Q: Seems like a belt squeal upon cold start and gets louder with acceleration. Stops after the car is warmed.

asked by on November 04, 2016

How can I diagnose the issue and what steps do I take to resolve it?

My car has 239000 miles.
My car has a manual transmission.

This may be related to a squeaky belt. In cold weather these belts will make this kind of squeal when the rubber belt material is cold. The cold weather causes rubber to be less pliable and a bit brittle. As the engine pulleys turn the rubber belt at a very rapid pace, this will cause them to squeak a bit until the rubber material warms up and becomes more pliable. This may also happen when the belt needs to be tightened up. If you are not comfortable diagnosing and repairing this yourself, I would recommend having a professional from YourMechanic come to your location to inspect the squealing noise in person and replace the belt if needed.

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