GenVibe - Community for Pontiac Vibe Enthusiasts

Wondering if anyone can give me an idea of what they think a noise might be under my hood. My car is a 2005 Pontiac vibe with 213,000 miles on it. Some of the parts are still original. Can't remember the last time my spark plugs were changed. Problem the other day I noticed, when I got in the car in the morning, it sounded to me like the valves were louder than normal, which alarmed me. As I drove it seemed to get quieter. I"ve done my oil changes religiously every 3000 miles and once in a while have added fuel additive to keep my pistons clean. I have no engine lights coming on. So wondering if I might need a tuneup, which I also cannot remember the last time it was done.

Can anyone help with what they think this could possibly be?

Having owned both generations, I've always been of the mindset that these VVTi engines need routine valve adjustments, but every mechanic I have taken it to disagrees and says they are not adjustable. With my current gen 2, I notice that the clattering gets louder when the cold weather sets in each year. Now that my car is in a warm climate for the rest of its life, I notice that the clattering gets louder when the oil level drops anywhere below full. Keeping the engine full of oil at all times seems to quiet the noise. I seriously doubt that aged Denso spark plugs would somehow cause your valves to get louder, other than a traditional knocking sound when driving. But since like me, you notice that the noise gets quieter as the oil warms, I think this is merely our quirky Corolla engines doing their thing. If indeed you have NEVER changed the plugs on your car, I sit here in amazement that you could get over 200,000 miles on the OEM plugs.

Valve adjustments aren't really a common thing on the ZZ engines. It can be done, but usually isn't necessary.

Noticed the same with mine 220k miles. Above 50*F just a bit of noise on startup. Around 30*F noise for a about 30 seconds after startup. Anything below 15*F the noise lasts for about a minute and is initially much louder. Definitely a temperate related phenomena. Heard different explanations, but they all relate to oil flow and thermal expansion. Once explanation was piston slap. In the colder weather the pistons have just a touch more play in a high mileage engine and produce the ticking sound until all the bits are oiled up and the piston and rings get closer to operating temperature. I checked the valves on my car, they were all in spec, appears jack frost is just messing with engine tolerances.