Hello everyone, I've recently noticed a squeaking sound coming from the engine compartment. It’s only audible from inside the car, not from under the hood.

This sound appears when the car idles for 1-2 minutes at around 800 rpm.

Any ideas on what could be causing this? Thanks!

https://streamable.com/z9bcvc (I recommend setting the volume to max to hear it clearly).

Sounds like a bearing from the gearbox. Does it goes away when you press the clutch pedal?

On 10/29/2024 at 2:03 AM, therasko said:

Sounds like a bearing from the gearbox. Does it goes away when you press the clutch pedal?

Sorry for the delay; the car was away for a cambelt replacement. I tested it today, and it still makes the noise when the clutch is pressed. Also I believe we can rule out any belt-related issues since all the belts have been changed

I made another video where you can clearly hear the noise: https://streamable.com/jcgzso

Can confirm that the noise is present only when it's ideling at 850 rmps, when the car is really cold and it idles at 1000-1100 rpms there is no noise.

Looking on reddit a user, mentioning a similar issue, had their ford dealer take a look and fixed it by messing around with the gearbox cables, any idea where to look?

Messing with the shifter side of the cables does not change the noise (also, I don't know if it's normal, but the shifter is a bit loose in any gear selected)

10 hours ago, mattuz said:

Looking on reddit a user, mentioning a similar issue, had their ford dealer take a look and fixed it by messing around with the gearbox cables, any idea where to look?

Messing with the shifter side of the cables does not change the noise (also, I don't know if it's normal, but the shifter is a bit loose in any gear selected)

Well, since you only hear it inside the car, I think we can rule out any belt or pulley noise. Belt tensioners and alternator bearings can make similar noises but you would hear it outside or when you open the hood. I hope they did check every roller when replacing the belts. 

Sounds like it's coming from something turning so what turns when the car is idling at place (other than belt related parts)? -> Some of your clutch assembly and bunch of bearings in the transmission. 
So it's most likely one of those. That's why my first thought was clutch release bearing but if it was that, the noise would be depended on clutch pedal. So we can rule out that too. 

That lefts us with something in the transmission or maybe a dual-mass flywheel since some fiesta models has them. IDK if your car is equipped with one. (you can convert it to a conventional one if that's the problem btw, dual-mass is both super expensive and bound to fail). A long shot but maybe your starter gear gets stuck and scrapes the flywheel ever so slightly. I can't think of anything else. 

I have no idea how they can fix it by "messing with cables". You're already messing with cables when you move the shifter around. If it's a bad designed part around the cables or something rubbing to somewhere due to vibration and making the noise, I don't know about it so I can't comment. 

Best move would be to bring it to a good mechanic who is experienced with Fiesta.

@therasko I don't really get it. I unmounted the center console to look out for some loose bolts/thing/etc.. but nothing was found.

Testing with forscan to check the exact number of rpms I can defenetly say this happens any time the rpms are under 1000, like in this case: https://streamable.com/fxe4rs

Otherwise, for example, when the car is cold, and the deisdered rpms are >=1000 the noise is not present

1 hour ago, mattuz said:

@therasko I don't really get it. I unmounted the center console to look out for some loose bolts/thing/etc.. but nothing was found.

Testing with forscan to check the exact number of rpms I can defenetly say this happens any time the rpms are under 1000, like in this case: https://streamable.com/fxe4rs

Otherwise, for example, when the car is cold, and the deisdered rpms are >=1000 the noise is not present

is your blower motor on in them videos? 

12 hours ago, festervas said:

is your blower motor on in them videos? 

No. As a user suggested on another forum I tried to open and close the air vents and ac settings to see if the noise disappears but it's still doing it.

In the video the hvac system is turned off completely

10 hours ago, mattuz said:

No. As a user suggested on another forum I tried to open and close the air vents and ac settings to see if the noise disappears but it's still doing it.

In the video the hvac system is turned off completely

it definitely sounds like a rotating noise in the first video....  but the 2nd one with the shifter pulled apart it almost sounds like radio distortion?  is the sound coming from the speakers at all only a guess on my part.  since you stated you had belts done did they change tensioners?

22 hours ago, festervas said:

since you stated you had belts done did they change tensioners?

I guess so. Didn't really ask the garage but from the part numbers on the invoice I can see parts 2718421-FORD and 1761929-FORD.

22 hours ago, festervas said:

but the 2nd one with the shifter pulled apart it almost sounds like radio distortion?  is the sound coming from the speakers at all only a guess on my part. 

