Screech when starting

[ern-diz]

Thanks for the replies.

Would the serpentine belt make a similar squeal sound as most belts do when they get old? The sound I'm hearing is not that higher pitch squeal you typically hear from a bad belt. It's much more of a crunching screech. Like I said, if you've ever not realized a car was running and turned the key, it sounds more like that. A crunchy screech, more than a higher pitch squeal.

If it is the belt, could it have gotten bad/dry just from the 8 yrs of exposure? I ask because the car only has 62k miles on it.

[WeeYari]

Originally Posted by ern-diz

If it is the belt, could it have gotten bad/dry just from the 8 yrs of exposure? I ask because the car only has 62k miles on it.

Yes. Like any rubber product, time does deteriorate them. It may also be just fine, but needs to have the tension adjusted, but I'm betting on age.

Type of sound aside, which can be subjective when it comes to describing it, the timing of the offending sound does indicate that the serpentine is the source.

[ern-diz]

Originally Posted by WeeYari

Yes. Like any rubber product, time does deteriorate them. It may also be just fine, but needs to have the tension adjusted, but I'm betting on age.

Type of sound aside, which can be subjective when it comes to describing it, the timing of the offending sound does indicate that the serpentine is the source.

Gotcha. Thanks again for the info.

Is it something you would trust a good local mechanic with looking at, or should I have Toyota take a look at it on my next service appt.?