Squeaky noise during low speed accel/decel

[ladyhawk]

Of course, I noticed this annoying noise now that I've decided to sell my car, and *after* my last service visit. It's a very soft, squeaky noise that seems to be present when accelerating from a standstill, or when changing the low set of gears (manual trans). Once at speed, there's no squeak. This is why I thought it must be related to the acceleration/deceleration motion. It almost sounds like the noise you'd associate with a mouse or other small squeaky rodent. Once, I briefly noticed the sound when I was stopped at a light.

I thought it was the driver's seat or seatbelt mechanism initially, as I've had squeaking from those in cold weather, but this is a different kind of squeak, and seems to be coming from the engine compartment or steering column area.

Can anyone suggest what this might be? I'm dreading someone asking me about the noise when they take the car on a test drive.

[Donutz]

Like a cricket or a 'gleek gleek' noise? If so, this has plagued many an owner. There are threads miles long on m3f about this. Some people say its the control cables running through the fire wall, some say it's 3 screws in the firewall, and some say it's the shifter cables under the floor. I have this gleek gleek noise and it drives me effin nuts! That said, I've been putting up with it for almost 4 years now!

[mzkaye729]

Of course, I noticed this annoying noise now that I've decided to sell my car, and *after* my last service visit. It's a very soft, squeaky noise that seems to be present when accelerating from a standstill, or when changing the low set of gears (manual trans). Once at speed, there's no squeak. This is why I thought it must be related to the acceleration/deceleration motion. It almost sounds like the noise you'd associate with a mouse or other small squeaky rodent. Once, I briefly noticed the sound when I was stopped at a light.

I thought it was the driver's seat or seatbelt mechanism initially, as I've had squeaking from those in cold weather, but this is a different kind of squeak, and seems to be coming from the engine compartment or steering column area.

Can anyone suggest what this might be? I'm dreading someone asking me about the noise when they take the car on a test drive.

I have this too !!!! Drives me CRAZY everytime I hear it !! :bang:bang:bang:bang

I was told by a Mazda technician it's my belt tensioner... but I havent changed it to actually know if it really IS caused by the belt tensioner. Let me know if you find out what exactly it is as IT IS FRIGGIN ANNOYING !!!!!

[slymazda]

I just started to hear it to-day for the first time, it's only when you are driving slow......I think it might be the drivers seat!

[blazex2]

I also think it's the driver's seat! but even if it's not ... definitely sounds like it's coming from inside the cabin

[slymazda]

Just a thought, it could be allot of other things that's doing the squeaky noise, but, could it possiblly be the clutch switch? Could it be the kind of weather we are haveing; the time of year? Warm, rainy, cold a combination. I never heard this in winter nor in the summer, just now. Anyway, just like I said it's just a thought!!!

[SomeGuy]

I get it from the seatbelt area...I just move the latch buckle thingy towards me a bit and it goes away.

[slymazda]

I get it from the seatbelt area...I just move the latch buckle thingy towards me a bit and it goes away.

I'll try that, see if it goes away!!!

[slymazda]

It's not the seatbelt area. I know it's the clutch pedal, I noticed that it only squeaks when it's first driven, when you drive for awhile, gets warmer, the squeak goes away...go figure!!!

[whiteomega]

about a year ago, i had my '06 in for a similar squeaky clutch. MoT technicians basically lubed up what they needed to and it hasn't squeaked since.

[slymazda]

about a year ago, i had my '06 in for a similar squeaky clutch. MoT technicians basically lubed up what they needed to and it hasn't squeaked since.

Thanks! I be asking them to do that when I go for service this month.....

[Fester]

Does it sound like it may originating from the engine area? Like belt/pulley noises?

[slymazda]

Does it sound like it may originating from the engine area? Like belt/pulley noises?

No, it's coming from the cabin, and it is the shift paddle.....

[jbarbieri]

I am also getting this squeaking noise, coming from the engine, while I either accelerate or decelerate.

It only happens for a couple seconds, I was thinking it may be engine movement. I put the car in gear, engine off, and rocked it, and I get the same noise as well, so it almost def. looks like its related to the engine moving.

Any ideas what it could be?

My 09 3i only has about 6000 miles on it, and this is annoying.

