Car noises

[Katya]

So, my car has been making this weird squealing sound when I start it up and drive. It makes the sound in neutral, reverse, and drive and the sound goes away after 3-4 minutes. I assume it has something to do with the car being cold and needing to warm up (it's only been making the sound this winter), but it occurs to me that I don't actually know what the problem is and if I need to get it checked out or fixed. Any advice?

[Gimgimno]

Probably a squeaky belt. If it squeaks mostly when you first start your car, I would guess it's your alternator belt.

[Katya]

I'm going to have to take my car in to the shop in a few weeks anyway to fix a door lock. Is this something I should have them look at? Would it be an easy fix?

[vorpal blade]

I think I would have them look at it. Belts can get worn and loose and it might be time to replace it. If it doesn't look obviously worn they may not be able to tell exactly if this is the problem unless you leave the car overnight to cool down. This sort of problem often occurs in the winter when it is harder to turn over the motor at first. Depending on your make and model of car it can be really easy or really hard to fix. Unfortunately it is often harder in newer cars with all the stuff crammed in tight spaces.

[Marduk]

Just a note to add if it IS a belt, which squealing almost always is, much much better fixed sooner rather than later.

With labor for most belts you are looking at less than $100 usually. If it breaks, all sorts of stuff can go bad, and you can be looking at 10 to 20 times that.

[Katya]

Just a note to add if it IS a belt, which squealing almost always is, much much better fixed sooner rather than later.

With labor for most belts you are looking at less than $100 usually. If it breaks, all sorts of stuff can go bad, and you can be looking at 10 to 20 times that.

OK. I'll get them to look at it when I get back to Maine.

[Craig Jessop]

Just a note to add if it IS a belt, which squealing almost always is, much much better fixed sooner rather than later.

With labor for most belts you are looking at less than $100 usually. If it breaks, all sorts of stuff can go bad, and you can be looking at 10 to 20 times that.

OK. I'll get them to look at it when I get back to Maine.

If you're going to be driving it cross country, you might want to get somebody to look at it NOW. It would be terrible if it broke fifteen miles outside Chestertonfieldville, Iowa, in the middle of the night.

[Katya]

Just a note to add if it IS a belt, which squealing almost always is, much much better fixed sooner rather than later.

With labor for most belts you are looking at less than $100 usually. If it breaks, all sorts of stuff can go bad, and you can be looking at 10 to 20 times that.

OK. I'll get them to look at it when I get back to Maine.

If you're going to be driving it cross country, you might want to get somebody to look at it NOW. It would be terrible if it broke fifteen miles outside Chestertonfieldville, Iowa, in the middle of the night.

Nah, I'm flying. Thanks for the thought, though. (I've had a breakdown in a snowstorm in the middle of Nebraska on a holiday weekend, and it's not an experience I'd care to repeat.)

[Katya]

rather than later.

With labor for most belts you are looking at less than $100 usually. If it breaks, all sorts of stuff can go bad, and you can be looking at 10 to 20 times that.

In the interest of learning more about cars, is there a reason that it would only be squealing when my car was cold or within the first few minutes of driving?

[Marduk]

Less interesting than you might think. Likely it is just that the belt is wearing thin, and the cold making the belt tighter makes the problem more pronounced.

[Katya]

Less interesting than you might think. Likely it is just that the belt is wearing thin, and the cold making the belt tighter makes the problem more pronounced.

That makes sense. (And it's not uninteresting, given how little I know about cars.)

[C is for]

Less interesting than you might think. Likely it is just that the belt is wearing thin, and the cold making the belt tighter makes the problem more pronounced.

That makes sense. (And it's not uninteresting, given how little I know about cars.)

Yeah, I totally feel like I learned something!

[Katya]

Went to the shop yesterday, got two belts replaced. (One of the downsides of driving clunkers in high school is that I'm used to cars making weird noises, so I don't pay attention to them when I should.)

Anyway, thanks for the advice, all!

[Katya]

So, what's to stop new belts from squeaking, if it's partly due to cold?

[vorpal blade]

I could be wrong about this. I know very little about cars. But I'll give it a try. The squealing noise comes from the belt slipping on a wheel like thing that should be turning. A worn belt will not have the same grip as a new belt, and it may be loose. In cold weather the wheel like thing will be harder to turn, offering more resistance to the efforts of the rubber belt to turn it. It will be harder to turn because the wheel like thing is probably connected to the motor, which is harder to turn over if it is cold. The oil is cold, the metal parts are not as expanded as they would be if the engine were hot. That sort of thing. You know it takes more cranking power of the starter to get the motor going when it is cold.

So, the new belt will have a better grip and not slip as much and not squeal as much. The problem is more severe when the resistance offered to the belt is greater, which is the case in cold weather.

That's my dumb answer. Hope it makes sense. Hope I'm right.

[Marduk]

That's pretty much accurate, Vorpal.

[Katya]

OK. It's still squealing a bit, most often when I accelerate, brake, or turn, but not continuously for 5 minutes like it was before. (One disadvantage of a short commute is that it never really gets warmed up enough for me to see if there's a big difference between how it behaves when it's cold or warm.)

Thanks, guys!

[The Detective]

OK. I'll get them to look at it when I get back to Maine.

If you're going to be driving it cross country, you might want to get somebody to look at it NOW. It would be terrible if it broke fifteen miles outside Chestertonfieldville, Iowa, in the middle of the night.

Nah, I'm flying. Thanks for the thought, though. (I've had a breakdown in a snowstorm in the middle of Nebraska on a holiday weekend, and it's not an experience I'd care to repeat.)

Whoa! If you flew, it's really a good thing you got them looked at before you left. It would've been doubly terrible if it had broken 35,000 feet above Chestertonfieldville--day OR night.