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We've noticed a clicking sound especially after starting the engine. We've mentioned it to our mechanic but he didn't seem to think it was a problem. I've thought of adding a can of LiquiMoly Hydraulic Lifter Additive (10 ozs) to the oil and see if it reduces the clicking sound, but the oil level is full. Would it be harmful to add the 10 ounce can of it?
Does anyone have any experience with the clicking sound on this model and if the LiquiMoly would help it?

Elless400

Does it go away after 10-15 minutes? Mine does. But mine's piston slap. I just take it real easy till it's subsided. It's better for the engine anyway.

I shy away from additives myself, preferring instead to just always use good oil and proper replacement intervals (not the that you aren't doing that).

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Elless400 - After talking to my wife, she said that the ticking sound does not go away.

Elless400

With the hood open, it should be easy to tell if it's coming from one side or the other.

One person in here thought he had valve/lifter tick, but it was actually his alternator pulley.

Check it out! I didn't find much in terms of actual lifter/valve tick for this engine.

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Elless400

Interesting. Sounds more like an injector, or piston slap that's more severe than mine with the fact that it's only present if throttle is applied.

By my understanding lifters and valves don't need a load to tick, they just tick regardless if they are ticking.

Did your mechanic say what he thought it was?

chuyrobles

You can't go by where you think the sound is coming from. Noise bounces all over the engine bay that you can not reliable pinpoint the source. You need to methodically check each moving component with a stethoscope or other similar procedure to help pinpoint the noise. Start with the easy stuff - Idler bearings, tensioner bearing, water pump bearing, alternator bearing, PS bearing, etc...

You can add up to half a extra quart of oil and your engine will be fine - 10 oz will be OK. Our ES350 also had a clicking sound for a short time. It only lasted a few seconds at start-up and it started after I switched to Valvoline MaxLife synthetic oil. At next oil change I went back to Mobil 1 Extended synthetic and have not heard that noise since. Was it really the oil? Maybe, maybe not; could just be a coincidence. Oils do have different additive packages; I think our engine got used to the lube properties of Mobil 1 as I started using it at 60K and I tried to switch at about 160K.

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