[ST3ALTH]

This drove me nuts for months and months, mazda kept charging me for labour on it and kept replacing parts that did fix it and saying its not under warrenty. Finally they figured it out and they said it was the shifter cables and they also oiled them as well. They said it is covered under warrenty, so i ask if i could have my money back for all the other repairs that obviously didnt do the trick and they argued with me for weeks, finally contacted mazda head office and got my money returned ( over 350$) So if you guys are having this problem get whoever is looking at it to check the shifter cables!!!!

NO MORE NOISE!!!! lol

[jbarbieri]

This drove me nuts for months and months, mazda kept charging me for labour on it and kept replacing parts that did fix it and saying its not under warrenty. Finally they figured it out and they said it was the shifter cables and they also oiled them as well. They said it is covered under warrenty, so i ask if i could have my money back for all the other repairs that obviously didnt do the trick and they argued with me for weeks, finally contacted mazda head office and got my money returned ( over 350$) So if you guys are having this problem get whoever is looking at it to check the shifter cables!!!!

NO MORE NOISE!!!! lol

Did it make the noise for you when you shifted? For me, its only on accell/decel for me, don't even have to touch the shifter.

[slymazda]

Did it make the noise for you when you shifted? For me, its only on accell/decel for me, don't even have to touch the shifter.

I have the same problem as you, taking it next week to get it checked!!

[jbarbieri]

Car's been in the shop twice. First they said cradle rubbing on unibody, coming from one bolt. They took the bolt out, lubed it, put it in, lubed up the suspension....was gone for the day.


That was last friday....saturday it started acting up again, only much worse this time. The noise was happening even when I just turned the steering whell, not moving. Dropped it off this morning, and now they said it was something to do with the brakes (said he took the rotor off, and put lubricant on the backside of the pads), said it was gone, and drove it around for about 2 hours. I go pick it up tonite, lets see if it is gone for good.

:crosses fingers:

[BoostieMonster]

Ah man, I was going to start a new thread hoping this an easy fix, then saw this thread, sucks my '09 has only 4000km's and its making these noises.....ugh

[jbarbieri]

Just wanted to let everyone know, I have been squeak free for 3 months now. Not sure what they did in the shop, but it has yet to come back, so that's good!!! Now just have to figure out why the car idle's rough when it's cold.....almost stalled on me this morning, before I even moved.

[mazda lover]

Just wanted to let everyone know, I have been squeak free for 3 months now. Not sure what they did in the shop, but it has yet to come back, so that's good!!! Now just have to figure out why the car idle's rough when it's cold.....almost stalled on me this morning, before I even moved.

Find out what the shop did so you can help us out..look at the bill

[jbarbieri]

They never got me a bill of work for that shop visit. All he told me was he did what he would do for a brake job, and by that he said lubed up the backside of the pads, as well as some other things.

But they didn't give me a bill of work (was warranty work) so not sure if he did anything else.

[jbarbieri]

It almost seemed like the tech knew where to look. I could sit still, turn the wheel, and the noise was there. It was horrible too.

[Wolfington]

Has anyone figured out what the issue was? I am having the same issue at low speeds, in 3rd, 4th or 5th. The squeek is continuous and usually happens when I am first accelerating in one of those gears.

[hoRn36]

I think it's the clutch as well. From 1st to 2nd gear on idle, I get the squeeky sound when it's cold. Once the car warmed up, no more sounds lol. This is the 2012 mz3.. lol thought they would've had a fix already.. -_-" lol

[paulabreu]

my 2011 mz3 gx AT just started doing this yesterday and its bugging me a lot, it happens when im accelerating in any gear, all i read here was for the manual transmission, anything for the automatic?

[DokoBG]

my 2011 mz3 gx AT just started doing this yesterday and its bugging me a lot, it happens when im accelerating in any gear, all i read here was for the manual transmission, anything for the automatic?

I have a 2011 Mazda 3 with automatic transmission and yesterday after 2 years of owning it and 24000km, I noticed this squaky noise when accelerating. The noise itself is a faint squeak from the engine compartment somewhere, doesnt feel like its coming from the cabin. When its in this squeak zone i tested the GAS pedal and when i applied slight gas, only then the squeak was happening. It happens only on a 4th gear and on ~1500 rpm and when there is acceleration. Bear in mind that the weather changed here and its quite cold now around 5-7 degres celsius. I hope we can figure it out soon. I will be having an oil change very soon so ill mention this to them. So far it doesnt bother me, it only happens for 3-4 seconds but i definately notice it.

