Rattling noise while accelerating

Hey guys I barely have 2k on my tacoma, but even before that, I've noticed a rattle noise by the engine while accelerating. It almost sounds like a super far away automatic rifle going off. Some people have told me that it might be the fuel, that i should use 93 instead. Any ideas? Is anyone experiencing the same thing?

 

You could try to experiment with higher octane fuel to see if you notice any difference

 

Auto or manual?

 

Yea they're saying the cheap gas very low octane.. its an automatic.

 

Probably detonation due to bad gas or a fueling problem. Audible detonation is pretty bad. Most of the time detonation is caught before you can hear it and timing corrections prevent it from continuing.

Try a totally different gas station first. There's no reason you should have to go higher than 87 octane to stop it. If the dealership recommends higher, they are avoiding fixing a problem which is a legit concern.

 

My 2017 has done this for a while.. Across many different fillups. It's a rattle most noticeable when accelerating uphill.

I did some searching and most have mentioned that the injectors going through their cleaning cycle sounds like this.

I sure hope it's not pinging/pre-detonation.. Now I'm really worried

 

From my understanding the cleaning cycle works when you are at idle, not when you are accelerating.

 

Correct...if it's doing it uphill mostly, that's definitely detonation as that's putting the car into higher load scenarios which is more apt to causing detonation. I'd guess you have one or multiple faulty injectors (direct injectors) You'd want to note the scenarios it's pinging and see if you can have the tech take a ride along with you while datalogging techstream as they should see something there. There are probably some pretty wacky learned fuel trims.

It could also be a bad HPFP...that was pretty common in earlier direct injection vehicles. That should show fuel trims bad on both banks whereas a bad injector would probably impact just a single bank.

 

My boss has a 17 and he has the exact same issue, we assume it's pre detonation as well. It only happens going up hills. He also has issues with it " Hunting for gears " he has 38K on it now and bought it off the lot new. Still rattles when going uphill and hunts. No change. He does claim that it must run lean because he gets 28 mpg in it.

 

I can't imagine it's good to run an engine like this for extended periods.. Ask him if he's thought about having it looked at?

 

is it only at a lower RPM as well?

I know I have some what sounds like a mix between a rattle and almost like a grinding sound between 1200-2000rpm with light throttle.
Any heavier and it goes away. For all I know it was always there and its just the transmission being in a lower gear. I wouldn't say so much of a grinding noise, more like just being in too high a gear for speed and rpm. Since as soon as the RPM goes up or the gear drops it goes away. I'm also under the impression it might have always been there and I only hear it now because of the skid plate. I noticed it as soon as I put my mobtown skids on. Thinking its now helping to echo/direct the sound so thats why I hear it vs didn't before.

I actually bought a cheap knock off go pro cam from Amazon for like $40 to try and mount to figure out what it was. Just haven't gotten around to mounting it yet lol.

 

I have had the same rattle / knocking sound when driving up hills. For me it is also between 1200-2000 rpms. I also purchased the mobtown skids, but heard the sound prior to installing them. Recently I went up to 89 octane and I don't seem to hear the rattle any more and the truck doesn't seem to be hunting for gears as much when driving. If it is due to the to the fuel or pre-detonation, what are the solutions?

 

Have you tried 87 octane from different gas stations to rule that out?

Wouldn't hurt to check the timing to make sure its adjusting properly.

 

Yes, I've filled up from several different gas stations and only just filled up with 89 last Saturday. My driving route hasn't changed, but I have not heard the rattle since changing. I guess it could be timing, but I'm less than 9000 miles. Would be a major hit in my book on Toyota if timing was off and it hasn't even been a year since I got the truck.

 

I put a full tank of 89 in my rattling '17 over the weekend. It is noticeably quieter. Going to keep an ear for it when I switch back to 87.. Really starting to think that you guys are on to it with the detonation diagnosis.

Unsure how seriously I should treat this issue. Definitely worried about the possibility of faulty injectors as scooby mentioned.

 

I've noticed what I would describe as a "clanking" or "rattling" noise. It seems to happen after accelerating while feathering the throttle. It appears to be impacted by engine RPM rather than speed though. Also while I most commonly hear it around 1800 rpm it also can be heard at random rps too. I'm going to try a higher octane since I switch up gas stations all the time.
Curious if anyone's had any experience at the dealerships yet explaining this one.

 

I mentioned it to my dealership at my 15k checkup and they said "If there isn't a CEL, it isn't pinging".

They wanted me to come back for a separate appointment to diagnose, but asked for it to be early in the day so that they have a tech available. I haven't been able to get back there yet. I still hear the noise randomly when accelerating. Mine is almost exactly as you describe.

 

I hear mine when I'm a bit heavier on the gas pedal, between 1200-1800 rpm. It sounds exactly like something that needs to be tightened haha. I've got my next date with the dealership coming up. Going to see what they say

 

Any update to this? Thought I heard the same thing today, at about 2k rpm. Will try higher octane next fill up

 

Higher octane on an n/a car