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Loud exhaust drone at 2100-2200 RPMs

23K views 41 replies 23 participants last post by  dhebuadze 
#1 ·
Got a new 2018 LT3 and so far loving it with one exception, a really loud and obnoxious exhaust drone when the RPMs hit about 2100-2200. We've only got about 1400 miles on the vehicle, but this weekend was our first true road trip. Has anyone ever heard of this before and if so, what might cause it and is there a possible fix? It's definitely not the tires because I had it happen a couple of times even at much lower speeds and the common denominator was always the RPMs.



I also haven't asked the dealership yet because I haven't had a chance.
 
#2 ·
Yes I've heard it Like a resonance the exhaust hits for a short time. Others have mentioned it, I believe its same noise just different descriptions of it.
Doesn't happen all the time for me, maybe hear it 2-3 times a week while accelerating at low speed and engine under load.
 
#3 ·
Same with me, not sure if it's the exhaust though, think it's the engine and everything just coming into a sort of harmonic resonance at the RPM hit, because it's more from the firewall than from behind me. Mine is the same at about 2100 RPM, but it's more of a growl over a drone at times.

I had the same with my previous vehicle but it was at 1200 RPM it would occur at and it was from the engine when it just hit that band, not the exhaust. Some tried swapping out the dampener but seemed the same with the previous vehicle with them.
 
#4 ·
Thanks. Sounds like it's not an uncommon issue. The first couple of times it happened I thought a motorcycle was in my blindspot. I thought it might also be an issue with active noise cancellation, but then I finally got it to repeat consistently. Now, I'm not going to say I was necessarily going a legal speed when I was able to trigger it to happen but maybe I could shift down to 6th or 7th gear at lower speeds and test it out as well.


I'm not sure there's much that can be done about it, but any ideas?
 
#5 ·
Exhaust drone. Nothing unusual, a restrictive exhaust system with a butterfly damper, two engine pipes with two cat converters feeding to one muffler/resonator and then to two tailpipes will resonate at some point. Actually quieter than most.
 
#6 ·
Sound might originate in engine but mine is definitely more noticeable to people sitting in back seat(3rd Row).
If someone in back seat hasn't heard it before, they'll ask "what is that, is that normal"?
And I'll say heck ya, haven't you ever ridden in a high performance sport utility before. They smile, nod and laugh(as no one wants to admit they haven't) and we move on in life.
 
#7 ·
Maybe I don't really notice it because the third row stays folded. Advantage of the 3 row Traverse is the longer wheelbase so the comfortable second row seating for favored passengers is between the axles instead of over the axle like in shorter vehicles where riders get "humped" by the rear axle motion.


Third row "monkey seats" in the outback are reserved for annoying children and Moe, Larry and Curly relatives whom I could care less if they are uncomfortable in their free ride. They won't hear the exhaust drone and I won't hear their complaints because I always blast digital albums on the Bose loud enough to drown them out......and thanks to the electronic rear view mirror I don't have to look at their faces either! Any complaints???.....It's my way or the highway. Hummmmmmmmmmmm.
 
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#8 ·
99% of the time I don't really hear it at all and to be honest, as someone else said it's quieter than most. It was just on the road trip itself and possibly because it's right at that speed that I like to drive at is why it became so noticeable, but my daily commute is one to where I almost never hear it. And if I'm in the car by myself, I have the music up loud enough to drown out just about everything.
 
#10 ·
Had that problem in my '15 where the frame portion of the hitch was really close to the dual side muffler locations. Gen 2s have a single muffler with 2 pipes in and 2 pipes out, running up the middle not located anywhere near the hitch or frame mounts.
 
#15 ·
Eighth and ninth are both overdrive gears. Doing 2200 rpm in 9th is over 80 mph, hardly cruising speed. Exhaust resonance affects every engine, especially when under load, and especially the newer emissions requirements putting dampers in the exhaust system. My V8 does it also at a higher rpm, better the V6 the harmonic kicking in around 2000 than with a 4 banger which kicks in at an even lower rpm.


Noise sounding a bit like a growl should only be a momentary hardly noticeable noise passing through this point.....more noticeable during rapid acceleration before upshift or going uphill or under load while dead footing the accelerator. These high efficiency trannys (locking one way clutch and brake assist dropping a gear on accelerastor release) have very little torque convertor slippage and behave more like manual transmission with a locked clutch, and are not as forgiving to poor driving habits. And just like a manual, jerk the accelerator and she'll buck (shudder) ; deadfoot it and it will lug the engine and it will growl. Don't like the noise kick the accelerator to downshift to a lower gear to reduce the load and increase rpm and no more growl, or for sustained driving at that speed, shift to "L" and hit the (-) to to the next lower overdrive gear.
 
#16 ·
Went back to the dealer today after they claimed they couldn't find it and the loaner had exact dame issue. Drove with Service Manager in Car until he could hear it. He seems to feel that it is an exhaust issue and opened a technical support ticket with GM.

This is not a nitpicky noise we are having. This feels like somebody in a hoopty is riding along side you with the bass cranking. Unfortunately the iPhone doesn't seem to pick the frequency up so it is hard to capture.

