amokscience

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

civicburner

I have a 96 civic and it makes a whining noise when I accelerate. Maybe whining is a bit too strong of a word. It's like whistling sound. It's from the air intake I'm sure-think it's natural

A_PHOBIA

i doubt its from the intake.my tranny is going out"b16a 5spd" and it just started making a little whinning noise like a little baby supercharger.i think its bad bearings.if its brand spanking new take it to the dealership and have them check it out.

amokscience

Right, it's definitely going back to get checked, I just like to have a general idea ahead of time. Thanks for the replies.

Jafro

Word of warning. Your car won't do this anymore, for any of the mechanics or even you once you take it to the dealer. Make sure you know exactly what conditions it does it under and when before you take it to them. Engine warm, engine cold, after driving for X amount of time, if you're turning, if you're not, etc....

It's just Murphey's law.

pomansouth

if it is brand new then they may just need to adjust the timing belt or tell you that it is normal because the timing belt has not stretched out yet. If you think it is the tranny then you need to get it checked.

amokscience

I just noticed a low 'growl' that seems to happen for a few seconds on occasion as well.

jweltch

My 95 EX has a high pitched squeal at all RPMs that goes away only after I turn on the headlights(yeah, weird, I know). It took me about a week to figure out what it was. The alternator bearings are going south.

I may take the time to replace the bearings soon. I don't want to ahve to pay for a complete alternator that works just fine but is just noisy. Anyone ever done this? I'd like to know the bearings before I tear it apart and I need to size/number of them.

Jafro

Alternator repairs are one of those things that I take to a rebuild shop for. You can usually find them in the automotive section of your phone book. I usually look for alternator, generator and starter rebuilding shops. Many electric motor repair shops can also do it. There's a lot that can be done wrong if you haven't been trained to work on modern alternators. If you go to a shop and pay them like $80 (sometimes less), they'll rebuild it for you and they'll stand behind their work. They have a lot more experience than I do when it comes to this, and it keeps me from having to buy any tools. I can't get the parts for it for 1/2 the cost they can, anyway. But Honda alternators might be a lot simpler than my Mitsubishi's alternator is... even though a Honda's alternator in most cases is made by Mitsubishi.

My Honda's alternator has been doing the same thing since I installed a stereo. Mine doesn't make noise when everything electrical is off, it does when I turn all that stuff on, and when the bass hits, my idle speed even drops. I don't think there's anything really wrong with it, mine's just 13 years old.