I just bought a new Diawa coastal (baitcasting) reel. I took it out of the box and put it on a rod to see how it feels. I looked her over closely and djusted the magnets, tied on a hookless 1/4 trap and took a few casts only to hear the most horrific sound I’ve ever heard. A high pitched scream that startled me and I immediately thumbed the spool to stop the cast. I checked everything possible and looked it over and over. Double checked everything to make sure it was tight and took another cast. Again the same high pitched scream. I played with it for a while and was able to make a few lite casts with it turned on its side without the scream but A cast with any sort velocity produced the scream.

Anybody ever experienced this? Any advice? Brand new high end reel right out of the box should not do this.

where did you buy it?

Tackle Direct and get this....

I made a very big order. It has been 2 weeks and less then half the stuff has come which includes this reel making the god awful noise and a Loomis broken into 3 pieces. Because of the high demand for online orders TD is not taking phone calls or returning emails.

My brothers and I are taking our sons to the coast for a week of fishing and this order was specifically for the trip. Needless to say I’m not too pleased with Tackle Direct.

dang man, i was gonna say try to return it but... maybe Daiwa can make it right. good luck.

Try turning spool tension down. If very loose reels will sometimes scream.

thats freaking rough

I could see not taking phone orders but to not take phone calls at all is not right. Being a business owner you still have to communicate with your customers especially in situations like yours.

My Diawas are very smooth and make very little noise at all...your reel certainly has something off. One thing I'd check is the spool, make sure it's straight and not nicked either.

I think I heard that same type of sound when my thumb button was not completely engaged and I cast out my lure. Have you tried again, making sure that you spool is free spinning after you depress your thumb button? Otherwise, I suspect it is something in your gear alignment or your reel clutch.

Or, I don't have a clue but hope this helps.

Sound like a bearing that doesn’t have any oil

but its a brand new reel... normally a new reel should be good for one year before a cleaning and relube is needed.

I have 3 coastals and they perform exceptional. Sounds like thumb bar is not disengaging fully. Hope you figure it out.

btw for some, it's Daiwa. diawa means something non fishing related.

Not true, lots of reels come directly from overseas without lube because they were missed, and some manufacturers make it a point not to put lube on reels when sending mass quantities of reels to retailers overseas.
Although it still sounds like you thumbbar is not engaging properly.

I'd take it apart and look at its guts. Get out the schematic and go to work. I've fixed a couple reels with similar issues. Could just be a screw loose or something else simple like that.