Hey Everybody!

I own a '02 S60 AWD with 110k Km. I'm starting to get this low buzz in thepassenger cabin(I think) when I accelerate slowly. It seems to correspond with a certain resonance coming from the engine. What I mean is when the engine reaches a certain vibration level during slow acceleration, it triggers a corresponding buzz somewhere in the cabin. The buzzing then goes away when the engine passes that level of vibration (resonance or whatever you might call it). I hope I'm making sense.

I tried removing everything in the glove compartment, center console, cup holder, or anything else that might be loose and causing the buzzing, but it's still there. I also accounted for the clip on the driver's side A pillar.

I tried searching the forums, and found limited info.

Any help/insight would be totally appreciated.

 

Not sure if this will help (probably not!), but I've noticed the passenger side front seat belt will vibrate against the door pillar if not stowed fully - usually after I've had a passenger it gets skewed and makes contact. I'll notice it buzzing and straighten it to resolve the issue.

 

Thanks momS60,

I failed to mention that I accounted for the seat belt too.

I had two friends sit in the car with me (one in the front passenger and one in the back). Both of them seem to think it's coming from center of the car (maybe under the center console).

Could it be the transmission?

 

I would say it would be either something with the drive shaft or one of the rubber exhaust hangers that go to the crossmember under the car at the back of the subframe.

 

Thanks for your feedback Tech!

I guess I'll just have to bring it in to the shop. Are the things you mentioned fairly common?

Come to think of it, we did have a big snow about a month ago, and snow was pretty high and did constantly hit the bottom of the car in the back alley of our house. I wonder if that loosened things up?

Snow removal in Vancouver wasn't great as we rarely ever get snow like we did in late December and early January. We haven't gotten that much snow in decades.

 

Have you checked the map lights (located near the rear view mirror)? My S-60 has a vibration coming from this location. It took a while to find it. However, when I hear the vibration, I can make it stop by placing my hand on the map light "console".

Unless you are certain it is coming from the lower area of the cabin. I would test the map light console by placing your hand against it when you hear the vibration.

I have not yet found a way to eliminate my vibration.

Also, when I first purchased the car I had a vibration from the lower part of the cabin. I found that the panel that connects to the center console (between the front seats) has a single "lock screw" which holds the panel to the console. You can see the "lock screw" by looking between the seat and the console with a flash light.

The panel is firmly attached when the "screw"is rotated 90 degrees. If the screw has rotated 90 degrees counter clockwise, the panel will be loose and will vibrate. Because the panel sits very close to the front seat, it is difficult to tell that the panel is not firmly mounted with out close inspection. My driver's side panel was loose. I fixed by holding the panel in place and rotating the screw 90 degrees.

rlanier

 

Thanks for the reply rlanier!

I will take a look at that tonight. I'll keep my fingers crossed.

 

I finally got it to the shop to figure out what was going on with the buzzing sound...

It turns out that it was caused by the heatshield that I believe is between the exhaust and the rear drive shaft (I found out this is only in AWD models). It was a little loose and had debris and small rocks in it. The shop took the heatshield out, cleaned and resecured it and that seems to have solved the problem.

I thought I would do an update just in case somebody else had this problem.

 

how much did this whole process cost?

 

Tough to remember now.

They did a test drive to try to isolate the issue, then unscrewed the heat shield, got rid of the rocks, and reattached the heat shield. I'm thinking not more than a half hour labour.