Sudden Rattle At Idle After 120 Mile Motorway Trip

[Berti]

2.0 deisel Avensis 07 plate 24K miles - after 120 mile trip at around 75 mph - when stopped noticed very noisy rattle - when engine revs are insreased slightly it goes away - returns immediately engine returns to idle speed. No oil light on.

Any suggestions as to what might be gratefully received as have to decide whether OK to drive back home tomorrow.

Cheers

Bertie

[trevs toyota]

2.0 deisel Avensis 07 plate 24K miles - after 120 mile trip at around 75 mph - when stopped noticed very noisy rattle - when engine revs are insreased slightly it goes away - returns immediately engine returns to idle speed. No oil light on.

Any suggestions as to what might be gratefully received as have to decide whether OK to drive back home tomorrow.

Cheers

Bertie

Sounds like alternator problem I had on 1.4 D4D. This started the same way.Over time it gets louder and more annoying.Intermittent at first then more frequent until constant rattle.

Get it fixed under the 3 year warranty while you can.I missed out and had to pay.

[cmia]

Were you using the aircon ?

[peterc.lewis@blueyonder.co.uk]

Is it a rattle coming from under the car?

Not a loose exhaust shield is it ?

Had this happen when we were camping in West Wales a few years ago. It rattled when the engine was vibrating most at about 1200 revs and died down when the engine was revved or went lower than this. Two extra large rivets and a rivet popper shut that up.

[Taximan121]

I get a lot of that.I have 07 d4d .Seems to be coming from geardox idle gears ,when you press clutch does it go cheers.Toyota replaced flywheel 1500 euro went out of it for a while but back again.I reckon the worst model to give trouble.Still have my 1999 2.0d model 400,000 miles same gearbox and flywheel.cheers

[Berti]

Is it a rattle coming from under the car?

Not a loose exhaust shield is it ?

Had this happen when we were camping in West Wales a few years ago. It rattled when the engine was vibrating most at about 1200 revs and died down when the engine was revved or went lower than this. Two extra large rivets and a rivet popper shut that up.

This a a very strange situation as it does not always happen and is therefore difficult to demonstrate to the dealership!

When we returned to the car several days after the first 120 mile motorway trip in which this noise first occurred - we checked the oil - (ok) then started the engine and the noise was gone. Drove the car 30 miles along the M3 then stopped at services - no noise! Drove on a further 60 odd mles to Weymouth still no noise.

Used car the following day to "tootle" along the coast at 40-60 mph to Lyme Regis - stopped the car and the noise was back. Looked under the car whilst engine ticking over and the exhaust appeared to be vibrating - by slightly increasing the revs the exhaust steadies and the noise then is gone until the revs die back down to tickover.

Problem is - the car has now been driven back home to Cardiff - some 130 miles, of which 70 odd miles done at 70+ mph - no noise then and still no noise now when driving around town!!

I have just 6 weeks warranty left and an intermittent problem which, unless I'm extremely lucky, I'm not going to be able to demonstrate to the dealer. Brilliant!!

[Mstock3]

Fortunately not had this type of noise on the Toyota's that I've owned, but have had it on my VW Golfs, which was fixed by on one by changing the Catalytic converter and on the other by a new exhaust box.

During a long run the exhaust system expands across different elements of the system causing any defect in fit to be exagerated this will be noticeable at low revs as low revs generally low pressure in the exhaust causing any loose components to vibrate. Increasing the revs increases the pressure on the loose components reducing the ability to "flap around".

The failure of the catalytic converter on my low mileage Golf was caused by the dealer washing the underside of the car with a pressure washer when the exhaust system was hot - thermal shock, fortunately I watched him do it.

Next time it happens it would also be worth depressing the clutch pedal, this will also help identify if the clutch thrust bearing is at fault.

In respect of the Warranty, i would suspect that as long as you have identified a warranty issue within the warranty period and it is logged as such by the dealer it should remain as a warranty item until an effective repair is made. I am not 100% sure on this point and can't check my documents at the moment but is worth checking out.

Trust this helps

[Berti]

Noise, when it decides to manifest itself, is certainly not subdued by depressing the clutch - I thought about that one when it first happened.

I tend to go for the exhaust idea - not so much for the loose heat shield but more towards something inside the exhaust which rattles when hot. The exhaust note does sound a little "boomy" and we've noticed that on the motorway the car is not as quiet as it used to be - downright noisy sometimes!

Thanks to all for the help and suggestions.

Bertie

[Berti]

Noise, when it decides to manifest itself, is certainly not subdued by depressing the clutch - I thought about that one when it first happened.

I tend to go for the exhaust idea - not so much for the loose heat shield but more towards something inside the exhaust which rattles when hot. The exhaust note does sound a little "boomy" and we've noticed that on the motorway the car is not as quiet as it used to be - downright noisy sometimes!

Thanks to all for the help and suggestions.

Bertie

Well it looks as if the mystery has been solved!

Car went in to Toyota Dealer today and tomorrow it is being fitted with a new Catalytic Converter and Exhaust.

Quite amazing for a car that has just turned 24K miles!!

This probably explains also why it has been getting a bit thirstier as well!