For the past few days, I have noticed a strange noise coming from what sounds like the engine whenever I come to a stop sign or light. Once I accelerate or am driving in general the noise goes away. The noise is hard to describe. It is periodic at a constant interval not a continuous sound. It is a high pitch noise. I live in Indiana and has turned colder recently and am wondering if the noise could just be attributed to the cold. Like I said, it goes way once I start driving.

Any thoughts?

Do you only hear the noise when the brake pedal is applied? Does it seem related to vehicle speed? Does it go away once you come to a complete stop?

If the answer to all of the above is "Yes" you probably are just hearing a noise associated with the brake pad/shoe friction material. If your 2001 Taurus has rear drum brakes, you might have a build up of dust in the drums. You should probably have the brakes on all four wheels inspected. It could also be due to a film created by the snow melt solution that Indiana puts on their roads in the winter (if they do).

-Rod

Cam sensor acts like that with my 2000, chirps at idle but goes away
on accelaration.....Will eventually need replacing

I would open the hood and listen around to hear where it's coming from.

I had a winding noise on my 99SE that acted like that and tracked it down to my power steering pump. I was nervous that it might be a tranny at first. But I changed the PSP and it went away. It's hard to say what it could be though. Could be as simple as a bearing going out in the alternator. You just need to pop the hood and listen real good.