Odd noise before starting car, and after driving a bit, a noise from under the hood that sounded like shuffling a deck of cards - but inconsistent.
Mechanic took it 4 blocks and it died out, which it never did for me. Towed back, battery tested bad, new one put in. However, he said no info is on the monitors, so he can’t diagnose the shuffling sound. Checked alternator and said it was good, but to drive the car only locally for 75-150 miles to see if service engine soon light comes on. Said it should not have died out from a bad battery. Does this whole thing sound on the level?
Yes, it sounds on the level. You have an odd problem that is confusing your mechanic. It confuses me as well but I’m out here on the internet and haven’t driven your car. I think he’s told you to do the right thing.
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I’m not sure how a battery that tests bad would not cause a car to die out. A defective battery can stop a car. I don’t know if it’s on the level or not.
Another thing is that the battery issue and the noise may or may not be related. This car could have some intermittent electrical problem, as simple as a dirty/corroded ground wire that is responsible for both symptoms, but maybe not.
A crunching, or I suppose shuffling sound, could be coming from an ABS (anti-lock-braking) system and be considered normal and occur at start-up or after the car begins moving.
Is this a new noise (didn’t do it before just recently)?
And how long have you been the driver of this car?
Is this a dealer mechanic, and independent shop mechanic, or a mechanic working for a “chain” business, like Sears, Midas, etcetera?
CSA
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Concur w/CSA above, the ABS system makes a noise very similar to what you are describing. It does it as part of its occasional self-test. If that’s what you are hearing, probably normal.