I have a 2014 Nissan Xterra SE with an automatic transmission and 75,000 miles. The transmission fluid was changed once, not flushed, at 27,000 miles. We have noticed a noise, sort of a rattle/chatter recently. It seems to be coming from the engine compartment, just in front of the passenger. If you slowly accelerate, the transmission shifts from first to second gear at around 2000 RPMs, and the noise does not happen. If you accelerate more quickly, the transmission does not shift until about 2200 RPMs, and just before the shift, the rattle/chatter occurs. As soon as it shifts, the noise goes away. It does not happen in any other gear. We don’t know how long this has been happening, because it is rather quiet and cannot be heard when the radio is on.
We’ve taken it to three different garages. No codes or check engine light has appeared, therefore two of them thought it was a loose heat shield. They checked every heat shield, though, and found nothing loose. The third did not even look for codes. They just said it was a sound in the lower part of the engine, and the engine needed replaced.
When the noise occurs, there doesn’t seem to be any other noticeable action. No lurching, no change in power, just the noise. Any idea what could be causing this?
It sounds like the power valve in the intake manifold it can be serviced separately so you won’t need a complete intake and in the 4.0 liters it as extremely common noise it won’t hurt anything it’s just a nuisance cause the valve rattles
We're going to check this exact thing as soon as we get our chassis ear. Since it's relatively inexpensive, and the noise drives him crazy, my husband will be purchasing one if that is confirmed.
@R4nier - Using the ChassisEar we checked the power valve, and sure enough, that was the cause of the sound. We replaced it, and the noise is gone. Thank you!
Glad it worked out!
Well if I look at it personally I would hook up my machine and I use in my videos finding the source of car noises Scotty. Then I could tell where it's coming from but knowing those things it's either the engine or the transmission and either one is not cheap I would probably just drive it till it drops or sell it they have very little value and they do tend to fall apart as they age
Its probably just fine. When the engine is in low gear and working hard it is probably working harder then it would in any other gear. Possible lightly worn motor mount or normal torque converter wear. It will probably run just fine like this.
