Clicking/Rattling Noise On Start

[DRod]

I have a 2008 FWD Limited. On most mornings when we start it, there's a rattle or clicking noise that consists of about 4 or 5 clicks in rhythm...as if some rotating part is slapping another.

I really only noticed it this last Fall...as temps began to drop. (We bought the car new, so this is our 2nd fall/winter in the car.)

This is totally independent of the heavy vibrating that many FWD Highlander owners are experiencing.

Is anyone else having this same issue? Solution?

[JimT]

I also have it. It happened last fall for a while then nothing all winter until today. My uneducated guess is the timing chain tensioner or something like that. It only lasts a second or two. Actually, I really have no idea what it is.

[JimT]

Strangely, mine is doing it at least twice a day now. The engine has to be cold. It lasts less than a second and sounds like a fan blade hitting a shroud in the old days.

[deadrx7conv]

There is a 'cam replacement' TSB for cold start valvetrain noise. Search here for it.
Sticking with quality synth oil and OE filters seems to keep my cold-start noise to a minimum.

[DRod]

Originally Posted by JimT

Strangely, mine is doing it at least twice a day now. The engine has to be cold. It lasts less than a second and sounds like a fan blade hitting a shroud in the old days.

Yeah...that's exactly what it sounds like.

Thanks for the heads up on the TSB, deadrx7conv. I'll check that out.

[DRod]

Here's a link to the TSB mentioned above...and my Check Engine light is on.
http://www.toyotanation.com/forum/archive/index.php/t-292418.html

[DRod]

So I took the Highlander to the dealership for this issue. Without flinching, the service advisor said this was the ABS going through a diagnostic...self-testing. While the noise does sound like calipers slapping, I smell a little BS.

Thoughts?

[TrailDust]

Originally Posted by DRod

So I took the Highlander to the dealership for this issue. Without flinching, the service advisor said this was the ABS going through a diagnostic...self-testing. While the noise does sound like calipers slapping, I smell a little BS.

Thoughts?

I'm willing to call on that one. I'd get a second or even third opinion, preferably from a quality private shop.

[JimT]

Ya, I don't think it's got anything to do with the abs. I'm certain it's something internal in the engine. I wish I knew more about the timing chain tensioner system. It reminds me of that type of sound that goes away quickly once the oil pressure increases. Mine doesn't do it with any consistency, so I haven't taken it to the dealer yet.