[paulabreu]

I have a 2011 Mazda 3 with automatic transmission and yesterday after 2 years of owning it and 24000km, I noticed this squaky noise when accelerating. The noise itself is a faint squeak from the engine compartment somewhere, doesnt feel like its coming from the cabin. When its in this squeak zone i tested the GAS pedal and when i applied slight gas, only then the squeak was happening. It happens only on a 4th gear and on ~1500 rpm and when there is acceleration. Bear in mind that the weather changed here and its quite cold now around 5-7 degres celsius. I hope we can figure it out soon. I will be having an oil change very soon so ill mention this to them. So far it doesnt bother me, it only happens for 3-4 seconds but i definately notice it.

Bring it to the dealership and go on a test drive to replicate the noise. It might be the tensioner pulley or the belt.

I had the same issue since i bought the car last year. Im on my third drive belt and second tensioner pulley, noise has been gone for like a month now.

[DokoBG]

Bring it to the dealership and go on a test drive to replicate the noise. It might be the tensioner pulley or the belt.

I had the same issue since i bought the car last year. Im on my third drive belt and second tensioner pulley, noise has been gone for like a month now.

Is it covered by warranty ? I have the extended bumper to bumper option for 6 years...

[DokoBG]

Is it covered by warranty ? I have the extended bumper to bumper option for 6 years...

I cant seem to edit my post...

I just wanted to add that it is kind of hard to replicate this situation because sometimes it doesnt do it and when it does it, its more like a faint whistle/squeal. I think ill stay put for now. If it becomes more pronounced then ill definately make them fix it. They've already replaced my break disks since they were bent and the car wheel was shaking when breaking at high speeds. So for now, they seem cool. I looked at that problematic pulley on top and i wish i could squeez in some lube on it, Im pretty sure it will fix it for a while. Arent the dealerships suppose to do lubrication on these things as per warranty service ?

[Ps3alltheway]

I had that noise and went 3 times at dealer to make them hear it, everytime they didn't hear and wanted to start charging me for the time, last time I went there, was in my car with the tech and I drove for 30 mins and nothing and as I was getting in the parking of the dealer, it made the sound briefly and he heard it.

They changed a transmission mount...
The noise has started again, and I noticed that it's mainly when the car is cold and when it is below 0 outside!

[DokoBG]

Well im happy to share that my noise has disappeared. It was mega faint in the first place so it wasn't annoying by any means, barely noticeable. It was snowing here yesterday, i drove around, got stuck a little but so far no funny noise at all. I feel like its related to the belt or pulleys. They seem to be sensitive with humidity/temperature. Anyway, my car is going for an oil change tomorrow and a bunch of other things as per warranty maintenance. Really happy with the car and the way it handles snow. I was stuck very briefly, traction control works like it should be, however i had to stop it on the really steep snowy hills and when i was stuck. This is my second winter with the car so far no issues and mega fun. :)

[Mazda2]

Hello everyone, I found this forum after searching online when my Mazda2 developed the noises described here i.e. squeaking when the car is cold; squeak only happened when accelerating, particularly after changing gears 1 to 2, and 2 to 3.

The dealership didn't describe it to me in a lot of detail but they diagnosed it as the central part of the exhaust (catalytic converter) was broken/loose leaving a gap. This explains the squeaking noise whenever the acceleration was applied.

It also explains that when the engine warms up, the noise generally disappears. The guy explained to that and once the exhaust had warmed up, the metal expands so the gap in the exhaust part closed up - so no more squeaking.

Apparently the car is supposed to be safe to drive, although whilst waiting for the part (apparently all the way from Japan), the squeaking got louder and even though the engine had warmed up, the squeaking was still audible, even at higher gear changes. I would not know what the long term effect would be if this was left unrepaired.

As the car was under warranty, it fortunately did not cost me. I would say the job probably took less than 1.5 hours.

It's funny that each time I start the engine or start pulling off, I expect the squeaking to start. So far, no squeaks since the repair was done.

[Mazda2]

It's me again. Looks like I spoke too soon. Within 4 days the noise started up again, after replacing with a whole new exhaust. Took it back to the garage and they diagnosed it to be the springs that hold two bits of exhaust together were the problem. Ordered in the new springs and so far (over a week), no sign of the dreaded squeak. Fingers crossed, eh?