197,000 miles on my Honda

I have a 2003 Honda with 197,000 miles (lot of highway miles) Recently we noticed a whining noise when we excellerate. Any suggestions. We just had the alternator replaced.

It’s possible they overtightened the belt when they replaced the alternator. Easy to check - pop the hood and find the alternator. follow the belt until you’re halfway between the alternator and the crankshaft pulley (the big one). Grab the belt at the midpoint with your thumb and forefinger and twist. Obviously, the engine should be off. If it twists less than 90 degrees, or you have to put a LOT of effort into twisting it 90 degrees, it’s too tight.

We just had the alternator replaced.

Give the mechanic a chance. Bring the car and ask him about it. He may have mis-adjusted the belt or maybe got a bad alternator.

I will check the belt, but it was making the whining noise before the alternator replacement, just not as loud as now, if that makes a difference.

Have you checked to make sure the power steering is full?

There are other items driven by the engine that need to be checked. Power steering pump, water pump, A/C pulley, and, probably the most worrisome, the timing chain. I mention the timing chain, because the whirring sound on acceleration may mean a chain that has stretched past it’s limit and no longer being tensioned by the tensioner. They can get noisy at this point before allowing the camshaft to skip a tooth and get out of alignment.

We finally took the car back to the mechanic, because it stopped running. Turns out the alternator was faulty, which ruined the serpentine belt that he had put in. He fixed both those things at his expense, and we had a new tension belt put in. Hopefully this will take care of the problem. Thanks for your suggestions, they were all helpful.

Sounds like a good honest mechanic…Keep him.