LouLee

Hello gents, I'm new to the forum and would like to say thanks for having me on board. I have recently bought a 2007 ES350 that's runs fantastic considering I bought it with high miles from the Lexus dealer (149k). I live in Florida's warm climate and I notice that even though it's not cold out in the mornings my car idles high (at about 2k) for only a few minutes 2-4 tops then starts to drop to normal as it warms up. It hurts me to hear it as I'm not use to this and I worry that it may cause damage to my engine due to oil not being circulated properly yet. Most importantly, ONLY when cold, I hear a very light knocking sound, kinda like a bad lifter tick, but by the time I get to my daughters school which is about 5-6 miles away it goes away and sounds normal at that point. Had me very concerned as I just bought it less than a few weeks ago and I'm afraid something was wrong and dealer may been able to mask it at my point of purchase and now its starting to rear its ugly head. This is my first Lexus ES350, not really sure if it's normal or not. I can tell you, when it warms up, I've jumped out of my car and have put me ear to the good and can't hear the tick. Should I be concerned? Is high idle with tick normal if it goes away when it warms up or is it a fair warning something is bad or about to go bad?

Please advise fellas,
Thanks Lou

ESh

That's so called piston slap. If you ask Lexus, that's very normal. Maybe it is. Just drive it slowly until it warms up, I mean no hard acceleration.
I eliminated piston slap noise with Amsoil 0-30 and a bottle of engine flush.

LouLee

Thanks LjeksesES, I was hoping to hear that. This forum is awesome. Thx again Buddy.

ESh

The only thing that scares me is the high idle.
Mine starts at exaclty 1600 and then it drops gradually.

LouLee

Mine hits 2000 but for just a few seconds, but those seconds seem like forever that high. Then after bout 4 seconds tops... it goes to about 1600 and there it takes a few minutes to drop below 1. I've googled other forums and all forums point to it being normal. I think I might be ok.

hypervish

High RPM on a "cold" start is normal. The ECU is doing that to warm up the CAT's quicker, all for emissions.

LouLee

Thanks gents, appreciate you guys taking the time to help with this info.

MDames2

iTrader: (1)

The ticking sound is typical for this car. I owned a 2007 since new for over 6 years. It did the same thing. Never had an issue with it at all. Don't worry about it. It is fine.

LouLee

Hypervish.....Its awesome to see the pics of Lexus vehicles have high miles and are still running , which is why I was not afraid to purchase mine with 149k on it. My previous 2000 GS300 was unfortunately totaled and it has 249,400k on it when they crashed it and it was running great before the accident. Thx for the info, greatly appreciated. Puts me at ease.

LouLee

Awesome news, thank you very much for taking the time to reply.

TerryTundr

I also have the same idle speed ....high at start up then gradually drops. My understanding of motor noise is the injectors making that loud ticking. When the temperature comes up , noise goes away.

jerseydan3

Hello Ljekses,

did not want to highjack this thread. Bought an 07 ES350 and I love it....but it suffers from the dreaded ticking noise when cold and it bothers the living daylights out of me.

Can you describe how to use the Amsoil 0-30? Is it an additive or does it replace a quart on a fresh oil change? I've tried DURALUBE (under my mechanic's advice) but that did not do the trick.

Also which brand of Engine flush did you use? Is that also an additive to be added to the oil or do I add it to the gas tank?

Is there a thread that describes this process? If you can let me know how what to do, that would be great! THX and take care!

ESh

I just sent you a private message.

imherenow

I had ticking sound on low speed so I have heard of this called EOS or engine oil supplement. Sell at GM dealer parts and its from AC delco. Make sure the oil level is not on the top level. I used it 1st time and it really works. No more noise. It's suppose to be for those kinds of noise . I recommend checking it out and giving it a try

hisstojay

I am considering getting a ES350 350 for my wife; kindly PM me regarding the Amsoil 0-30 and the engine flush...thanks