2003 Honda Accord (V6) makes funny noise after parking on a hill

After several weeks of parking our Honda Accord (2003-V6) on a hill, it now makes a funny noise when we release the emergency brake and start to drive. Most of the time the noise eventually goes away as we drive. But now, for about a week, we’ve stopped the hill parking and it is still making the funny noise. Surely people who live in places like San Francisco have to park their cars on hills, and can’t possibly have this problem with their cars. Is it bad for your car if you park it on a hill? Thank you, Maggie

you need to give more info.

what noise? from where? does it change with engine rpm? does it change with mph? does it change when you apply brakes?

Maggie, can you make the noise for us? We’re listening.

You hear it when you start the car and as you are driving you keep hearing it…maybe with the change of the engines rpm but it does go away the longer you drive. I just thought since I’m now parking level it would stop doing it. Parking it on the hill I thought maybe it had something to do with the transmission fluid that had drain down somewhere and as I drove it would start circulating again and stop making that noise. It does seem to come from the engine. Can you tell I know nothing about cars? Thanks again, Maggie

I wonder, previous to parking on this hill did you regularly use your parking brake. . .

If you didn’t it could be that the problem relates to the parking brake cable sticking (assuming Accords do not use some different system for applying it’s parking brakes).

No, I don’t believe I have ever used the parking brake since I bought the car. It was 2 years old when I bought it and it had almost 18,000 miles on it. Do I have to take it to the Honda dealership to have them check it out? We did get an extended warranty when we bought the car. Could it be serious? We’ve been driving the car for several weeks since it started doing this. Thank you again, Maggie

No need to see a dealer. You would be well served by finding any honest mechanic. This is an easy thing to check.

“A funny noise” is not very descriptive, but I will give you my 2 cents. If the noise is a metallic noise somewhat reminiscent of metal grating against metal, then it is very likely that you just have a bent or loose heat shield on some part of the exhaust system. While this is very annoying, it is not dangerous–assuming that it really is a loose heat shield.

If your extended warranty is a HONDA extended warranty, then, yes, you should take it to the dealer on the chance that it is something other than a loose heat shield. Any competent mechanic can diagnose and fix a loose heat shield, but on the chance that it is something else, I would recommend that you take it to the dealership–as long as the extended warranty is through Honda.

If that warranty is from another source, take the car to any recommended mechanic and bear in mind that extended warranties from anyone other than the car’s manufacturer rarely pay for ANYTHING, thus making them the ultimate rip-off.

Thank ya’ll…Honda dealership is close so I’ll go have it checked out. Take care, Maggie

Just bear in mind that you have to give a better description than “a funny noise” to the service writer. In order to track something down, you have to be more specific than that. It is sort of like telling a doctor “I don’t feel well” and expecting him/her to figure out what is wrong with you.