Mmh no I don't think so, anyway the radio was turned off in both videos

1 hour ago, mattuz said:

I guess so. Didn't really ask the garage but from the part numbers on the invoice I can see parts 2718421-FORD and 1761929-FORD.

Mmh no I don't think so, anyway the radio was turned off in both videos

i did a quick google and it come up with a idler belt set so looks like they did. looking through all the replies it seems like everything conventional has been covered for the most part. as it may be a bearing on starter alternator or aircon pump but then with a wee bit of heat expansion after warm up is the noise gone?  id take it back to ford say you had belt change now its making this noise and risk a blag see if they can diag it . 

23 hours ago, festervas said:

with a wee bit of heat expansion after warm up is the noise gone? 

Heating the engine doesn’t resolve the issue. The noise can occur at any time... for example, it happened once when the car was idling at a red light after about 30 minutes of driving. It seems to occur whenever the engine is under 1000 RPM.

From what I’ve read, 3-cylinder engines tend to shake more at idle speeds. My theory is that when the engine stabilizes at its normal idle RPM (around 900, as opposed to 1100-1200 when cold), the increased vibrations might cause something loose to produce the noise. However, this explanation doesn’t fully make sense, as the noise seems to originate from something rotating with the engine.

I've been suggested to check the engine mounts.

I would like to know from your experience if that might be the problem.

I recorded a video of the engine with the lpg system both on and off: https://streamable.com/y4h93b

Also, I would like to know how many engine mounts the engine has and where are they located, since I cannot find this information on the web

On 11/29/2024 at 9:20 PM, mattuz said:

I've been suggested to check the engine mounts.

I would like to know from your experience if that might be the problem.

I recorded a video of the engine with the lpg system both on and off: https://streamable.com/y4h93b

Also, I would like to know how many engine mounts the engine has and where are they located, since I cannot find this information on the web

Thats too much vibration for a petrol engine so yeah it would be wise to check the mounts. The one at top is right under coolant expension tank, visible on your video. There will be another one under the transmission, connecting it to the traverse(idk what its called in English). Its common for these two to go bad. And probably theres a third one on left hand side but those rarely go bad on many cars because of their position. Good idea to get them all checked and replaced if necessary. And don't cheap out on mounts since cheap ones will last less than a year. As aftermarket, Lemförder is the best, Corteco is really good too.

That level of idle vibration is normal for the 3 cylinder 1.0 engines.  You won't be balancing a coin on them even brand new.  

6 hours ago, TomsFocus said:

That level of idle vibration is normal for the 3 cylinder 1.0 engines.  You won't be balancing a coin on them even brand new.  

Really? That's terrible. I don't know how long factory fitted mounts would last under that stress.

13 minutes ago, therasko said:

Really? That's terrible. I don't know how long factory fitted mounts would last under that stress.

Yeah.  Replacing the top mount on this one may improve it slightly, but expectations definitely need to managed, its not a smooth engine at idle.

So, following up on this issue: a friend of mine recommended checking the transmission-side engine mount, and it turned out to be slightly cracked. Since it was inexpensive, I decided to replace it. Now, the noise is still present but much quieter, and the gear shifter feels much firmer—it used to be quite shaky before.

However, I’ve noticed something new: at idle, I can feel more engine vibrations in the cabin, especially through the steering wheel and pedals. Is this normal? I expected the new engine mount to reduce vibrations rather than transfer them more than the old, worn-out one. Maybe this is just my perception?

For reference, the replacement mount is a Meyle 714 130 0019 (the only compatible option I could find on Autodoc).

 

 

 

Hi , 

probably you don't even have the car anymore but I wanted to add for other people that might experience this same issue as it seems to be something very common on this models , the issue is that the engine shakes a little which is expected so only if your engine mount is worn off replacing it will help with the vibrations and the noise but the main issue of that noise is nothing but a pair of cables under the car which they shake and make that rattling noise I had the exact same noise and after replacing the engine mount the car shakes way less and tied up the cables and no noise at all now it's completely silent . 

1 minute ago, Chris67 said:

Hi , 

probably you don't even have the car anymore but I wanted to add for other people that might experience this same issue as it seems to be something very common on this models , the issue is that the engine shakes a little which is expected so only if your engine mount is worn off replacing it will help with the vibrations and the noise but the main issue of that noise is nothing but a pair of cables under the car which they shake and make that rattling noise I had the exact same noise and after replacing the engine mount the car shakes way less and tied up the cables and no noise at all now it's completely silent . 

I still got the car. I changed all the mounts and it reduced it a little, but it is still there. Which cables are you talking about?