lifter noise on cold startup/acceleration?

[CorollaS2011]

Greetings to everyone on the Camry board! We are new owners of a 2007 Camry as of a couple days ago and I have a question.
The car has just over 49,000 miles on it and runs great. The first morning after purchase I started it up and all was ok until I put it in gear and slowly accelerated away. While it ran just fine, I could hear a ticking noise from the valve lifters when the engine was cold. It went away as it warmed up and we never heard it again for the rest of the day as we drove it.

Have any of you experienced this and if so, does it indicate anything to be worried about? I have experience with many domestic engines and some will do this same thing and never have a problem. I must admit to being a noob on the Toyota engines.

The car is a Certified Used Car with Toyota, so there is a bumper-to-bumper warranty for 12 monts and about 3 years left on the powertrain warranty for it.

Thanks for any insights you can share.

PS This is the inline 4 cylinder engine and auto trans.

[kaashifv]

My car is also a 2007 Camry I4, and does this when cold...i had the noise checked by the dealer on a few occasional and they say its normal. Never had any issues..so i would assume its normal and there is nothing to be concerned about

[molson.david]

my ticking noise disappeared right after I switched to 5-w30 SynPower Valvoline oil.
use thicker oil if you care about motor.

[93celicaconv]

Is the noise only present immediately after startup, before the oil pressure light goes out? If so, that is valve chatter, and you hear it because oil hasn't reached the head yet because all the oil in the oil gallies & filter had drained back to the oil pan. The noise would only last a second or 2 in this case.

What you are describing sounds different. In real cold weather, the noise you seem to be describing (that gradually subsides as the engine warms up) would be typical of piston slap. The skirts on the pistons do wear over time, and if the skirts are very short, and if oil changes didn't happen on proper intervals, this could explain the noise I think you are describing.

[CorollaS2011]

Thanks for the replies! Well, the car (my wife has not decided on what to name her yet...it's her car) made me a liar today. Started it up cold and drove off without a single tick!
I've heard lifter clatter before and it sure sounds like what I've heard in other engines. This car has a vehicle history and service report going back to when it was new and the oil changes were done on time, so I don't think it's piston slap... at least I hope it isn't! Glad to hear that someone else has experienced this. I'll just keep an eye and an ear on it and let you know if anything changes. Many thanks to all!

[BlackCamSe]

Most likely piston slap. I know the 2GR is notorious for it. Mine even does it.