Lately I have been hearing a squeal at idle. But it is only there sometimes and only at idle and while I'm taking off, then goes away while I'm driving. It also goes away when I step on the gas at idle then comes back. I have sprayed belt dressing on the drive belt and the noise doesn't go away. I also looked to see if the pulleys had any play and they didn't budge. My car has 145k miles and I had the 105k service done at around 105k so the belts and pulleys/tensioner aren't that old.

Any input is appreciated, thanks!

 

When was the last time you replaced the drive belt? The belt dressing is only good for making a mess.

 

2 years, 40k miles ago

 

That's a lot of mileage for 2 years. I would change it.

Just a couple of tips:
1) if there is any condensation on the belts and pulleys in the morning when you drive. A squeak for a few seconds is normal until the belt gets warmed up. I know this isn't your problem,but just throwing this out there.
2) I can't hear the squeak you're describing, so we can only guess on what it is. The only other option would be the belt tensioner pulley has some wear,and the pulley is causing a squeak. You can usually see this wobbling at idle, and if you pop the hood and look down, they will sway side to side (bad bearing).

Good luck.

 

So you are saying that if the pulley is wobbling/moving then it is bad? Because I did look at both pulleys and the top one was moving quite a bit while the car was running.

 

There's a TSB for belt squeak at cold start. TSB 10-035, check it out here: https://acurazine.com/forums/3g-tl-2004-2008-93/3g-tl-technical-service-bulletins-tsbs-3g-garage-j-016-a-613659/

It says it only applies to 07-08, but the symptoms you describe are consistent. Replacing the drive belt like Project_CLean suggested is definitely the first step. If the AC compressor isn't aligned correctly, you can expect the idle squeak to return in some 10-15k miles, probably in the fall/winter time. If you checked all your pulleys and they are firm and don't wobble, then maybe the compressor is slightly misaligned (or perhaps another accessory drive component, but I'm leaning towards this since there's a TSB on it already).

Edit: Oh snap I missed your last post. The tensioner pulley tends to move slightly along its spring compression axis while the belt is running (the same direction as you would move it if you were releasing the belt). If it's moving laterally (left and right if looking at it from the front bumper) then there's your problem. Loosen up the belt and see if that thing is sitting firmly on its rotational axis.

 

^Yes.

Sorry, that's what i meant by wobbling (side to side).