Other than this we love the Traverse.

Here is what I have found.
1) Happens at 2100 rpms +-100. Quits when gear changes.
2) Seems to happen mostly in 4th-7th gear
3) Happens with 850lbs of passengers in it +-100lbs
4) Car seems to need to be warmed up for it to happen. Can't recreate until you've driven 5-10 minutes.
 
#17 ·
EGR system directs exhaust into the intake for fast engine warmup and emissions which can change the whole exhaust harmonic explaining 4).


Just a thought.....were both noisy vehicles Premiers? If not:


So why is it that some complain of a loud noise while others and myself barely hear it? Same chassis, same engine, same cats, same pipes, same damper, same muffler, same resonators.....BUT could it be the different shaped finishers spot welded on the end of the resonators????



May well be that the degree of noise heard has something to do with the resonators/finishers combinations on the different models. The Premiers use dual resonators with flat rectangular finishers which direct the flow straight out the back of the vehicle away from the ground and rear hatch..and protruding 2 inches past the end of the rear bumper. Other lines use conical finishers inside the bumper which act like a bell directing exhaust out the back in a circular arc toward the ground, rear bumper and rear hatch.....same finishers used on my Camaro which is designed to make plenty of noise.
 
#18 ·
I have a 2018 High Country Traverse that has the exact same issue Brian Narkinsky has. It doesn't have to be at high speeds, just at 2000 rpm. I have roughly 9k miles on it and last weekend was the first we heard it, had all 5 family members in the car going to and from the pumpkin patch. I agree this is not a nitpicky noise...I was so embarrassed each time the noise came, because the engine literally roared so loud it! I did think at first a motor cycle had passed me but then it kept happening...always at 2000 rpm.

Brian, I am taking my Traverse to the dealer on Friday, Nov 2. If you know of any fixes from when you posted last and could help me from making multiple trips I would appreciate it! I didn't know if they had success through the GM network or not. I'm nervious I won't be able to have the noise recreated as it has been driving fine this week for me(without the entire family aboard). I don't know if they are going to take the time to drive it for 20 min, with multiple passengers, then get it to 2000 rpm and hope they hear it.
 
#20 · (Edited)
So hear is the weird thing......this past weekend we got a pop up message on the console something like “caution steering assist is reduced drive with caution” And the AC quit working. Car drove fine except for the messagand no AC. Drove around Sunday with intention of taking car back into dealer Monday morning. We then realized the annoying Drone was gone!!!!!! Great except for no Ac and weird message...


Well...... Monday morning and message was gone and AC was working again and still no drone!!!!! So far...

Beginning to believe that this might be computer related. There was something about the Buick enclaves that had a cable that leaked signals across the wires and caused all sorts of weirdness. Maybe a loose connection or something.

Please let me know if you find anything as this is too weird.
 
#21 ·
Weird to us, maybe not to the programming in the ECU.



Drone sounds like it is engine exhaust noise when it is placed under heavy load......the noise is normal, although maybe not when at such a high level. "Load" is not only the weight of passenger load but the parasitic load of accessories on the engine itself, i.e. load of the high amperage alternator output when feeding the huge AGM battery, the electric motor on the steering rack (no power steering pump) and HVAC motors; and the A/C compressor.


Just a guess
That weird message related to reduced steering and inoperative A/C might be the ECU's effort to reduce mechanical loading on the engine itself which will indirectly affect engine noise at the resonance point.......sort of like the message: "battery low, start engine" you sometimes get when playing the radio with the engine off, even though there is still plenty of reserve in the battery. The caution regarding steering assist loss may be the ECU's effort to cut power to the steering motor and A/C clutch and HVAC motors to reduce engine loading. Might want to check the tightness of the connections on the battery and the crap load of fusible links coming off the battery. A loose connection could be placing an abnormally heavy draw on the alternator.
 
#22 ·
I’ve got this issue in my new 2018 traverse high country. About 6500 miles. Exactly the same perameters as you’ve discussed and I was able to record it with iPhone. Have an appointment this Thursday to see what they will do... this is very load obnoxious sound.. I’d love to know what you all have found with your dealers?!
 
#23 ·
Well after the day of no ac and weird messages the drone is back louder than ever. It also seems to be happening more often and at lower weights now.

Again this isn’t the sound of a motor working hard than normal. This is a rattle the family jewels kind of noise.

Headed back to dealership this morning and they can keep this thing until they fix it or give me a new one.
 
#24 ·
There is a normal resonance noise at that rpm, but it should be nowhere near the level of a jewel shaker. Somewhere, something is amplifying the noise to an abnormal level.



Certainly sounds like it is engine related and nopise ios being transferred most likely through the exhaust system....a noise that you can feel on the floorboard, way in excess of normal resonance noise, sounds more like an exhaust leak in the flexible coupling to the engine pipe vibrating off the chassis, or the cat converter heat shielding or a loose hangar or one of the pipes/ muffler touching the body amplifying the normal exhaust noise.



