09 tc, 29k miles. Overly-cared for. 3k mile oil changes 5w20 w/M1 full synthetic + OEM filter. Intake, cat-back. Eneos gear oil. Always top tier 93. Not beaten but not granny driven either.

It just sounds kinda.. loose. Excessive valve-train noise IMO but OF COURSE the dealership says "That's normal." I didn't even make it past the greeter. He's the one that told me "sounds like a normal tc to me."

Its just not sounding like it did 10k miles ago. I think it sounds like it should at 100k miles. What do you all think?

 

Try stepping down to 89 octane. Couldn't hurt as there's no need to run premium.

 

you're wasting your money with anything over 87 octane.

sometimes durring the changing of the season, mainly spring, my tc would run kinda rough when it was supercharged, it would run alittle rough, then i'd get a CEL, just disconnected the battery for 10 minutes, and then reconnect it. cleared the cell, and it ran and sounded better.

 

I might try the battery disconnect thing. As for the 93, Ive run 89 before because I had to and it really ran like crap. Rough idle mainly.

 

I'd say all good points so far in this thread... If the techs at the dealer said that what they observed on your vehicle to be normal... then it may simply be the VVT-i that you are experiencing, which is normal. For people that are not used to a motor with VVT-i it does sound/act differently then motors w/o it. Not saying that's the case here. If it's a type of motor/valve-train that you ARE familiar with... then I would continue to press the issue with your local dealer. If you cant get anywhere with that... you have the right to speak to any other Toyota/Scion dealer OR simply go up the chain of command to speak with the regional rep for the area of the country you live. Main reason I say that is if you are still under factory warranty you're probably getting close to the cutoff miles on it, unless they consider it to be part of the drive-train in which case it's the 5y/60K. Regardless though, if it has been documented prior to hitting the cutoff points of warranty, your claim started the day you first made them aware of the issue.
Either way... GL and keep us posted. I've personally never had an issue with the valve-train on either of my tC's so far.

 

After the battery disconnect thing, if nothing seems different I'll take it to the dealer and have an actual tech check it out and have that noted to their records- just for future reference.

Also, I should note that earlier today I was alarmed by the sound at startup and checked the oil level. It was above full. The dealer does my oil changes (with my oil I bring). I might mention that to them.

 

Cool... sounds like you've got a good handle on it. And I would definitely make a point to say that the oil level is showing higher than recommended. Now, while it's true you won't have the same issues as running an engine with not enough oil... having too much can also potentially cause it's own different set of problems.

 

the tC was meant for 89 so why are you running 93?

 

Your throwing your money right out the window here. If your not turbo'ed or SC then use what they manf. suggests in the manual, 87.

 

premium gas doesn't burn completely leaving carbon deposits in your engine. Use regular.

 

wow, you have M1 oil and change it every 3K. I don't know about the rest of you guys but that is a waste of money right there. But each to their own.

And besides, reports from several sources states that M1 is not a true synthetic oil and is now Group III based oil instead of a Group IV oil ever since M1 has lost their case against Castrol.

 

Not to threadjack but does it kinda sound like a valve is sticking/ticking?
Mine does at idle.

 

on a more helpful note the sound you are hearing may be normal. When you drive by another newer toyota listen to it's engine. More likely than not it'll have the same sound.
https://www.scionlife.com/forums/sho...d.php?t=174189
Look at post 24. Use regular. You may have to reset the ecu(by disconnecting the battery) for the engine to properly adjust.

 

That's crazy that premium did that. Then again he said he was using 97 octane. Makes me want to drain the 93 from my tank right now. I'm resetting the ecu as I write this. Tank is nearly flat so I'll fill up with some 87 I guess. That's going to feel weird. I'm still going to use top tier gas though.

So 29k miles of 93. Say I do have some buildup. How should I go about cleaning it out? Techron?

 

fuel injection services is the easiest and I'm don't mean go out and by a bottle of fuel injection cleaner. It needs to be the high pressure stuff that hooks onto the fuel rail. Any dealers or automotive shop should provide the services. To really get all the carbon built up out, port and polish.

 

Ok just filled with ... 87. Shell.



Damn my iphone 4 rules! Nice pic, self!
I hope this helps.

 

Jesus thats cheap. I paid $2.86 today got a 3 cent discount for cash woooo. lol

 

I went on an hour long country road drive aftewards.

It seems to drive just fine. Idle, accelerating, everything. I just hear this slight .. Something with the valves usually at idle but that's just when I can hear it the best.

Oh, and you fruits didn't tell me Id lose my station settings and odo settings! All well.

 

That really sounds like it's the typical loud toyota valve train that every vvt-i 4 banger toyota has.

 

BG Products has a fuel cleaner It's called 44k fuel cleaner. about $20 a can. Dump it into a nearly empty tank, fill up the tank with gas, run that through, then get an oil change. It can mix on the wall of the cylinder, best to change the oil afterwards.

http://www.bgprod.com/products/fuelair.html best stuff out there. Techron is a joke, never worked on anything I've had, others here agree with me. 44k is the best. Sounds like that's what you need

plus you should be cleaning your MAF sensor too, I find every 15k it should be cleaned. CRC sells MAF sensor cleaner, spray. Works great.