Hey yag, change the belt first even though your mechanic doesn't think it needs to be changed. Yes it's the alternator belt making the noise due to the electrical load. That's the cheapest fix. You could try belt dressing or even ivory soap on the belt to stop the noise (old time fix) why soap works is beyond me. Just get it tensioned right. Does it make noise all the time or just when it starts up cold it could just be moisture burning off and the belt has to heat up my 02 rio does the same thing in the morning when it's cool and damp out defroster on and lights on last about 5 seconds. Belts do stretch cold and when they heat up they shrink a little. I didn't beleive this but it's true. Just wanted to give you a response good luck with it hope this helps maybe someone else here has a better idea, Reguards Ronjohn

 

Thanks for the reply ronjohn (and sorry for the late reply),

It makes the noise when it starts up or it is cold or you increase the electrical load (i.e. turning on radio/ac) while 'nothing' was wrong. It also makes noise if the car passes over water.

The problem is sometimes I can not even turn on the lights without the noise so no night driving. And during winter I can not turn on the heater which I need in order to keep the glass free from frost (?).

I will go to a mechanic (do not if I will go to another one) this weekend.

Did not hear about the ivory soap before but the mechanic was also saying that they do extract/contradict significantly with temperature.

 

Hey yag, After fixing up my son's car this year and had the timming belt changed i didn't drive the car till tonight after a football game he is never home and doesn't tell of any problems untill it's an issue and guess what the belt was squelling like crazy just like yours and it was cold 45 degrees outside and raining. The garage put on a new belt when the timming belt was changed about 2 months ago so i'm going to tension it again tomorrow I'll let you know how it turned out maybe our alternators are getting weak or something like that but i will let you know what i find and pass it on good luck with it. Reguards Ronjohn

 

Yag, update this weekend i did tension my sons alt belt it was sorta loose more than .25 inch deflection and no problems so far we do have cool nights and lots of dew here in the morning he did notice more power no drag down when the cooling blower or defroster/ ac kicked in and thanked me said car is running great like i said the belt was new about 2 months ago with timming belt change and guess what the garage had the pivot bolt torqued to god knows whatever i was afraid it would break it took a 1/2 inch drive to break it loose torque is only 38 ft/lbs max for the bolt. I guess like kevster say's never let a catipiliar mechanic work on our rios also time to think about changing your timming belt if you want to keep your engine intack it is a big problem with our rios just a heads up I hope this helps you out and good luck with it. Remember Kia Global Information System (KGIS) for service info free just have to register. Reguards Ronjohn

 

Last week, we had our kia's belt tightened by the same mechanic. My wife says that this time it took more time for the mechanic to do the tighting. During the weekend we traveled a little bit and used the car while at was cool (the weather is warm for the couple of weeks) and we were able to drive, turn on the lights, turn on the ac and the radio without any noise. I am waiting to see how it turns up around next week. If the squeaking comes back (as it used to do).

We asked the mechanic again and he said that the belt and the battery was new. We had changed the timing belt when we got the car last year.

Thanks again ronjohn!

 

I am having the exact same problem. I also have a 2002 Kia Rio (5-speed) that I bought used a few months ago. (It had 102,000 miles, now it has 108,000.) I will hear the squeal for a moment when I start it, until I remove my foot from the clutch, and also when I turn on the defroster or the fan. My mechanic has adjusted my belts 3 times but can't figure out what's wrong.

So what you guys are saying is: I might need to replace the alternator belt?

I'm not a car-savvy person and this post is confusing.

--kate

 

First, have the battery load tested to make sure a weak battery isn't aggravating the issue. But beyond that, as the belt gets older it dries out and wears out and the alternator pulley/grooves get polished smooth as glass. When a large electrical load is turned on, the voltage drops and the regulator tells alternator to "charge" the battery. This "charging" makes the alternator more resistant to turning (magnetic "pull" or resistance) and belt slippage is the result. The alternator also heats up. A hard charging alternator will get too hot to touch, whereas a lightly loaded one will zip along fine at ambient temperature. The battery should be just above 12 volts when standing with engine off. During starting the huge amperage draw from turning the starter motor will drop the voltage, and the alternator will quickly charge it back up once running. A weak battery can drop voltage too far and either not turn the starter motor....or maybe start it but turn slower and the resulting loss from the battery will make the alternator work extra hard to recharge this bad battery. If this condition continues you put a strain on the charging system and on the battery needing the continual charge.
A good battery will hold voltage even under load, and will not require the alternator to work so hard recharging, so always consider the battery and its age and condition when dealing with alternators and such.
Replacing the belt and sandblasting/roughing up the polished pulley sometimes helps but is usually not needed if tensioned properly.

 

The same thing was happening with my 03 Kia Rio. There was a belt that I believed was squealing for quite a few months, when I would turn the lights on, run the A/C, Defrost, drove through a rain puddle, etc. Well, the belt the runs the Water pump just broke the other day, and the car overheated, so I'm currently hoping there's not much damage and cost related to that. I'm wondering if it is the same belt, since it sounds like the same symptoms.

 

Random thought. If your sure It's the belt. Take the belts off to prove it. If it goes away. It's the belts. I had a wild squeal. Thought it was the belt. Then thought the alt bearings were junk. Low and behold. Water pump fried. So....just a thought. But do remove the belts and see what it does.