is not present when i free rev the vehicle or gun it under hard acceleration

- Last thought is that it might be a PCV valve or something, but don't know how I should check this. Maybe try pulling up the dipstick and driving?

Once the car is fully warmed up (like 20 mins into driving) the sound is gone. I wanted to drop it off at Subaru but they couldn't take me without an appointment and they look to be booked up for the next several days. Any ideas at what else I should look at?

finally got it into subaru for a look with an appointment and they couldn't find anything and said they couldn't get it to make noise which sounds crazy to me since it gets noisy in first an second on every cold start and the noise just gets a little less noticeable on warmer starts. from reading i thought it might be the serpentine belt or the belt tensioner but we'll see. i'm picking the car up tonight then i'll try taking another look myself but i'm flummoxed.

I have the same issue intermittently. Seems to happen when I don't drive it for a few days but then it goes away on it's own. Hopefully it's nothing to worry about :iono:

Turns out it was the throw out bearing lol. Guy suggested replacement along with a new clutch

a high pitched screech at start up means belts are getting old/loose

a grinding sound when u step on the clutch is the TOB... it could go away for a few weeks, but it'll come back with a vengeance... mine did

could have replaced it for free when u did the recall.. that's a lot of money wasted

yep. i even inquired at the time and they told me the "clutch looks good." well what can you do?

clutch <> TOB

they got u good there haha

new clutch and TOB fixed the issue completely