01 Honda CR-V Wher/hum noise when driving

I gave my dad a ride today in my CR-V it’s done it for some time i assumed was just fine as was just something that slowly developed. I was going down the road and it was making like a where/spinning type sound sort of like you may get from a running electric motor with nothing on it. He was like that doesn’t sound good fans, radio, etc were all off. All i heard was this motor type sound from the engine so i assume that’s what he meant. He said in a few weeks we should take it to the shop see if they see anything wrong. It isn’t overheating, oil changes about every 3000-4000 mi, timing belt changed around 100K miles, It’s got about 125K miles on it.

I’m just trying to get an idea if this could be something major and i should start looking at replacing the car, or have an idea if this is even a big deal. I kind of think it’s engine related, but sometimes after a long drive it smells hot, but temp shows fine and coolant is fine. Usally i can notice smell when it’s raining or really humid out it may be just water, residue under the hood boiling off. The AC don’t work so maybe the compressors burning up. I don’t notice anything that would indicate alternator, etc being an issue.

Does the whirring noise change with engine speed or with vehicle speed? The smell, is it acrid or sweet? Are all the covers under the engine or are they missing?

The noise is pretty much always seems to always be there. It seems to get slightly louder with speed, the tone, etc don’t really change. It does sound faster though with speed. Like maybe a multi speed electric motor would. You could probably tell it’s going faster listening to, but still sounds normal.

The heat smell isn’t sweet it’s not all that acrid either. Closest thing i can think of is hot metal like if you were using a grinder, or using a torch.

To my knowledge all the underneath covers are there. Some spots you can see down to ground though them. It don’t appear as though anything is missing, or broken. I saw small amount of water on front and top of engine. Maybe came though rad, around the edges, or could be just condensation of the hood, etc. The dipstick, exhaust manifold are on front of engine and are pretty rusty which could mean water is getting up there.

Does it go away when stopped and inpark or neutral?

“The noise is pretty much always seems to always be there.”

So, the noise is also there with the car stopped and the engine idling? Or revving while stopped?

Though you had the serpentine belt changed, the idler pulley or the tensioner may have a bad bearing.
I’d have it checked out sooner than later. The longer you wait, it could cause more damage if it goes to heck on the highway.

Yosemite

It seems to idle pretty norally. Starting it runs pretty fast for maybe a minute then slows down. This is noticeable if warm it in winter before drive.

That fast initial operating speed when the engine is cold is normal.

Exhaust manifolds always develop surface rust due to the extreme heat they’re subjected to. Dipsticks should not. Can you post a photo?

Have you tried lifting the hood, having a friend rev the engine, and listening to try to identify where the noise is coming from?

I think i relized what it is. I was driving this week there wasn’t any rain,snow for a while. It’s gone now i think its something with the snow tires and when things get wet it makes this noise for some reason. The tires are blizacs.

Worthwhile with a noise like this to double check the engine oil and transmission oil (fluid) aren’t low. You are probably right about the tires, but checking takes very little time and if one of them is low it is definitely in your wallet’s interest to know sooner than later.