My mom's '96 she just bought is "whistling" a little bit. It only does it while idling, the whistle disappears when the gas pedal is depressed. It sounds like it is coming from the belt / thermostat area.

BTW, I replaced both the inner and outer belts with Goodyear Gatorback ("The quiet belt") and replaced the T-stat, as well as flushing the radiator and it is still making the same noise. Temperature is fine while driving the car, but you can hear it when you're not pressing the gas pedal while driving.

 

sounds exactly like a loose belt to me...

 

Did some research and it looks like it is probably a failing alternator.... a common sign of a failing alternator is a whistle during idle and a faint burning smell... going to see if I smell it when I work on her car this afternoon.

 

Mine does the same. Changing the belts might help but adjust how tight they are.

 

hey, my 98 maxima se (90,000 miles) is making the same sound. seems like its coming from the throttle bottle area. during low idle, i can hear a whistling coming through my speakers as i accelerate. do you think its my alternator as well??? i remember the sound all started when my battery died. the whistling is still there even though i replaced the battery. everything else seems normal.

 

i have that sound from the belt/alternator area and the belts dont seem to be loose... no idea what it is... i had it for a few weeks a few months back and it just went away... now its back and so annoying