2009 Venza Cabin Air Pressure

[venzaowner]

To All Venza Drivers,

I have recently purchased a 2009 Toyota Venza and am looking to the community for some advice and feedback. After a few minutes of being inside the car (idling/driving) I start feeling a pressure on my ear drums, after 10 minutes it result in a headache. There is an inherent cabin pressure that exists inside the car. The best way to describe it is something similar to what you experience during an airplane taking off. Opening the window / sunroof does nothing. I stress that this is not a noise or a sound, it’s not detectable to the human ear but you definitely feel it. I want to find out if any of you have had the same experience. If you could share, that would greatly help my case.

I have raised the issue to Toyota Canada and was promptly told to basically go away. They can’t hear the issue (or don’t want to), therefore there is no issue. As I have an engineering background I am assuming that what is happening is called “Infrasound”. The basic premise is that the sound inside the car is below that of human hearing, however long term exposure has some VERY serious health impacts. Similar health risks can be attributed to people living next to wind turbines. There are cases of people living next to wind turbines who experience health issues. This is exactly why they don’t put wind farms close to residential areas.

To be quite honest, I am concerned for my safety and that of other drivers. To see that Toyota Canada does not particularly care about the safety of their loyal customers is disheartening. I guess they are looking for another PR disaster.

Sincerely,

Anatoli – A not so proud owner of a Rav4, Yaris, and Venza.

[KPARRIS-JONES]

I have never personally heard of anyone experiencing such an issue in the car.

My first thought it to check for any strong smells, it is known to happen in Fords where engine bay fragrances get sent through to the cabin via poorly sealed A/C systems and this can cause a driver to be nauseated.

You have to ask what it could be about a car that would make such a sound. If it's "below" human hearing rather than "above" then it will have to be a rather sizeable piece of the vehicle such as a CV joint or the gearbox making a low enough tone.

But as I have said, I have never heard of this happening to anyone with regards to a specific car so my next thought is for you to have your health checked. It could be you and not necessarily the car.

KP

[jnp]

We have a 2010 Venza with 18000 miles and for the past 6 months have been suffering with the same ear Pressure experience. I too believe it may be a sub acoustic noise from the vehicle. At first we thought it was excessive air pressure within the cabin. Toyota suggested we "crack" a window. Closing the doors rapidly while inside the car doesn't seem to cause any excess pressure. We have driven with the windows partially down, with the air conditioning off, with recirculate on and off, with the stereo off and with the sun roof partially open. Only when the sunroof is partially open do we get any relief but not totally( perhaps the wind noise close to our ears alters the symptoms).

We have also had the interior cleaned as well as the engine compartment in case it was an odor causing a reaction. I believe the symptoms come and go to quickly when we are in and out of the car for it to be medically related.

We do not hear any unusual road noise or feel any vibrations.

I have had the tires rotated and re balanced but no change. I have discussed the situation with several tire specialist's and nobody feels the tires (Michelin Latitude) would cause a noise in the sub frequency ranges.

Your post is the first one we have found with a similar(same) problem.

As for it being "us", my wife and I both noticed it separately and only divulged to each other on a very long trip when we both couldn't stand the symptoms any longer. I haven't subjected friends or neighbors to the pain yet but am ready to try.

Please let us know if you have found any solution. OTHERS: please post if you have similar experiences.

We are from Kentucky USA but registered here so we could respond - The forum will not allow searches or responses across continents.

We are loyal Toyota owners but ready to dump this lemon. The dealers have been less than helpful.