Whine or Whistle When Accelerating (D-CVT)
Safe to keep driving. Fix it when convenient.
Affects model years: 2022-Present
Symptoms
- Whistle or whine that follows road speed, loudest from about 40 to 80 km/h
- Appears when you press the accelerator and fades when you lift off
- Easy to hear with the radio off, and easier with passengers in the car
- No shudder, no delayed engagement, no warning light
Cause
The D-CVT fitted from the November 2021 facelift uses a belt and pulley set, and the belt runs under load at a pitch the cabin hears as a whistle. Owners who took the car to a Perodua service centre were told it is the gearbox characteristic, and a technician demonstrated it on other D-CVT Myvis, including a 1.5. The pre-facelift four-speed automatic does not make the sound at all, which is why people who traded up notice it immediately.
Solution
Nothing needs replacing when the noise is the belt whine: it is how the gearbox sounds, and it does not get worse with mileage in the reports so far. Two things separate it from a fault. A failing alternator or belt idler will also whine with the car standing and the engine revved in neutral, because it is driven by the engine rather than by road speed. A CVT that is actually slipping comes with revs that climb without the car speeding up, shudder on pull-away, or a delayed engagement when you select drive.
basis not stated · as of Nov 1, 2026
Hearing a new noise from a new gearbox is unsettling, and the internet answer is usually “your CVT is dying”. On this car, the whistle on its own is the least alarming thing the gearbox does.
The tell is what comes with the noise. Whine alone, with clean engagement and no shudder, is the belt. Whine plus a shudder, a flare in revs or a delay going into drive is worth a proper look, and the shudder page on this site is the one to read next.
Nothing about this is a recall or a pending failure. It is a characteristic you either live with or sell the car over.
Verified against the Lowyat.NET “Myvi 2022” owner thread of August 2022, checked 2026-11-01.
Community notes
The same thread records a Perodua technician's explanation: the 1.0 turbo Ativa does not make the noise because its torque means the CVT does not work as hard, and a 1.5 Myvi D-CVT demonstrated the same whistle. Ask the service centre to compare your car with another D-CVT unit rather than booking a gearbox inspection.