Cold Weather Whistle

Interesting. I have a sound more like a high pitch whir, or low pitch whistle... also only when it's very cold out. Goes away once warmed up also. I'll check the speed, pretty darn sure it's pretty much the same.
If we match all, this might help; I don't have a sunroof.

Curious about this also. I've had this on our other GM vehicle as well. But not recently.

It actually almost sounds like RFI thru the speakers (except lower pitch, frequency), partly as I can't tell where the sound is coming from.

We had one on our 2017 Limited. Only in really cold weather. Pitch of the whine/whistle changed with acceleration and seemed to only occur at speeds under 45. Once the vehicle warmed, the sound was gone. Had it into the dealership but they couldn't hear it and didn't have any ideas. But it seems to have disappeared. Happened maybe the first two winters we owned it, but haven't heard it since.

Cant upload recording.... file too big. I recorded the noise this morning... may be hard to hear, but it is louder in real life than it sounds. 17 degrees outside this morning.

We were right at freezing this morning, warming up even more this week. Today; no noise.

I've tried adjusting the stereo and turning it off... thought it could be a noise canceling issue. That didn't help.
Tried different drive mode, AWD, 2WD, etc. No change. On the bright side, not a transmission issue.

I've never experienced something like this with all the different cars I've owned. Any other ideas out there? Do a lot of people experience this?

BobcatSwim said:

2020 Acadia SLT with Dual Sunroof. At cold temps, I hear a high pitch whistle at varying speeds. The colder it is, the lower speed the whistle occurs. Once the interior is warm, the whistle stops. At 25 degrees, the whistle sound happens around 32-33 mph. When I go faster or slower it stops. At different cold temps a different speed makes it whistle.
Any ideas??

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i have the 2017 gmc acadia, front wheel drive. Mine also makes this whistling sound at a certain point with the throttle and at around 30-35 mph. Goes away if you step on the accelerator more or if you back off. Mine started about 7 months ago. Warm or cold weather.

A friend drove back from Vancouver a few weeks ago. One of the first things he spoke about was the irritating whistle... Toyota Highlander

I know this post is a few months old, but I’m having the same issue. Try to all the things mentioned above. I have an Acadia limited SLT. To me, the noise seems to be coming from the rear… My battery also died recently, which could just be a coincidence. But my suspicion is the sound is coming from the amp. Which could also be putting extra strain on the battery.

Please let me know if anyone is able to successfully disconnect their amp and solve the problem.
i don’t know how to do it myself so it’s going to take a little you tubing first before I can get to it.

Amiesdestiny said:

I know this post is a few months old, but I’m having the same issue. Try to all the things mentioned above. I have an Acadia limited SLT. To me, the noise seems to be coming from the rear… My battery also died recently, which could just be a coincidence. But my suspicion is the sound is coming from the amp. Which could also be putting extra strain on the battery.

Please let me know if anyone is able to successfully disconnect their amp and solve the problem.
i don’t know how to do it myself so it’s going to take a little you tubing first before I can get to it.

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Maybe just remove the fuse for it? Mine still makes the sound. Odd....

Hi All, I have had the same issue with my 2021 GMC Acadia SLT since it rolled off the dealers lot. This noise only happens when its colder around 20F and below. I'm on three winters and its still around, any ideas? I went to the dealer a few times the results are below. The video attached has the noise you all might be talking about? its most noticeable15 seconds in.

1. The first dealer could not diagnose due to it not being cold enough and said AWD will make more noise when driving.
2. Second dealer replaced the Drive Shaft and noise went away for a week then came back.

Any advice would be great!

That is exactly what mine sounds like. Only happens when it's quite cold, only for the first mile maybe, difficult to trace down, then it's gone.
I'm not that concerned, but it'd be nice to get gone.

Hmm mm. .. . difficult to say, but does seem speed and not engine related.
Maybe stiff wheel bearing grease in the hubs?
Maybe the "shutters" tightly closed in front of the radiator and when some air flow through some part of it?

Is it louder if you open the two front windows a bit so as to hear if is more prominent outside the Acadia?


Beats me. .. . .

Exact same thing on my 2020 Acadia AT4. Only 25 degrees or colder. I know the dealer wont find anything.

I have this exact same problem with our 2020 Acadia SLT2. It only happens when it is pretty cold (which is all winter in Minnesota) and only up to 35 MPH. I had the car into the dealership last week to get the reverse camera recall taken care of. They had the car overnight, test drove it for a mile in the morning, and reported "no noise heard." But, when we picked the car up from the dealership, it howled like crazy leaving the dealership lot.

The dealership did report in our service records that this issue is know to be common in this generation of Acadia but no issue has been identified by GMC and at this time the sound is considered normal.

I have a hard time swallowing that one!! That sound is not normal, it is disturbing. GMC should be embarrassed??

58mark66 said:

...The dealership did report in our service records that this issue is know to be common in this generation of Acadia but no issue has been identified by GMC and at this time the sound is considered normal.

I have a hard time swallowing that one!! That sound is not normal, it is disturbing. GMC should be embarrassed??

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I don't see it quite as you... every vehicle has problems, some are almost impossible to predict (or even find if not happening full time). Not cold enough for it to happen today, will see if anyone can chase it down.

Grantv said:

I don't see it quite as you... every vehicle has problems, some are almost impossible to predict (or even find if not happening full time). Not cold enough for it to happen today, will see if anyone can chase it down.

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But you do understand... you don't call it "normal," you call it impossible to predict (also not entirely the case).

There's a reasonable probability that it's wind noise coming somewhere. And it's probably harmless. But I bought this car as a "drive til it's no longer financially responsible to keep" kind of car. So I feel obligated to chase this stuff down while warranty pays for it.

Agree, not normal for sure. I was referring to the GMC being embarrassed over this, nope. I also belong to another forum, wife's vehicle... it has its own issues.
I personally don't think it's wind, but possible I guess. I have no sunroof or roof racks, so no idea where wind noise could be generated.