2012 tacoma v6 4l, in cold weather, i hear a knock that appears once the engine warms up

Hello everyone,

i have a 2012 tacoma v6 4l, i noticed during winter time, i get a knock on the drivers side. I still hear it when i disconnect that black pmw/vsv valve. I hear the knock when the engine warms up, i dont believe i hear it get louder when i rev but it does increase in rate.

i use 5w 30 valvoline/mobile 1

I changed the spark plugs last year and kept same ignition coils.

truck gas 195k miles, i will try to add a video tomorrow

 

Do you only hear it in the cab? or even when standing in front of the engine?

I've heard many a knock that was just an exhaust leak, but you usually dont hear it in front of the engine.

 

i hear it ever so slightly in the cab and hear it from the driver side wheel well

 

What octane are you using?

I used to exclusively run premium and would get a knock sound like you mention. Only happened when cold out and only at low RPM, mainly when idling under load. At first I thought it was piston slap, but typically that only happens during warm up and goes away when at operating temp. But it didn't behave like that and would happen when fully warmed up. In any case, switching to regular solved it completely. Still have no idea what it actually was though.