252,000 Miles on Yaris - wierd noise

[Rutherford]

My 08 with automatic trans. is beginning to make a whining noise only during acceleration. Started about 2 months ago and it is getting a bit louder but still not real bad. The car only has 252,000 miles on it so I can’t image anything being wrong. Don’t know if the noise is trannie related but after doing some pretty healthy research on transmission fluid changes for these cars (dealer lifetime stuff)a few years back I opted to leave the original fluid in. I know this statement could probably start a healthy thread on its own but maybe we should consider my Yaris a test subject. I live in western North Carolina in the mountains and commute 180 miles a day to work, most of it highway except for 8 miles of the 180. These 8 miles are hard core steep gravel road not fit for most regular 2 wheel drive vehicles. The road gains about 1500 feet in elevation most of it in the first 1.5 miles. When going down this road I gear the car down to help the brakes. So with all that said the ole Yar has done very good. The fluid is still red but not as bright as new getting some light brown to it. It does not have a burnt smell to it but it also does not have the good ole “fresh” smell either. The Yar fits my needs well so I would like to keep her for another 250,000 miles, engine still purrs and she has enough war wounds to scare the Camry’s out of my way. Anyway I kept the radio off yesterday to follow the noise. It seems to not make any noise up until I get to 40mph then it is the loudest from there to 45mph. After that it quiets down and although still there is barely noticeable. I thought about tire or alternator noise but it definitely only does it during acceleration. Probably not much I can do now if it is trannie related. Thoughts?