This afternoon I started up my mini.....and when I pressed on the gas, i heard a loud squeeling noise. Like the same sound my old car (a really long time ago) used to make when it had an oil leak which was dripping on the belt. After stopping, I quickly reversed to put myself back in the stall and sat in the car with windows down to see if it was perhaps a car around me that was making that noise, but there was no one. So, I pressed on the gas really slowely, which made a slight noise...and I glided down the hill. At the bottom, I needed to accelarate quicly, and I heard no noise.

Should I be worried?

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Like I always say, "the more the mini-er, i mean merrier!"

 

Try to see if you can reproduce the sound again and note when it happens. What are you doing and is the car on an uphill or downhill. Keep a log. Loose drive belt? Power steering problem? Does it happen when cold or hot?
Any noise at idle? If it is reproducible then contact your service advisor. Hope it isn't anything serious.

 

Maybe your belt tensioner is going bad.