Rattling Sound Coming From Engine?

[ocwescoast]

Thanks for looking. I just purchased my 07' Lexus back in july, and have noticed a rattling sound coming from the engine. When ever I first start my car like in the mornings, and head off I always hear a rattling sound coming from the engine. Does anybody else have this problem? Should I take it to my dealership and have it checked? Thanks in advance.

[kosi]

Thanks for looking. I just purchased my 07' Lexus back in july, and have noticed a rattling sound coming from the engine. When ever I first start my car like in the mornings, and head off I always hear a rattling sound coming from the engine. Does anybody else have this problem? Should I take it to my dealership and have it checked? Thanks in advance.

If it kinda sounds like the diesel powered cars of the 90's, I think it's perfectly normal. You should listen to the sound of Audis when they start in the morning!

[vegasjim]

Thanks for looking. I just purchased my 07' Lexus back in july, and have noticed a rattling sound coming from the engine. When ever I first start my car like in the mornings, and head off I always hear a rattling sound coming from the engine. Does anybody else have this problem? Should I take it to my dealership and have it checked? Thanks in advance.

I just picked up my 207 ES350 from Lexus of Las Vegas after leaving it off for three days (over the weekend) to make sure it was good and cold to show them the ticking, tapping, knocking sound. The car has to be stone cold as the annoying noise goes away as the temperature gauge rises above cold into the warm-up process. You have to put a slight load (accelleration) on the car to distinctly hear it. The noise can go away in as little as 2-3 minutes and less than a mile. The noise started almost imperceptibally a few weeks after dealer delivery (late August) and has now gotten to be regular and annoying ... as our weather is getting colder.

It took only a minute for the Master Diagnostic Technician from Lexus to explain that this is a "normal" noise in the "350" engine. He called it "Piston Slap", also known as cold piston knock in the industry. He confided to me that these were his "words" and that Lexus doesn't like to use that term.

I recommend that you visit the website <www.pistonslap.com> and be knowledgable in this subject before having your technician write up your work order. Let me know the outcome of your service manager's response.

[Jack'sLexus]

Thanks for looking. I just purchased my 07' Lexus back in july, and have noticed a rattling sound coming from the engine. When ever I first start my car like in the mornings, and head off I always hear a rattling sound coming from the engine. Does anybody else have this problem? Should I take it to my dealership and have it checked? Thanks in advance.

I just picked up my 207 ES350 from Lexus of Las Vegas after leaving it off for three days (over the weekend) to make sure it was good and cold to show them the ticking, tapping, knocking sound. The car has to be stone cold as the annoying noise goes away as the temperature gauge rises above cold into the warm-up process. You have to put a slight load (accelleration) on the car to distinctly hear it. The noise can go away in as little as 2-3 minutes and less than a mile. The noise started almost imperceptibally a few weeks after dealer delivery (late August) and has now gotten to be regular and annoying ... as our weather is getting colder.

It took only a minute for the Master Diagnostic Technician from Lexus to explain that this is a "normal" noise in the "350" engine. He called it "Piston Slap", also known as cold piston knock in the industry. He confided to me that these were his "words" and that Lexus doesn't like to use that term.

I recommend that you visit the website <www.pistonslap.com> and be knowledgable in this subject before having your technician write up your work order. Let me know the outcome of your service manager's response.

I have experienced "piston slap" twice during cold weather and when my ES350 was parked outside for several hours in the cold. It never happens when the car is cold but garaged overnight. I mentioned it to my service adviser last week during the 20,000 mile service. He new about it via a service bulletin and said he would address it during the winter and my next service appointment.

[cfo]

I am new here and this is my first post so please be tolerant of me.

I have a 2008 ES350 that I leased in Dec.

My engine makes a tapping noise (sounds like valve tap) when it first starts up. In the winter, the noise is much louder and lasts for at least about 5 minutes or more, depending on how cold it is outside. It is more pronounced when accelerating. Once the engine seems to be fully warmed up, the noise subsides. Now that it is summer, the noise is barely audible and only seems to last for a few minutes.

At my 1000 mile check up, I questioned the service rep about the noise and was told it was normal for this engine.

However, at my 5000 mile service, I complained again about it and described it as piston slap and the service rep was aware of it. He asked if I could leave the car overnite so they could listen to it after a cold start but unfortunately, due to circumstances irrelevant here, I could not leave the car overnight at that time. I will definitely keep complaining about this at each service interval, until either the noise goes away or I can determine whether or not it is harmful to the engine.

I have done some research on piston slap and while noone says it is good, I can't find definitive evidence that it is harmful, especially if it goes away once the engine heats up.

Although I shouldn't worry about this since I am leasing, I may likely want to buy the car at the end of the lease, but not if this issue isn't resolved. Right now I am sorry I didn't buy the 2005 ES330 I leased since that car had no quirks.

If piston slap is harmful, I think it would be unforgiveable for a car at this price level.

[Reza ES350]

Hi!

We had a Mazda MPV (van) its no comparison to the Lexus but it also made a distubing sound when cold. Like metal hitting metal. not too loud but audiable. even more when you throttle a bit.

It was something called tapet valve. I'm not sure how correct that term is. But they said its normal. It doesn't harm the engine or affect its life expectancy.

when the metal warms up it expands and all is well. So it could be clearance issues.

Hope this helps.