Every morning (since it's cold in Northern Va) when I turn on the car, about 2 seconds after I start the car, the car makes this loud screeching noise from under the hood. It ONLY happens in the morning when the car is cold, after that it turns on fine. Any ideas?

 

starter motor is sticking? Is it under warranty?

 

or TST

 

Not sure what a TST is but a common problem in simpler cars is the accessory belt slipping, causing the squeal. The serpentine belt on my S (and any other similarly equipped car) has never done this but a simple test is to spray a little water on the belt to see if it gets instantly quiet. If it does, add a little soap to the water and investigate belt tension and/or belt condition...

 

He probably means Timing Chain Tensioner, or TCT. That's a common noise problem at startup, however it usually isn't a loud screeching sound.

Here's a suggestion: Make sure you have your fan motor off when starting the car. If your A/C or defroster is on, your A/C compressor could bog down the serpentine belt enough to cause it to squeak. If this eliminates the problem, you might want to replace your serpentine belt and lube your serpentine belt tensioner. If none of this works, you may want to check the force on the tensioner to make sure it is still in spec.

 

does it sound like this?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NwFVZADoyx0 from this thread
https://www.s2ki.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=544760

 

serpentine belt is a good idea and very easy to check.

 

agreed with all

sounds like your belt

 

this is a common problem...it has been diagnosed by billman as a sticky starter.

his recommended fix is to lube the teeth in the starter.

 

I can't say anything without hearing it

If it's the TCT, it will sound like the first link in PWRMKR's post. Definitely not a screeching noise by any means.

If it's the belt, you can temporarily remove the belt and start the car to see if the noise goes away.

Lastly, the starter is sticking.