Ever since the first thousand miles or so I have noticed a ticking sound when my engine is idling. Obviously you can't hear it from inside the car, but standing outside it is very noticeable. The only mod I have on the car is the F-Sport intake, but it has made this sound pretty much since I got the car. I didn't drive it hard during the first thousand miles, so I'm not sure if this is something I did or if it's normal, or not normal. Is everyone else's engines fantastically quiet at idle, should I get this checked out?

 

its normal......I thought the same thing (just got a certified 2006 IS350) and read on here many everyone else has the same ticking...
I just picked up another IS350 and it does it also...the exact same sound

enjoy it...its fine!

 

its normal. Its direction injection making that noise.

 

The Direct Injectors function at over 1000psi... similar to diesel style injection. The injectors are just loud by nature because they inject fuel directly into the combustion chamber, rather than into the port before the cylinder. Hence the name.. Direct Injection. It is normal. Nothing to worry about.

 

normal but annoying

 

I have the same problem, but sometimes when i start the engine it sounds like "a fan is whacking against something." and it's noticeable in the car.

 

Completely normal unless that "fan whacking" noise is ridiculously loud. You can always get a loud exhaust to drone it out

I like to think of it this way. The fact that it has direct injection makes more precise of an engine (and possibly more expensive) than that non-direct injected engine next to me that sounds normal ;p

 

I've nicknamed my car "The Ticker." They all do this, it's normal. I actually like the sound now after a few months.

 

normally i hear the ticking when i park my car, i drive so fast that the friction of the air heats up and expands the metal like the SR-71 spy plane

 

ahh i am glad there are threads like this to explain weird sounds.

 

those are the direct injectors! i hate it too!

 

Thanks Judd, great analogy.... i will always remember that one!!!

 

yep mine does the same thing and yep its the direct injectors :P

 

roflmao!!

 

I still dont understand why people say they hate the sound.. If you test drove the car before you bought it, then you would have heard the noise. So you either heard it, hated it, and bought the car anyway... or somehow didnt hear it?