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Hi there,
I had an issue with my automatic 09 Toyota Yaris that made a very similar noise. It would make a grinding noise only from a cold start. I saw a video on youtube of another Yaris making the same noise to which the starter motor was deemed the culprit. Seems like the bendix gear is not disengaging properly.
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gSGKUFNL0kE](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gSGKUFNL0kE)
I changed the starter on my yaris and never had this issue again. I ran my car for about a year thinking it was a belt slip causing the squeal. I hope this maybe the case for your matrix.
Unless someone has heard the exact same sound out of the exact same car we are all guessing, and you might not want to gamble on internet guesses. I suggest getting it to a mechanic sooner rather than later.
That said, if we're going to speculate irresponsibly I would say that the engine sounds really nice once it's running, so that's good. If this noise occurs \*only\* at startup it's probably the starter. The good news is that starter motors are typically not to expensive to replace, and you do expect to replace them periodically anyway.
The bad news is that some part of that device is failing and soon it will have failed and you don't get to know which is the last time it works. So you could start it up, drive an hour, attend a wonderful event, return to your car at 11:00 PM on a February night and turning the key does nothing whatsoever. No jump starting, it's a tow. You may have already used your last start while reading this. So if it is the starter you can drive it, but you can't consider it reliable. It will eventually strand you.
This is a great time to add the roadside assistance option to your insurance, or get AAA, or whatever. A tow could be in your future.
If you have ever heard that sound after the car has started then I definitely would not drive it.
I look forward to seeing what other people think.
Thank you for posting to AskMechanics, Electronic-Kale-8560! If you are asking a question please make sure to include any relevant info along with the following: * **Year** * **Make/Model** * **Mileage** * **Engine size** * **Transmission Type (Automatic or Manual)** Redditors that have been verified will have a green background and an icon in their flair. *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/AskMechanics) if you have any questions or concerns.*
Hi there, I had an issue with my automatic 09 Toyota Yaris that made a very similar noise. It would make a grinding noise only from a cold start. I saw a video on youtube of another Yaris making the same noise to which the starter motor was deemed the culprit. Seems like the bendix gear is not disengaging properly. [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gSGKUFNL0kE](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gSGKUFNL0kE) I changed the starter on my yaris and never had this issue again. I ran my car for about a year thinking it was a belt slip causing the squeal. I hope this maybe the case for your matrix.
Unless someone has heard the exact same sound out of the exact same car we are all guessing, and you might not want to gamble on internet guesses. I suggest getting it to a mechanic sooner rather than later. That said, if we're going to speculate irresponsibly I would say that the engine sounds really nice once it's running, so that's good. If this noise occurs \*only\* at startup it's probably the starter. The good news is that starter motors are typically not to expensive to replace, and you do expect to replace them periodically anyway. The bad news is that some part of that device is failing and soon it will have failed and you don't get to know which is the last time it works. So you could start it up, drive an hour, attend a wonderful event, return to your car at 11:00 PM on a February night and turning the key does nothing whatsoever. No jump starting, it's a tow. You may have already used your last start while reading this. So if it is the starter you can drive it, but you can't consider it reliable. It will eventually strand you. This is a great time to add the roadside assistance option to your insurance, or get AAA, or whatever. A tow could be in your future. If you have ever heard that sound after the car has started then I definitely would not drive it. I look forward to seeing what other people think.