Effect of weight could have something to do with lowering a chassis component closer to or touching a part of the exhaust system transferring sound. If so it will be difficult to locate without first weighing down the chassis or flexing the exhaust system when looking for interference.
 
#25 ·
My dealer couldn't replicate my noise and said to come back when it's occuring more often so that they can hear it in order to help fix it.

It's happened once since then, and it was in wet/damp weather...I wonder if weather impacts it as well...I have not yet taken it back again but will if it's something I can easily replicate for them.

No A/C issues yet here...
 
#28 ·
Contacting Chevrolet

We just purchased a 2018 Traverse High Country with 10k miles on it this month. My wife just experienced this issue while the vehicle was fully loaded. She said it was so load it hurt their ears. I contacted the Chevy dealer and they had no clue.

I plan on reaching out to Chevrolet corporate to raise the issue. I would suggest everyone here do the same thing. Once I have contact info I will post an update back to this site.
 
#29 ·
High Country Traverse Noise -> Contact Chevy (not dealer)

We just purchased a 2018 Traverse High Country with 10k miles on it this month. My wife just experienced this issue while the vehicle was fully loaded. She said it was so load it hurt their ears. I contacted the Chevy dealer and they had no clue.

I plan on reaching out to Chevrolet corporate to raise the issue. I would suggest everyone here do the same thing. Once I have contact info I will post an update back to this site.
 
#31 ·
High Country Traverse Noise -> Contact Chevy (not dealer)

We just purchased a 2018 Traverse High Country with 10k miles on it this month. My wife just experienced this issue while the vehicle was fully loaded. She said it was so load it hurt their ears. I contacted the Chevy dealer and they had no clue.

I plan on reaching out to Chevrolet corporate to raise the issue. I would suggest everyone here do the same thing. Once I have contact info I will post an update back to this site.
 
#30 ·
Has anyone changed out the Purge valve on a 2018 traverse, getting a code PO442 small Vac leak, having trouble finding the location of it and nobody has posted anything on the internet about it so I joined this site for some help
everything online is 2015 or older and on those its right on top of the engine.


thanks
 
#36 ·
Had the same issue with my 2018 3LT and never found a solution after taking it to the dealership on three different occasions and even recorded the sound from inside my car to play back for them. I traded into a 2021 RS back in April and have not had that problem with this one thankfully.
 
#37 ·
Same issue here, 2018 Redline edition. Skip to the last paragraph for the short n' sweet summary, read on for some simplified techie background on this issue...

It's definitely an internal exhaust resonance, not a vibration noise between exhaust and anything else. Every engine (actually everything) has resonance points, called nodes. For clarification, the full term we're experiencing is called resonant frequency, and it is a natural frequency of vibration determined by the physical parameters of the vibrating object. These resonant frequencies occur all over the vehicle, hence all the dampening materials installed everywhere to isolate and change the resonant frequency points (nodes) to values outside of the normal operating environment, or to values that would provide a benefit (anyone remember "tuned port" fuel injection marketing?).

This loud droning noise that we hear is due to a resonant node of a baffle inside the exhaust (likely the muffler), and it occurs at a particular exhaust pulse wavelength which "vibrates" the baffle at it's natural frequency, which amplifies the normal exhaust sound exponentially to a point that we clearly notice a distinct change in volume/tone.

All that technical BS aside, for our vehicles the conditions under which this droning noise occurs tend to be around 2,000 rpm and with added weight to the vehicle. Gearing doesn't matter, I could reproduce this in low gears as well but generally the auto trans will shift into a higher gear so to reproduce you'd need to go into manual mode...I first noticed it when we took a family vacation trip, so 4 people, all our luggage & foodstuffs, plus a roof rack cargo container full of stuff. On the highway, with a slight incline grade, at about 65-70mph it would hit this point and drone on until I made a throttle adjustment. With the added weight and the slight road incline, the throttle position was such that the ECM/TCM (engine & trans computers) wouldn't call for an upshift into OD or a downshift for more torque. Under everyday driving conditions, i.e. not loaded down with extra cargo weight, I might hear it once in a blue moon.

Bottom line, there is nothing mechanically wrong, this noise is not a precursor to an impending breakdown. It is however a nuisance, especially on a long highway road trip with a weighted down vehicle and relatively flat road conditions... Solutions? A few come to mind, although some are just not reasonable...
  • As mentioned by @Thomcat, use the manual shift mode to change into a lower or higher gear.
  • Reduce the amount of weight in the vehicle (not always possible/reasonable).
  • Change exhaust components with aftermarket parts. This would be a needle in a haystack thing unless an aftermarket manufacturer were to confirm their components have different resonant frequency nodes.
  • Make sure your vehicle has the latest ECM/TCM firmware installed. Dealerships will do this free if vehicle is still under warranty. GM could easily fix this issue with firmware changes to shift points based on engine load (throttle position) to keep the engine/drivetrain out of this resonant frequency node. If they ever do fix this nuisance issue it will be via an ECM/TCM firmware update, so make sure you have the latest updates.

- I almost forgot this last solution, as mentioned by @No2rdame, turn the music up really loud to drown out the drone!
 
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