Yes, it makes a lot of "mechanical" noise when the tape is running in your car, but all of these do.  I've had 4 of them and all of them make the same mechanical noise.  You can only hear it when the music is off, so why is that such a big deal?  I am starting to think that some people just loving having something to complain about.  The only reason I rated it 4 stars is because there is a version for a just a couple of dollars more that includes a microphone in line with the cord, so that you don't have to disconnect your phone when a call comes through.  I think that might be good for people that want to take quick calls (where your talk quality isn't super important but you get the message across without having to disconnect anything).  The ones with the mic are good for a "Hey I forgot to tell you to pick up cheese at the supermarket" but aren't quality enough for you to want to use them for more than that.