I have a 2009 Accord EX-L V6. The belt has begun making a whining noise when it’s cold. It goes away as the engine warms up. I’ts got about 165k on it and I believe the timing belt was replaced a couple of years ago at the 100,000 mile service. Anyway, the dealership has offered to take a look at it, but I’d like to know if this is something that can be fixed by a good mechanic and about how much I should expect to pay.
And, if anyone knows of a good Honda mechanic in the north Texas area (DFW, Texoma) you can refer, I’m all ears.
That whining is NOT a timing belt. It’s your serpentine belt.
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Go here and enter the information.
It’ll provide a cost estimate for a certain repair for your area.
Tester
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Yes, thanks. That’s what I meant.
Thanks, but that site won’t let me enter “serpentine belt” It only works for a set number of repairs and apparently, this isn’t one of them.
If it is the serpentine belt that is a normal job for any shop. You don’t need dealer for that. I would avoid chain shops and possibly ask people you know if they have used a shop that treated them fairly.
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Serpentine belt is a simple job. Any qualified mechanic can do this. Less then $100
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Try “drive belt”. That term seems to be a common one used by manufacturers for serp belts.
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Repair pal shows $116 to $183 for this repair, click on “show all repairs”, it is the third idem listed. Most drive belts can be replaced in 20 minutes but techs try to squeeze and hour of labor out of this.
Thanks Nevada. 
I paid $70 for a belt at the Acura dealer that I put on myself and $65 to have one put on my Pontiac not including the belt. So just depends.
I’m seeing 45 - 50 dollars for the belt , part number & cost depends on whether automatic or manual trans, and about 1/2 hour labor. So figure $125 parts and labor.
For that other site, you probably have to enter something other than “serpentine belt”. Try it using “drive belt” for example. Or “accessories belt”. Ideally the site would tell guide you with the correct nomenclature to use. It probably varies by manufacturer.
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Is the serp belt verified? I live in Minnesota where the temperature is as low as -50 below zero fahrenheit you betcha. Don’t rule out the power steering pump. They whine when its cold, especially since air can get trapped in the system when cold.
Additionally, the noise could be coming from a dry bearing in the belt tensioner. With 165k miles on the odometer, it is entirely possible that the tensioner needs to be replaced.
I just had a similar problem on my wife’s '07 Accord. It would whine when first started on cold mornings and then go away as the car warmed up. I thought it was the power steering pump too, but I did a couple of youtube and google searches and saw that the problem could be a bad o-ring on the pressure hose. According to my wife the noise has gone away since replacement. It’s just one 10mm bolt. Although the youtube videos make it look easy enough to remove with a standard wrench, I found an offset box end wrench worked well.
If the o-ring is the problem I think they said you’ll see bubbles in the power steering reservoir and signs that the power steering fluid was pushing out past the cap on the reservoir. Your car is one generation newer than my wife’s so this may / may not apply to you.
It sounds like a whining power steering pump, but it whined continuously, even when idling, so I’m thinking it’s the belt.
Also, the power steering fluid levels are good.
http://www.rockauto.com/en/catalog/honda,2009,accord,3.5l+v6,1443202,belt+drive,belt,8900
Just thought you might find these links interesting . Don’t know what a shop charges .
Yes, I had mine replaced on a 2007 Toyota for all of $43. It’s a relatively simple job.
So as it turns out, it’s not the belt. As 0708Honda and Joe Mayo opined, the problem is the power steering pump. The dealership wants just over $600 to replace it. They say the OEM part costs $400.
I’ve replaced power steering pumps before, but it’s been at least 15 years, maybe twenty.
How hard is this job for someone with basic shade tree mechanic tools and skills?