Possibly buying a jimny tomorrow.

Hi guys,

Possibly buying a 2019 Jimny tomorrow depending on the verdict...
It's an auto. I took it for a test drive today and everything about it was excellent except theres a whine. I've attached a video link.
It whines under acceleration and also deceleration (although quieter). It's not too different in 4H but in 4L it whined really quite loud. Is this the norm for these cars? I live in the countryside in Iceland and am wanting to buy a smaller more economical 4x4 to reliably get me to and from work. The Jimny seems perfect. It's just this whine that's making me question this particular one. I tried a manual and there was also a whine, but a bit quieter.



 

All I could hear there was a fair bit of low frequency noise - but - one of the first things I noticed about my Jimny (I have a 2021, about six weeks or so now), is the audible transmission whine, coming from a GV, it is a little alarming, but I believe it is normal, and you could probably quiet it down some by adding sound absorbing material under the carper around the transmission, transfer case area.

How many miles has it done?
l've heard others mentioning the transmission whine although our 2020 manual doesn't do it.

The Jimny comes with a three year warranty, so if there's excessive transmission noise you can take it to a dealer for them to have a look at.

The transmission oil is normally replaced at the first service and you could check that this was done, if you can identify who did the service.

It’s done 57,000km so ~ 35,000 miles.

Is it normal for them to whine very loudly in 4L? I’ve owned 4x4’s before but nothing that has crawler gears so have no idea if that’s normal.

I’ve never owned a car this new so have never had the luxury of a warranty. If I purchased, took it there and they found an issue, it’d be a free fix right?

All Jimny are quite loud even the quiet ones like mine are loud enough for normal car drivers to comment on the noise. It's a function of them having the extra gear set of the transfer box and it being right next to the driver seat. Also as has been said they are cheap and lightweight so are not massively sound deadened from the factory.

l can tell you that my Land Rover Defender transfer box whines when in low ratio, particularly at speeds over 20mph.

l've not tested the Jimny but will drive at speed in low ratio and let you know, however ours has only done around 4,000 miles from new.

l bet that Jimny you are looking at has never had the transmission oil changed. lt's often forgotten in Defenders because transmission oil is rarely if ever changed on normal vehicles these days.

The gearbox oil change interval on my Ford van was 60,000 miles.