09 LE V6 Engine Knock-VIDEO - Toyota Nation Forum : Toyota Car and Truck Forums

1holderone · 05-08-2011, 11:54 AM

Dealer says this engine knocks when cold and is perfectly normal. Says the Lexus ES series V6 does the same. This morning after a cold start, I thought a machine gun was going off under the hood! The sound was louder and the check engine light came on...also a strong odor of gas. I turned it off quickly and set up my camera phone to hopefully record it when I re-started. This is the third time it has happened in the last year but the first time the check engine light has come on accompanied by the strong gas/exhaust odor. I have pampered this car since buying it new 2 years ago and it has always been dealer serviced every 3-4k. It only has 19k miles on it.
The 04 Jeep Grand Cherokee I traded in on it NEVER gave any trouble until 78k.

Can you believe this is happening with a TOYOTA? Again, the dealer says this is NORMAL? It knocked like this for about 1 min gradually getting more quite until it was barely noticeable. I then shut it off and re-started after 15 mins and it was normal. I drove it around the block and it drives perfectly but the check engine light is still on. Going to leave it in the garage until tomorrow when the dealer opens.

You can view the video here:

You Tube

Any ideas from the experts what exactly is going on?? If I start it in the morning and its fine, should I drive it to the dealer? OR just have it towed to be on the safe side?

I really appreciate your feedback!

MJZ · 05-08-2011, 12:45 PM

Something's up. Check engine light? Seriously... bring it in to the dealer...

robtpren · 05-08-2011, 01:29 PM

This does not sound "normal". Has the car made this sound while at the dealers? If not they will probably have to hear the noise to make a diagnosis. But with the check engine light now on it should give them the codes as to what happened.

Somethng is definately wrong.

Good Luck!

desentrix · 05-08-2011, 01:39 PM

Show the dealer the video. That's not even close to normal. Even if the engine mounting bracket was loose, it wouldn't sound like that..

pmesfun · 05-08-2011, 01:48 PM

These engines do make noise, but yours sounds awful.

BlackCamSe · 05-09-2011, 05:53 AM

Sounds like a spun rod bearing to me. That or it's that TSB for the vvti cam gear. Get that shit checked out ASAP.

BlackG5 · 05-09-2011, 01:39 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BlackCamSe

Sounds like a spun rod bearing to me. That or it's that TSB for the vvti cam gear. Get that shit checked out ASAP.

^^THIS! and don't start the damn thing anymore.

I'll be a little obvious here and ask, did you check your oil? Here's why, my mom has an 06 avalon, last summer was driving home said the A/C started blowing warm about a mile before the house. She got home and the dipstick was DRY, oil leaking out of the bottom. it was the vvt oil line... im certain hers woulda started to make noises like yours if she had driven a bit farther.

god i hate hearing noises like that coming from under the hood

good luck figuring it out

Chettaman · 05-09-2011, 02:02 PM

WOW!!! Nothing about that is a normal sound. Definitely tow that to the dealer and MAKE THEM FIX IT. That definitely sounds like metal on metal. I believe all 2009s have the all metal oil lines. I checked under the hood of mine before I bought it a few months ago. If you have one with the rubber to metal to rubber then they have to fix that for free because it's part of a TSB and should have been a recall. Let us know what it actually is and hope all goes well. Sorry to hear that you're going through the BS.

1holderone · 05-09-2011, 04:26 PM

Thanks for the feedback guys...had it towed to the dealer this morning. Check engine code is "#2 piston misfire" and of course they drove it over 10 miles and its just fine. Started up fine this morning. Their "Master Engine Tech" is baffled as is the Service Mgr. So, their solution was to put in a call to Southeast Toyota in Florida and email them the video so they can advise what to do further. They put me in a 2011 Camry until they can figure out what to do!

This is ridiculous. I certainly don't want them tearing down my engine only to find nothing wrong and say it was a fluke but what can I do? What is going to happen when it gets more mileage on it and isn't under warranty any more and this comes up again? I'll be SOL thats what. I can't implement the lemon law because this is the first time it has happened this severe. Only way to make them buy it back is if it stays in the shop for 20 consecutive days according to the Lemon Law here in NC. I just got off the phone with one of their inspectors.

I'll Update when I know more...to be continued..

Snomax · 05-09-2011, 05:41 PM

Please do!!!

Chettaman · 05-09-2011, 07:36 PM

Dang. That's crazy. Well, they can't give you that car back without getting the problem fixed. If the error code is saying misfire on piston 2 then they need to check it out. That sound doesn't sound like a misfire. It sound likes metal on metal. They need to open that engine up and start looking. Hoping for the best and definitely keep us up to date on it. I definitely don't want to have a problem like this in my 09 and I'd throw something serious if it did.

