I should warn you, I have no knowledge of engines and why they sound they way they do, or what is normal an what is not. What I do have is experience in Hondas (acuras) and Toyota.
With that said, why are our engines so noisy and cheap sounding? In the lower gears, I guess first and second, while accelerating normally from a dead stop, how come there is all this ticking and struggling sound from the engine? It isn't until third gear that the car feels refined and solid.
It isn't until you are at higher speeds, that stepping on it sounds great.
I parked my car while keeping the engine running, and walked to the hood. I can hear the ticking. I opened the hood, and I can't believe how loud it is. Why?
Why does my 2001 Acura Cl type-s with 127000 miles on it sound quiter and accelerate from a dead stop quiter? Why does this sound like my mother's 2012 4 cylinder Camry?
I love my car, but... why so ****ty sounding when slowly driving around?

Sorry for the negativity.

 

Someone else will probably give you a much more in depth explanation, but basically this ticking noise is normal, it has something to do with the two different types of injectors that the car uses depending on the way you drive it.

 

it is sound of technology - high pressure direct injection system used in the engine... its what makes that car a great car. without it you would have a camry - 40hp less and more fuel consumption.

 

We all have different opinions, but I don't find the engine sound noisy or cheap at all. I like it when I step on it and hear the piped-in sounds.

 

I have no complaints about the sound when I really step on it. I think it sounds great when you really give it some gas.
I just cringe when I am slowly leaving a dead stop.
But hey, if that's what it is meant to sound like, then whatever... I'll just try to tune it out. Or maybe I'll throw in a cool air intake and see if the hiss can drown out the noises. You think?

 

i don't even hear it anymore (the ticking) guess i'm immune to it. it sounded really loud in the beginning ,,, but not so much anymore.

 

I also wish the mechanical sounds of the engine were better isolated from the cabin. The sound is not that refined under average acceleration from a stop. I actually complained to Lexus about this. I'm not referring to the ticking sounds you hear when you're outside the car (which is actually the injector solenoids, not the direct injection). Of course I'm coming from an LS 430 so anything will sound noisier. But the engine noise in my other cars sound more refined in the passenger compartment to me.

 

You, my friend, know exactly how I feel!

 

the ticking sound is a bit louder then I would have expected, but who really cares...close the door and problem solved!

 

Same ticking sound in the 3GS....it seems to have gone away after all these years....or I am just immune to it now.

 

Ahh!! I was worried as well since my car only has 50 miles on her. I too was worried.

 

One solution would be to swap in the air-intake of the 3GS thus removing the sound-generator (and noise) of the 4GS intake. Since they're the same 3.5L engine, it would be a simple plug-and-play.

I know several 4GS owners in Singapore who did precisely that. They ordered the 3rd gen GS350 air-intake from Sewell Lexus (the 3rd Gen GS350 never made it to our shores, we made do with the GS300) shipped it over and did the swap with no modification required.

 

The direct injection employed by the engine fuel system is the cause of the "clicking" or "tapping". The fuel injection pressures created by such a system are significantly higher than those of a conventional fuel injection system.

 

No longer discussing the ticking...
As gkcmilner put it,
"I also wish the mechanical sounds of the engine were better isolated from the cabin. The sound is not that refined under average acceleration from a stop."
So could one of the issues be a lack of sound deadening in Toyota and Lexus cars. Are the mechanical noises of the motor so present in lower gears because Toyota/Lexus went cheap on sound deadening?

 

If you want a quite car you should have gone with a Buick Lacrosse AWD 3.6L...

Enjoy your LUXURY SPORT SEDAN

And the Lexus DI 3.5 Is very refined. You want coarse go drive an Infiniti with the VQ37