oh and yur car cranks but no starts means starter is good. check coils or spark plugs

 

Unrelated, but has your gas gauge always jumped around like that when starting the car? Shouldn't it just quickly go to the marking and stop? I've never seen that before... Any new news on your issue? I once had the same exact noise on my maxima after the car had sat for a couple of months. Exactly the same noise. But it smoothed out and went away and never came back. But I sold the car and it ran fine. Not sure what it was, but it was exactly the same noise like you posted. How long was the car parked for?

 

Yea it has always jumped like that. I always thought it was funny and normal, guess not It would be great if that noise was a one off. I'll try to start it again tonight. It had been parked for a few days but not really used for a week or two. I do think that it is something serious such as the valves sticking. I can't imagine a timing belt jumping after 10k miles. No news on the issue yet. It'll probably get towed tomorrow then I'll have more news.

Thanks everyone that has given different ideas. I'll update the thread when I know more.

edit: I forgot to mention to Lust4Lexus, you can also see the information display does not work. The thing that shows you your mpg, etc. On the non navigation models. I think it's time to sell this car, lol. It sucks because at the time of buying it, it was the only pearl white available.

 

I'd say its definitely not the timing belt jumping teeth. I don't even think that's possible in this motor. If it did jump a tooth then the belt would have to be trashed and/or it likely wouldn't have made a consistent knocking noise like in that one video, it likely would have just stumbled and quickly stalled. I don't think it would be a stuck valve either. I think it's possible it's something in the bottom end, which of course isn't good. Dumb question but have you pressed the display button (think that's the correct one) to cycle through the information display? Keep us posted.

 

Why the guessing around with the possibility of causing serious damage? Just get it hauled to the dealer and let them determine the problem. Then you can make a decision as to what to do.

 

Yea, I had another thread where I tried to figure out the issue with the display. The fuse is fine and I've pressed the buttons all different ways and it will not come on. AAA came and they started it up. He started it, ran it for a bit, turned it off, on, off, etc. Sometimes it would be noticeable. Other times it sounded really quiet but you could tell the noise was still there.

It's on the way to the mechanic right now

The reason I was trying to find out the issue before hand is to know where to tow the car to. If it was something simple like a spark plug, it didn't matter. If it was a rod knocking or similar. It would have to go somewhere specific. I don't know a good local mechanic yet.


Video of it running (turn your volume down a bit, it's loud)

 

Any update on this? Did it get to a repair shop?

 

Kind of a thought. But I've had cars that sit for awhile and when you go to start them up they will tap.
Oil has all drained to the bottom of the motor. I dont know exactly how these heads are, if they have hydro lifter they could very well have air in them, or just from dry starting the motor.
I drove my one car for 3 days with a similar tap, and finally went away.

Just a thought.

 

I was told by a toyota tec that the reason toyota motors last so long is there is a check valve in the oil pump system that will not let the motor start dry.

 

I'm not aware of a check valve built into the oil pumping system for Toyota motors; however, there is a check valve built into the oil filter for all vehicle oil filters. This valve is to prevent the engine from starting 'dry.'

Has the OP allowed the engine to run to rebuild oil pressure? Would take 10-15 seconds to re-establish normal oil pressure. I would suspect a failed check valve in the oil filter as the cause of this issue......it's not commonplace for this to happen, but it does happen.

This is one reason I stick with high quality oil filters with a track record for high performance and longevity.

I hope the problem is resolved at minimal cost to the OP.......OP: please update us!

Regards,
Randy G.

 

Sorry for taking sooo long to update

The noise went away after driving it down the road and hasn't came back. The mechanic said it happens on these engines? The longest it has sat for since this is 3 days, the noise has not returned! Changing the oil and filter today

 

This makes no sence. Is this a Lexus mechanic?