Paul3637 · 05-10-2011, 10:05 AM

Self explanatory in the ToyotaNation Avalon 3rd generation forum - people with same/similar problems which some think is piston slap but the problem usually lies in the upper portion of the engine. Dealers love to say it's normal ..... but it's not. [Also try ClubLexus since the ES&RX 350 both have the 2GR-FE engine] There is a TSB on it.

lower engine knock 07

1holderone · 05-11-2011, 10:17 AM

Got call from dealer this am.... Service advsr calls and starts to go into how they can find nothing
wrong and can't duplicate the problem etc. and oh, the good news is you still
have plenty of warranty left. I said you know as well as I do that
there HAS to be internal engine damage from all that metal to metal noise. What
good does "plenty of warranty left" do me when I'm left stranded on the
interstate out of town not to mention when I accumulate
more miles on the engine and it happens again... who is going to cover the
repairs then when it is out of warranty?? I asked him about all TSB's and he said NONE applied and he said Toyo in FL said
if it could not be duplicated to give the car back to me. I told him I was not
taking it back until a Factory Tech from the regional district examined my car.

He told me they would keep it another day and he would be back in touch
tomorrow.

I heard back from the rep with the state about the lemon law and she said I am just out of the 24
month lemon law period to file a claim but that doesn't mean I won't get
consideration however it still has to be documented atleast 4 times or in the
shop total of 20 days in a 12 mo time period for the same thing.

How do you guys think I should proceed? Take the car back and take my chances or have an Atty get in touch with Toyota Corp at this point?
With all their problems as of late I guess now would be the best time to hit them hard.
The least they could do is give me free roadside assistance for the remainder of my warranty period because of the situation don't you think?

Sad thing is, with all its faults I still really like the car..what a DAMN shame.

workerant · 05-11-2011, 10:33 AM

^ I know exactly how U feel about still liking it. And mine was an SE. My reasoning was I don't have time and money to fix a sick vehicle. Oh and I got a good offer on a better vehicle so I let it go within 24 hrs.

Chettaman · 05-11-2011, 10:56 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 1holderone

Got call from dealer this am.... Service advsr calls and starts to go into how they can find nothing
wrong and can't duplicate the problem etc. and oh, the good news is you still
have plenty of warranty left. I said you know as well as I do that
there HAS to be internal engine damage from all that metal to metal noise. What
good does "plenty of warranty left" do me when I'm left stranded on the
interstate out of town not to mention when I accumulate
more miles on the engine and it happens again... who is going to cover the
repairs then when it is out of warranty?? I asked him about all TSB's and he said NONE applied and he said Toyo in FL said
if it could not be duplicated to give the car back to me. I told him I was not
taking it back until a Factory Tech from the regional district examined my car.

He told me they would keep it another day and he would be back in touch
tomorrow.

I heard back from the rep with the state about the lemon law and she said I am just out of the 24
month lemon law period to file a claim but that doesn't mean I won't get
consideration however it still has to be documented atleast 4 times or in the
shop total of 20 days in a 12 mo time period for the same thing.

How do you guys think I should proceed? Take the car back and take my chances or have an Atty get in touch with Toyota Corp at this point?
With all their problems as of late I guess now would be the best time to hit them hard.
The least they could do is give me free roadside assistance for the remainder of my warranty period because of the situation don't you think?

Sad thing is, with all its faults I still really like the car..what a DAMN shame.

That's some BS. I wonder if they ever did a real cold start. They probably didn't even let it sit for at least 6 hours before starting it up. It's things like that make it difficult for me to want to bring my 09 to the dealer. not sure if anyone has this issue but, it seems that when hit certain types of bumps I hear a knocking sound towards the front passenger side. I don't think I've heard it on the driver side. I noticed it when driving the car home from Jersey after I bought the car. It doesn't happen on every bump. Just certain types of bumps. Does anyone hear or feel that knock on there Gen 6? Things like that make it so much harder to diagnose and then you have to keep going back and forth to the dealer hoping that they will hear it whether them testing the car out or a mechanic going on a drive with you. It's annoying. Well, I paid the extra 1K for the extended bumper to bumper so they will fix what they didn't make right.
Truthfully, I don't think you should take the car back. The proof is on video. No car should sound like that running normally. Maybe you should talk to your lawyer and present your case and see what they think you should do next. The lawyer will know best on what steps to take on pursuing a case like this the right way so you win in the end. Once again, keep us up to date on it and I hope this gets resolved soon.
I too am enjoying my 09 SE and I'm starting to do work on it and make it "SEXY". LOL. Even though reading about the problems with Toyota I still didn't see a car that I wanted except for an STI but, my budget couldn't deal with that right now. The VW Jetta was an option until they morphed it into poo. Anyway, hope all goes well.