- Hey guys I have a 2009 Nissan Versa S Hatchback with the 1.8 engine and the 4 speed automatic transmission. It has 165,000 miles but the engine ticks at idle and when you are accelerating. It ticks louder when it's cold and quiets down slightly after it's warmed up. Could it be rod knock or the lifters? Is there anything I can do to quiet the ticking sound?
Ticking noise as you described is almost always the lifters, especially on that engine. You could adjust the valves if you wanted, but easier yet just change the oil more often. Keeping clean oil in the engine will reduce the noise to some extent - you can still drive the car for years
Thanks for the advice. Do you think using a thicker oil would help? The car calls for 5w-30 oil. Could I use 10w-30? or should I stick with the 5w-30?
I would just stick with the recommended 5w-30. On cars with variable valve timing, you don't really want to alter the oil viscosity since that can create other problems. Change the oil meticulously every 4,000 miles and that should help with the noise.
I agree these engines are very proned to an especially cold lifter noise. It’s a nuisance noise but as long as oil is full and taken care of it won’t cause any problems