LOUD cold engine noise '06 59K

No joke, I'm about to ... .


Sunday night the ambient temp was about 65. Prius had been sitting for maybe 4 hours. It had been running for 30-45 seconds before I floored it to make a light 1/4 mile down the road. I've done this before.

But this time I heard engine noise like there was no oil in the crankcase. I let off the gas; no noise. No warning lights. Oil level is fine. Toyota serviced it 11 times in 55000 miles. They swear they used the right oil.

I can't replicate the noise. But the seed's been planted. Now any noise at high rev sounds abnormal. Always striving for 50+ mpg, I almost never push my Prius, so I don't have a good feel for its 'usual' engine 'noise' at sustained high rev sounds like, but this noise sounded very, very bad and I'd never heard anything like it.

I know what pinging sounds like, but not knocking, but aren't both sort of intermittent? My noise wasn't. No loss of power, either.

Injector noise was one guy's suggestion, maybe to get me down off the bridge railing.

I'm going in Tuesday just to get it logged as a complaint before odometer turns 60K and to see if anyone hears something at operating temp. I have one for Saturday and I'll leave it overnight so I can take the drive, too.

It had been running great. At 55 mph on interstate, with new Michelin "Energy Savers" since August, I'd been getting a real 60 mpg as opposed to the 55 I used to get. I was happy as could be.

I guess all I'm asking is how screwed it sounds like I might be.

And I gotta hit send since I feel like I'm gonna hurl aga

 

Well, I've taken it to no one but Toyota, so surely they know what filter and viscosity to use. But since I've never changed or had to add oil, I don't off-hand know what the viscosity should be. I can't imagine anybody actually cutting oil change that short, but I guess they do.

I'm not due for service for another 1000, but I think I may just do 60K while I'm still under warranty, though there's no way they'd ever tell me something needed replacing this late in the game. Or early, for that matter.

Patrick Wong wrote:
...it is a bad idea to floor the accelerator pedal when the engine is not warmed up. Component clearances are looser than when the engine has reached operating temp. If you do this habitually, your engine will have a shorter-than-normal life.

I know. But I tell ya, it can take FIVE MINUTES to get (a) out of the mall lot and (b) make the next light and then (c) make the light to turn onto I-75. However, lesson learned! I'll take the 'back way'. It takes 4 minutes, but little traffic, only right turns.

I've been lovin' this machine. So not gonna do anything [else] to jeapordize it. I've only done the 'high rev when cold' 2 or 3 times ever. There won't be a 3rd or 4th.

Thanks to both of you for helping me out.