matts6887

upon inital acceleration after starting when cold; (like this morning when i went to leave it was 42 degrees or so); I am hearing a very distinct almost pinging or knocking sound. Now it goes away but not entirely after it warms up but I can still hear it a little even when warm. It seems like its been going on for a little bit of time only not sure how long. Is this the sign of something bad like possible lifters and or valves starting to go bad leading to a possible bad engine? I sure hope it isnt as thats the last thing i need!

tomr51

when was the last oil change? is the oil level OK?

matts6887

Yes oil level is ok. I always do oil changes when the maintenance indicator comes on or slightly after. Which is usually every 5000 miles give or take a few miles

Margate330

Greetings,

Can I ask,

What is your year/model and mileage?

What oil are you using?

The reason I ask is I switched one time from Mobil One Full Synthetic to Valvoline Synthetic Blend(just once) as an experiment and heard the same noise you are describing but only on a cold day while on vacation for about the first 30-60 seconds after startup.

It scared the crap out of me I thought my engine had serious problems lol

Lifters tapping and crank/bearing tap- engine sounded dry.

That is why I switched back to Mobil One full synthetic- seems to stay much thinner in colder temps and gets to lifters faster and hear none of these sounds at startup when visiting family up north on 30 degree days.

Edit:
PS- I am not trying to scare anyone but on cold startup the noises "could suggest" oil delivery- more specifically the oil control valves/screens and cam phasers for the VVT valve timing which count on oil flow. Whitout knowing fuel trims and MAF, ignition timing, etc with no codes it is hard to say.

2004 RX330 150K miles

matts6887

2007 rx350. A bit over 137,000 miles. The thing is I can’t really afford the cost of synthetic oil changes every 5000 miles. The shop I go to uses a valvoline synthetic blend which is mostly regular with a little synthetic mixed in

matts6887

Can anyone else shed more light on this?

lexsc4

On my wife's 08 RX350, I always use Mobil 1 5W-30 and the engine is still very quiet at 135K miles.

Buy oil from Walmart, 5-quart jug of Mobil 1 is ~$25. I always cheap out and don't want to pay $8 per quarts of Mobil1. So I buy 2 quarts of Supertech synthetic 5W-30 at $5 each.
Plus, I also buy OEM filters in bulk at ~$4 each. Part cost $27+$11+$4 = $42 after tax. My mechanic charge me $15 labor and it takes him 20 minutes, so I don't even bother, I watch him do it every time while I wait and it is a simple job if I want to do it, I just need to buy the oil filter wrench, floor and hydraulic jacks. BTW, I always go with 7-7.5K miles oil change interval and it has not failed on me since we bought the car at 78K miles.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/Five-5-0415...72.m2749.l2649

matts6887

well i dont have the tools or the facilities to do it myself as far as oil changes go which is why I just go to the shop down the street to get my oil changes done. But; does the fact that its making this what seems to be a knocking/very distinct pinging noise upon inital acceleration when cold mean something is up with the lifters and or valves and is it something that needs to be addressed immediately as in it could cause any damage long term or am i good with just letting it go and leaving it alone?

lexsc4

Sorry, can't comment as I am not knowledgeable enough nor I have experience this sound before. I just can give you my advice with my experience with Mobil 1.

matts6887

Does anyone else out there have experience in this and can they shed light on this?

matts6887

Any other experts out there that can add to this?

wildcatden

Are you running premium gas (91 or higher)? Perhaps you got a bad batch of gas.

matts6887

yep I always run premium. And I usually use shell or Costco gas. I just hope this isn’t like something that’s going to be detrimental long term to the longevity of
the motor. I mean I’ve only got about 137000 and a half miles about give or take.

wildcatden

At 137,000.5 miles on the clock, have you ever had your spark plugs changed? Note: Spark plug job is apparently a major PITA.

matts6887

yes that’s exactly what it pretty much sounds like. At first I thought it was something that meant bad news for me!; but if it is in fact normal for these Lexus v6s to sound like that when cold then I guess im
ok. I can’t switch oil because I get it done at a shop down the street from me that is always reputable and they use valvoline only. I just wonder if I should consider sea foaming the engine?