Hi folks, I have a question regarding my 09 Scion TC. A while back I was making a left hand turn into my driveway when all of a sudden I hear a whirring sound. The sound matched the speed of my motor. I popped the hood and the sound is coming from the right side, left side if looking at it head on. It didn’t do it the next morning when I started the car up and I drove to work just fine (a few miles). I don’t drive much but it happend again when I went out to visit my parents that live roughly 10 miles away. I put 2 and 2 together and realized the car has to be warm and ran for a while before this will occur. My power steering fluid is fine. Is it possible the serpentine belt is going bad? The noise is coming from that area under the hood and I assume the belt spins at the same speed as the motor. I’m not car savvy, so I apologize in advance. Otherwise the car drives just fine.
Good advice above. Another idea, water pumps on their way to failure can make a whirring noise. Assuming you have a transverse mounted engine, the right side of the engine compartment is probably where the water pump is located. If you can find it, there should be a small hole near where the pulley bolts to the water pump. Is there any fluid coming out of that hole? Anytime a new noise is heard always a good idea to first check the engine oil and transmission fluid levels.
^ Good advice above. Additionally, my Corolla made a whirring noise (admittedly largely audible through the radio) both times the alternator was on its way out.
Both gear oil and engine oil have been changed recently. No other fluids that I’ve seen. The serpentine belt does look like it has seen better days. I’ll start there. Thanks for all the quick responses!