We have had about 6 or 7 mornings now that we're 10 degrees or below. On each of them, I am getting a noise for a second or less right as the engine catches on startup. It is not a belt squeal. Not that high pitched. More like pulling the trigger on a drill or circular saw. Quickly increasing pitch, then it it is gone.

 

The only thing I can think of is that the starter is hanging for a second. The thing is that the car only has 32k on it. I have never had a starter problem on a Subaru much shy of 200k. I took it to a dealer since I still have a few miles of warranty left. They said they see this happen with older batteries when the cold cranking amps are getting low. That doesn't make any sense to me, but that's what they said. They checked the battery and said it was fine. They also "checked the starter", I think they just put juice to it and made sure it worked.

 

It wasn't cold where the dealership is, so there was no way to duplicate the issue. I hate to just throw a starter at it, but I also don't want to be buying a flywheel. This car has so many things on it that I'm not used to. Is there something else that could explain this noise? Again, only at startup, and only below 10 degrees.

It's not the battery and I doubt if there is a problem with the starter. Just as a test, why not loosen all the drive belts. If the sound disappears, then something driven by the belts is causing the problem.

thanks for the reply. It got me thinking. I don't think this is a bearing or bushing on the alternator, PS pump, AC pump etc. But, the belts are original, and although I have given them a push whenever I'm changing the oil, I hadn't really taken a good look at them. I dismissed belts because this just doesn't sound like belt squeal. But, I checked them this morning, and although they were by no means loose, they could probably be a little tighter. I tend to be very careful about over tightening belts. Anyway, I tightened them just a bit, and although the noise did happen again (it was 7 degrees this morning) it was MUCH reduced. When I got home tonight, I gave the AC pump belt another nudge tighter we'll see if that's it. That would be a nice cheap easy fix.