Hey folks, recently my 05 XB with 55k miles on it developed an interesting problem. It is an automatic.

When I start the car, put it into drive and hold the break down (ie waiting on the traffic light down the road, and before the engine has warmed up) there is an rattling/grinding sound coming from the engine area. If I put it into neutral at the stop light, it goes away. I can make the grinding start and stop just by switching from neutral to drive. After the engine warms up and after I start driving it goes away. It will come back intermittently when continuing to drive, but mostly when the engine is climbing gears.

Anyone think they have an idea what may be causing this? The car still has 5k miles left on the original drive train warranty, and I'll be taking into the shop more than likely this weekend, but I'd like to have some idea about what's wrong before I take it in.

Thanks in advance :-)

have them check your water pump mine went out at 60k miles and it also made a weird rattling type sound but would go away when i drive and when i put it in neutral.

you could also check to make sure the rubber stops for the hood are ajusted.

does it sound like this

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CvnOxlcW5BQ

if it's the stops, they just need re-adjusting. if you look closely enough at your hood lining along the meeting points around your fenders and grills, you'll notice the hood isn't lined up properly either which will be a confirmation on the stops being off a bit. when you are sitting at a stop light or at a dead stop, but your tranny is in drive and your brake is on, your rpm's will be slightly lower then the "comfort zone" which will start a vibration big enough to bring out the biggest noises in the smallest of things.

i have an 06 manual my self and when i first got it i had something similar to what you are talking about. mine was slightly different though, mine would rattle when the engine is warmed up and just sitting at an idle while my rpm's stayed around 600rpm which is cutting it close to getting pretty low.

Something else to check is the Torque convertor bolts. I have had 2 vehicles that developed a rattling noise that would go away when not in gear, and each time it was the torque convertor bolts had loosened up. Bough a Jeep Cherokee 2 years ago from a guy who thought the engine was about to blow up because of the noise. Bought it cheap, and found the bolts so loose that they had worn slots in the flexplate. Tightened bolts and noise went away.

Hey folks, recently my 05 XB with 55k miles on it developed an interesting problem. It is an automatic.

When I start the car, put it into drive and hold the break down (ie waiting on the traffic light down the road, and before the engine has warmed up) there is an rattling/grinding sound coming from the engine area. If I put it into neutral at the stop light, it goes away. I can make the grinding start and stop just by switching from neutral to drive. After the engine warms up and after I start driving it goes away. It will come back intermittently when continuing to drive, but mostly when the engine is climbing gears.

Anyone think they have an idea what may be causing this? The car still has 5k miles left on the original drive train warranty, and I'll be taking into the shop more than likely this weekend, but I'd like to have some idea about what's wrong before I take it in.

Thanks in advance :-)


Ok, there are a lot of rediculous, far out things people are thowing out for you to check, that just do not happen on the Toyota product line unless it has been in some sort of accident.
This would need to be heard by a Toyota mechanic and cannot be bench diagnosed.

Just let your car warm up for 3 minutes or whatever before you go anywhere.

Mine makes that weird sound too, but I have read that its better to let it warm up first anyway.

i don't think it matters anymore. this guy hasn't signed in since January.

Ok, there are a lot of rediculous, far out things people are thowing out for you to check, that just do not happen on the Toyota product line unless it has been in some sort of accident.
This would need to be heard by a Toyota mechanic and cannot be bench diagnosed.[/quote]

um, correct me if im wrong. the guy was asking for help, we were just giving him ideas to check.

most likely the hood, I had the same issue. dont waste money goin to the dealership till you tried everything you can.

I have the same exact sound from mine. When it's not in grear there is no rattle, but as soon as you put it in gear you can hear somethin vibrating, but only when you are at a stop or just taking off. When you get going it goes away. When you come to a stop at a stop light, you can hear it again. It appear to be when to engine is torqued from being in gear but not moving. I've looked everywhere to find where the sound is coming from, I even put it up on jack stands and crawled under it and had someone put it in gear and hold down on the brake to reproduce the problem, but could not find it. It was not the the hood! I thought it might be the headers or exhaust touching something or maybe an engine mount bad, but not that either. Maybe someone out there can help us identify it or at least let us know it's not a real problem.

one other thing it could be is the heat sheild on the exaust header.

im just tring to think of anything that would rattle like that

i was apparently wrong. my car started doin it again today. intake was vibrating pretty hard when i popped the hood. when i flipped on the AC it seemed to be slightly worse. Cant find anything on it yet....

Anyone else come up with anything?

OK...I checked the exhaust bracket n the middle of the car, the header heat shield, and every other bolt that looked suspicious - all fine. I still makes the noise when idleing in gear and i can feel the vibration in the break pedal

Hey wagonbldr:
"Torque convertor bolts" are where?


and we're not alone. The one dude thinks its the motor mounts:

http://www.scionlife.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=119698&postdays=0&postorder=asc&highlight=vibration+idle&&start=20

bump

Two suggestions
1) For some reason your motor mounts are going bad and that is why your car is vibrating
2) Sounds to me like the it is more of a tranny problem. Have that checked.

i really dont think its the tranny. Its usually just a subtle vibration and only at really low rpms, like 450.

i think i got the same issue. started today.