Bought an 09 civic LX 3 days ago. 75 miles on odo now. Test drove ok but now when I start cold engine I hear a ‘whirrrr’ with RPMs in park and thru gears up to 25mph. Well, I think it is a timing chain/belt tensioner and am going to take to service dept Tuesday. My question is, is this normal sound?? I used to drive an 06 Frontier p/u. with V6 but it never made that sound. Will it skip a tooth when I have to drive 350 miles to Atlanta? Thanks.
I think I can safely say that this is not normal, but that is about all I can say without a better description of the way it sounds. If the sound goes away when it warms up, I would drive it if I needed to. If it fails, Honda will need to pick up the tow bill.
Are you familiar with the whine that a hydraulic pump makes when it is failing? It could be the power steering pump, or the pump in the transmission if this is an automatic.
If it is a timing chain or chain/belt tensioner, it would be the first time I heard of one of those failing on a new car, but anything is possible. I would not expect that to quiet as the engine warms.