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I've got my first car, and have had it now for about 4 months. It passed an MOT 2.5/3 weeks ago, so I was happy with that, and thought I could carry on happy as Larry using it with no worries.

However, recently (maybe for the last week) I have started hearing a difference in the engine sound. This only occurs when in 5th gear, and when driving 60-70mph.

Usually it's been a pretty quiet engine, but lately it's been sounding really loud and like it needs to be moved up a gear as it's working too hard, but there can't be anything wrong, since it only passed the MOT 3 weeks ago, right?

Is it just a simple of case of needing the oil changed? I've already checked it, and it was above the minimum line, but is it worth changing it anyway?

The car is a 2004 Nissan Almera Pulse (53 plate).

EDIT

The noise kind of sounds like there are too many revs for the gear that the car is in (5th gear, rev count 2500-3000), but maybe a little less aggressive.

The noise certainly sounds like it's coming from the engine bay.

The noise is intermittent, and only ever occurs when travelling between 60-70mph.

The vehicle does not behave any differently since the noise first occurred

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    Remember that the MOT doesn't look at the condition of the engine - apart from the emissions. It is just a test of compliance to the legal standards.
    – Chenmunka
    Commented Dec 7, 2016 at 15:26
  • @Chenmunka True, although I would have thought if anything was desperately wrong it would have been picked up on. Additionally, I was having an issue with my headlights at the time, so the car was driven by the person who carried out the MOT to find the problem with them, so again, I'd have thought he'd have noticed if the problem existed at the time.
    – David
    Commented Dec 7, 2016 at 15:34
  • We need more information here to narrow down the list of possible reasons. Could you try to record a sound bite of when the engine runs normally and when it seems to misbehave so that we have a fighting chance of helping you? :)
    – Zaid
    Commented Dec 7, 2016 at 16:12
  • @Zaid I'll try my best to, sure
    – David
    Commented Dec 7, 2016 at 16:15
  • I'm hearing noises. Can you help me figure out what it is?
    – Zaid
    Commented Dec 7, 2016 at 16:17

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UPDATE:

Issue is now close to being resolved. It was neither the oil, nor the engine.

The next symptom after the noisy engine, was that I was unable to accelerate. As soon as I tried to, the rev counter would shoot up to 3500-400, which meant going up hills even in 3rd gear limited me to 40/45mph - Not ideal on a 60mph road main road!

After further investigation, the issue is now one of two things - A problem with the clutch, or a problem with the accelerator sensor.

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