A New Noise When Starting In The Morning?!

[Cyker]

Had a bit of a scare this morning; Fired up the ol' Yaris and rather than the soothing diesel clatter I was greeted with a loud screechy squeely noise. It reminded me of the sound an old pulley makes when a rope's being pulled on it

Did the traditional "Ignore it and hope it goes away" tactic, reversed off my slightly-inclined drive and went. Once I'd got round the 2nd corner out of my street it had pretty much gone.

When I got back, checked the oil levels; Seemed okay but I threw in 150ml just in case. I checked it just now (Left it for about 3 hours or so?) and I can still hear the squeeling, although it's nowhere as loud as it was in the morning.

Is this a sign the cam-chain needs changing or something?? :S

[alfiejts]

Sounds like its the alternator drive belt slipping slightly.

On a cold damp engine, if its a bit slack and the alternator load is high in the winter, it might slip on the pully to make that noise.

If it is, its nothing to do with the oil in the engine, as its on the outside!

[Raeman]

Agree with the alt belt theory. Mine did this last xmas, all i did was tighten the belt by moving the alternator upwards a bit. Been fine ever since.

I allways noticed mine did it worse when the air/con and blowers were on.

[Cyker]

It's weird as it's ONLY doing it when I start the car in the morning. Once I've reversed down and driven like, 10 metres, it fades away to nothing, and when starting the car afterwards the noise doesn't return.

How do I go about adjusting this belt thing?

I've also been sticking more oil in just in case, but I don't want to put in more than half a litre in total since putting in too much oil can be almost as bad as not having enough!!

[Raeman]

It's weird as it's ONLY doing it when I start the car in the morning. Once I've reversed down and driven like, 10 metres, it fades away to nothing, and when starting the car afterwards the noise doesn't return.

How do I go about adjusting this belt thing?

I've also been sticking more oil in just in case, but I don't want to put in more than half a litre in total since putting in too much oil can be almost as bad as not having enough!!

When the car is parked all night in this recent damp weather you will get moisture/damp on the alt belt & pulley. When you then start the car, if the belt is slightly loose it will squeel as it can't grip the pulley. Once it starts spinning and the engine gets hotter, the noise goes away. Well that's my theory!

Is your Yaris a 1.0, 1.3 or 1.5? On mine, the belt is on the left as you look into the engine bay from the front of the car. The alternator is on the top left as you look down, you will see it mounted and there's a nut you can loosen then you pull the alternator upwards to take up the slack in the belt. Don't tighten it mega tight, you want about 2cm travel approx in the middle of the belt, check it with your fingers and retighten the alternator mounting nut. Try it after that, it should be ok that's if it is the belt squeeling and not the engine.

You can check the condition of the belt aswell, if it's cracking or shiny it's best to get it replaced. I need to change mine now as it's on its way out.

Is the car using oil up or was it low before you topped it up? If it's camchain trouble you have, the engine would make a loud rattle not a squeel i would think.

[acetip]

It's weird as it's ONLY doing it when I start the car in the morning. Once I've reversed down and driven like, 10 metres, it fades away to nothing, and when starting the car afterwards the noise doesn't return.

How do I go about adjusting this belt thing?

I've also been sticking more oil in just in case, but I don't want to put in more than half a litre in total since putting in too much oil can be almost as bad as not having enough!!

its doing it when you first start in the morning cos of the the load on the generator putting back into the Battery what has been used to start a cold engine.as others have said the generator belt needs adjueting.if you dont know how to adjust the belt,get someone who does.a belt can be over tightend.

[Hartside]

Yes, be careful tightening the belt too much. If you overtighten the belt you will damage the bearing on the alternator, leading to an expensive alternator replacement. If you're not sure, get a garage to look at it for you. If it's just simple adjustment, it's a 10 minute job for them.

[Cyker]

Thanks guys! :D

It has stopped doing it now so I'm just going to leave it and see what happens.

If it does it again I'll see about the belt tension!

@Raeman: Mine's a 1.4L D4D, not a petrol one, but I'm sure the belt should be in a similar place...!

The car doesn't seem to be using much oil (When I topped it up, it was like, 1-2mm below the top 'dot' on the dipstick) but topping up the oil is like a reflex action whenever I have car trouble

[LannyBaby]

Ahh ha, Thankyou, this thread just answered my exact same quiery.

I bought a 1.3 SR a month ago & everything was great until.. every morning for the last 2 weeks, when starting up from cold, I hear the 'squealing' noise as you described above, by the time I get to the end of my road it has disapeared. its faint at the moment but was considering getting it to a garage very soon! Thanks to your info I shall now have a nosey myself, although I probably wont adjust it myself but it should put my mind at ease if it is the alt belt & not something more drastic. Thanks :)

[joylau0304]

Hi! I had the exact same problem too so I took it to the auto shop and they said it was my serpentine belt so they replaced it. It seemed fine when I got the car back that day - no sounds or anything. But, the next day, the screeching/squealing noise was back and is now worse than before. Instead of just being noisy when I first start up the car, it squeals now when I accelerate and make turns, even after the car has had a chance to warm up in addition to when I first start up the car. Any idea what I should do or what might be the problem?

[Raistlin]

This is the time when I can tell you to belt up or was it tighten up your belt, I know it was one of those.... :)

[T-Spirit06]

Im glad im not the only one whos got this!

[Raistlin]

I had an annoying whining noise each morning so I stopped giving her a lift to work

[Madasafish]

Hi! I had the exact same problem too so I took it to the auto shop and they said it was my serpentine belt so they replaced it. It seemed fine when I got the car back that day - no sounds or anything. But, the next day, the screeching/squealing noise was back and is now worse than before. Instead of just being noisy when I first start up the car, it squeals now when I accelerate and make turns, even after the car has had a chance to warm up in addition to when I first start up the car. Any idea what I should do or what might be the problem?

A new belt stretches when used. Tighten it.

[pichonman]

My serpentine belt was getting old and cracked (116000 miles) so I decided to replace it. I read some forums and watched some videos which instructed to loosen the alternator, mark the position it was at on the alternator and bracket with a marker, and push it back towards the engine and I did so. After I replaced the belt I pulled the alternator back to the position it was at and tightened. The very next day on start-up it began to squeal, not just in the morning but every time I started the car. I couldn't do anything during the week because I work so I just read this forum and found similar issues to mine. I went outside, loosened the alternator and pulled it a slight bit more forward (away from the engine) and tightened. Started the car and no squeal. It makes a large difference the slight bit of tension that may or may not be there, mine was just a millimeter away from its original position prior to replacing the belt. If you are facing similar issues definitely check to make sure the alternator is back in the original position. It may have made a slight bit of impact as well that I am in Denver, CO and it just began getting cold.