Piston slap

[Jim19460]

I own a 2009 ES 350 with 76000 miles on it I bought used. When I had my mechanic change the oil and check it over he said it had a piston slap. 

I am asking my fellow Lexus owners if this is a common problem? How serious is it ?

Thanks

Jim  

[Bykfixer]

piston slap was a problem with 90's GM cars like Caveliers and Skyhawks but I'd not heard of it in any Toyota made cars. 

[Lexus Owners Club]

Very rare to encounter Piston slap on a modern engine....what does it actually sound like and is it engine revs related?

[Bykfixer]

If I recall correct the piston slap sound was most pronounced during accelaration. But could be head while it idled. It kinda sounded like in a 4 cylinder engine you had 3 gasoline fired cylinder and 1 diesel fired cylinder. The slapping piston being the diesel sounding cylinder if you remember the sound of diesel pickup trucks in the 90's.

If you have piston slap you WILL hear it. 

It seems it's an alluminum alloy thing in that if driving the car agressively with a cold engine the pistons don't "swell" before load is applied so distortion can occur. The car has a knock sensor for that and adjusts timing accordingly. If it does actually have piston slap, letting the engine warm up a few minutes will help extend the life of the piston. These days it should cause the check engine light to illuminate and the code would be misfire or similar. 

I have an 018 F-150 for work that has a rod knock sound that Ford says is the fuel pump. Nothing to be concerned with. 

If my mechanic says I have piston slap and I'm not getting a code or hearing anything odd I'd get a second opinion. 

[Jim19460]

Thanks to all who responded , I appreciate your input. 

I will get a second opinion as suggested

Jim