Toyota 1NZ-FXE: Always Noisy?

[Greg L]

Did my 3rd OCI and belt change on our new (used) 2007 Prius, with the 1NZ-FXE, 1.5 litre engine.

Even after switching from Castrol HM in 5w30 to PYB in 5w30...this motor seems to idle with a bit of noise.


Nothing sounds bad...just a very noticeable 'sewing-machine' sound of the valves.


Is this typical for this engine? It currently has 136,000 miles on it.

It is new to me & am just learning about it.


GL

 

[06VtecV6]

Originally Posted By: Greg L
Did my 3rd OCI and belt change on our new (used) 2007 Prius, with the 1NZ-FXE, 1.5 litre engine.

Even after switching from Castrol HM in 5w30 to PYB in 5w30...this motor seems to idle with a bit of noise.


Nothing sounds bad...just a very noticeable 'sewing-machine' sound of the valves.


Is this typical for this engine? It currently has 136,000 miles on it.

It is new to me & am just learning about it.


GL


I got a whine when I first start rolling after starting the car but then it disappears and this happens everytime after a cold start. Is it the transmission? It sounds similar to the whine that was occurring all the time in my previous DD, the honda accord v6 and that was a transmission whine and it sounded like a sewing machine too.

 

[krismoriah72]

The prius has solid lifters i believe which will give u that sewing machine sound. Might want to keep an ear on timing chain stretching as time goes on..

 

[wemay]

Originally Posted By: Greg L

Even after switching from Castrol HM in 5w30 to PYB in 5w30...this motor seems to idle with a bit of noise.


What about this switch led you to believe there would be a sound difference?

 

[nthach]

The Prius/Scion/Echo/Yaris motors tend to be "chatty" - my parent's Prius has seen M1, PP/PYB, Valvoline and QSAD.

They use shim under bucket lifters - which is used on some motorbikes for its high-RPM stability - not that a Prius will see anything near red line...

 

[Doog]

Originally Posted By: krismoriah72
The prius has solid lifters i believe which will give u that sewing machine sound. Might want to keep an ear on timing chain stretching as time goes on..



Timing chain stretching?

yeah sure.

 

[Doog]

Originally Posted By: nthach

They use shim under bucket lifters - which is used on some motorbikes for its high-RPM stability - not that a Prius will see anything near red line...


Have your dealer listen to it. You may need an adjustment which is measuring each lifter and changing the shims to the correct tolerance. The valves may also be too tight. But I would recommend letting an experienced Toyota mechanic listen to it at operating temperature.

"Nothing sounds bad...just a very noticeable 'sewing-machine' sound of the valves."

My guess is it's the normal sound. Have you tried a 5w20 synthetic oil like PP or QSUD?

 

[Greg L]

Ok, thanks for the advice

 

[InhalingBullets]

Greg, we drove an '06 Prius over 180K miles and it was a bit chatty from the beginning. Have you changed the PCV out yet? If not, do so...and have fun. It ain't easily accessible. Watch the water pump, ours went out at 138k if I remember right. That was a pretty simple 30 minute job.

 

[Greg L]

Funny you mentioned that....I took a look at the WP and the water control valve; both appear to be fairly new & have a fresh paint dot on them (maybe the previous owner had them replaced?)

I have yet to see where the PCV was located, I looked all over

GL

 

[scotthershall]

I had a 2009 Prius from about 44K to 130K. It always had a noisy idle compared to other cars. Tried all different kinds of oil (0w-20, 5w-30, 10w-30) both synthetic and non (Valvoline white bottle, Pennzoil HM, Mobil 1, Napa Synth, Supertech at the end) and the noise never changed. I wasn't trying to change the noise, just happened to be trying out different oils...

Ended up trading it in. Never had a mechanical problem in the time I owned it.

 

[InhalingBullets]

Its under the cowling, here is a vid: https://youtu.be/5-d1OV_nj24

 

[06VtecV6]

Originally Posted By: InhalingBullets
Greg, we drove an '06 Prius over 180K miles and it was a bit chatty from the beginning. Have you changed the PCV out yet? If not, do so...and have fun. It ain't easily accessible. Watch the water pump, ours went out at 138k if I remember right. That was a pretty simple 30 minute job.


I got a 1995 not 2006 MY vehicle on original PCV, not chatty but a short shine from stop that I beieve goes away once I get rolling. Is this the tranny in 1st gear or is it the engine being a 1995? Keep in mind I have no VVT/VTEC not even DI. (think: woeisme)