I have a new 04 Civic LX Automatic. It's got about 600 miles on it. From almost the moment I got it it makes a slight whining noise when accelerating from a stop or from very low speeds. It may happen at higher speeds but I wouldn't be able to hear it. It doesn't always happen but it seems to the majority of the time. If I put it in neutral and try it there is no whine noise.

Is this normal? What is the likely cause? I ask because in my experience with my past two cars (88 Cavalier and 99 Altima) whining noises always led to (expensive) replacements