2003 fuel pump high pitch whistle/whine?

[JBond007]

Hi, I have had my car for 12 yrs now. Just about to turn 40k. I had the car in PA for the first 5 yrs of that and cold weather there. Randomly the high pitch or whistle comes when starting the car and comes from behind driver seat and seems like it happens when cold weather. Driving it under acceleration it quiets down a bit but still there. Thinking its the fuel pump since the correlation. After driving around for longer (fuel warms up?) it will totally go away. The car is only driven once a week for short distance to the store. Past 7 yrs have been here in FL. Same thing happens randomly and especially with this recent super cold we had. Noise is all gone with warmer temps. Bearings in the fuel pump perhaps? I have no codes except the random P0442 (only started about year ago on that) which I just delete. I hesitate to have it replaced because you have to go thru the interior - ugh. Any ideas on this mystery would be appreciated. Thank you.

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[bmac1060]

High pitch fuel pump whines are usually caused by a restriction in the system or air entering the pump.
Possibly caused by sludge in the fuel screen or filter that is thickening up in the cold.
Moving to FL was a good fix and hopefully that cold will not return here for another 40K.
However, changing the fuel filter may also be a good idea..

 

[JBond007]

High pitch fuel pump whines are usually caused by a restriction in the system or air entering the pump.
Possibly caused by sludge in the fuel screen or filter that is thickening up in the cold.
Moving to FL was a good fix and hopefully that cold will not return here for another 40K.
However, changing the fuel filter may also be a good idea..

I had the fuel filter changed 9,500 miles ago and have always used 92 octane. The "sludge" is confusing. I'm going to make a point of writing it down next time it happens and what the conditions are. Even when the whistle noise is happening the car has no hesitation with running and whomping on the pedal.

 

[biddle]

I have no codes except the random P0442 (only started about year ago on that) which I just delete.

On my evap leak, I used a smoke test to find the EVAP leak which ended up being the vapor canister. First rule out the purge valve and gas cap as the culprit.

 

[Redbird2003]

Hi, I have had my car for 12 yrs now. Just about to turn 40k. I had the car in PA for the first 5 yrs of that and cold weather there. Randomly the high pitch or whistle comes when starting the car and comes from behind driver seat and seems like it happens when cold weather. Driving it under acceleration it quiets down a bit but still there. Thinking its the fuel pump since the correlation. After driving around for longer (fuel warms up?) it will totally go away. The car is only driven once a week for short distance to the store. Past 7 yrs have been here in FL. Same thing happens randomly and especially with this recent super cold we had. Noise is all gone with warmer temps. Bearings in the fuel pump perhaps? I have no codes except the random P0442 (only started about year ago on that) which I just delete. I hesitate to have it replaced because you have to go thru the interior - ugh. Any ideas on this mystery would be appreciated. Thank you.

Hi, I have a 2003 with 7500 miles. I have only owned the car since last August. It gets driven in good weather, I live in Missouri. It is doing the exact same thing as you have talked about. I noticed late fall when it cooled off it would make this noise but would quit once the engine gets warmed up. I took it for a drive last week when the temps were in the 40's and it took maybe 15 minutes before it stopped. The fuel pump was replaced by the original owners when the car had 1900 miles, several years ago due to no fuel pressure according to the maintenance records. The car runs just fine and the noise stops. I'm debating if I should have it looked at or just drive it? Any advice would be appreciated.