Q: My car feels like jumpy or chirpy. I had oil change a week before.

Hi there. Check the serpentine / drive belt on the engine. The chirping noise that you are hearing is the belt being loaded up or slipping. If the belt is old, then I recommend replacing the belt with a new one. If the belt is new or has no cracks on it, then remove the belt and drive the vehicle around for a little bit. If the noise goes away, then either the belt was worn or an accessory is loading up the belt. Most of the time, the alternator puts on too much of a load and causes the belt to chirp. Also, since you had an oil change earlier, check the engine oil level and make sure that its full. If you need further assistance with the chirping noise from the engine, then seek out a professional, such as one from Your Mechanic, to help you.

Hello. Engine noises can be caused by a wide variety of issues. If the problems only started after an oil change then the first thing I would do is check the vehicle’s oil level. If the oil is low for some reason it may cause the engine to produce mechanical noises, perhaps due to oil starvation to the engine components. If the noise appears to affect performance then that may be a sign of a potentially serious issue. It may also be possible that the noise is related to something else, such as an engine accessory, or even the steering or suspension. As noises can sometimes be difficult to diagnose, simply due to the amount of noise generated during normal operation, I would recommend having a professional technician, such as one from YourMechanic, come to your location to diagnose the cause of your noises.