2003 Lexus IS300 ticking/tapping noise coming from engine after rough crank and starting
Hi Scotty, we recently just purchased a 2003 Lexus IS300 with 110,000 miles. We were driving it around and everything was normal for a few days. One day we drove it one morning, parked, and after an hour or so went back to the car. The car had a very rough cranking and did not start. I tried starting it again after an hour or so it started, but would not hold idle and felt like it was about to stall. We applied a bit of gas when trying to start and the idle got better. So I assumed maybe the fuel pump as weak. Then suddenly while the car was running we started hearing a ticking/tapping noise. It almost sounds like a valve tick. We spent quite a bit of money buying this car around 8k since the market for these is just like that, but now we are worried we bought something with issues. The timing belt was done at 58,000 miles and we were planning to change it soon because it was already more than 10 years old. Also the car has no codes or check engine when this all happened.
We decided to just return the car to the seller. Luckily he agreed to return the money back.
You are very fortunate. Most sellers as well as most state laws would consider that to be an "as is" sale unless there were a written warranty or fraud. In such cases the buyer typically gets stuck with whatever they bought.
Bear in mind that if you are going to start out with a vehicle whose age is measured in decades you will inevitably have issues to deal with.
Well a lot of things can make an engine tick but on it's almost always a problem with the VTech system. The variable valve system. Have a good mechanic like myself. Scan it and see what's going on with the VTech system. Sometimes it's a simple as the electronic plunger system breaks down which just bolts in and out on top of the engine. If you're anywhere near Portsmouth Rhode Island, I'm here till August and I check them out for you
@scottykilmer Hi Scotty, thanks for the info. We ended up opening the top of the engine only to discover that one of the rods has failed. We decided to just return the car to the seller. Luckily he agreed to return the money back.
We decided to just return the car to the seller. Luckily he agreed to return the money back.
Concurring with @chucktobias that you are indeed very lucky- you are more likely to win the lottery than get money back from a used car seller. Now if you go out and get another one just bear in mind that if it has issues that it is sold as is- don't expect any kind of guarantee on it, no matter how good the seller is.
