I was leaving asda earlier when my sei started making a metallic screeching noise from the front, which got worse when I turned the steering wheel. It went on for about 10 seconds then I heard a click and the noise suddenly stopped, no warning lights on the dash, car drove perfectly fine the rest of the way home :/ what could it have been?

Possibly the aux belt tensioner had gotten stuck.

Eklipze3k said:

Possibly the aux belt tensioner had gotten stuck.

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Is that serious? And is the car safe to drive?

Eklipze3k said:

Possibly the aux belt tensioner had gotten stuck.

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It doesn't have one?

I meant cam belt tensioner, I was at work and not concentrating

Stone in the brakes?

Was it an engine based screech or drivetrain?

Huwbishop said:

Stone in the brakes?



Was it an engine based screech or drivetrain?

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It appeared to be coming from the engine and the steering wheel seemed a bit stiffer than normal as well, but power steering was working fine, no warning lights came up :/

The screech did get worse when I put the brakes on, and I was driving down a very rocky road earlier in the day

Pads ok?

Alternator belt? If you have electric power steering it may have not been charging whilst slipping, then you're voltage goes down and the steering would seem heavier.

Huwbishop said:

....then your voltage goes down and the steering would seem heavier.

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Only time i've had the power steering play up because of low voltage it also caused the Airbag light to flash on & off so chances are it's not that.
It's probably the infamous 'Curse of the Asda Carpark'Ahhhh
Causes all sorts of trouble -like clutch judder on Puntos

It squeaked when I started it up earlier ? just one, short squeak.

I think it's alternator related, going by the steering getting heavier.

WolfCrazy64 said:

car drove perfectly fine the rest of the way home :/ what could it have been?

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Hold on - it made a weird noise , so you carried on driving it . You got home & asked the forum to diagnose the problem , then went out in it again without doing a single thing to investigate ?
You're making us do an awful lot of the work required here .

Alternator belt.

Get it replaced or at least properly tensioned asap.
A slipping belt will polish the pulleys, leading to further slipping. If you leave it too long they become so well polished that replacement is the only answer.

The mechanic has seen the car and the problem is the alternator belt. It's being fixed on tuesday