Hey Scotty, my friend bought a 2008 Toyota Sienna with about 180,000 miles. He was driving it for a couple months now, but during his last oil change, the shop said he might need to replace the timing chain in his engine. My friend says that during a cold start in the morning the chain will rattle for a few seconds then it goes away. The car runs good and has no trouble codes. Recently, I went with my friend to my personal mechanic who I have been going to for many years now. I wanted to ask my mechanic if it really does need a timing chain just for a second opinion. After my mechanic inspected it, he did say there is a little bit on noise coming from the timing chain. It is not bad, but it is definitely there. My mechanic said it will still run, but just save money just in case because its an engine out job to replace the chain. My mechanic says that the previous owner of the Sienna probably missed some oil changes and did not change it liberally. 

My question is should my friend just keep the sienna and keep driving it? Will the chain get worse over time? So far the chain rattles a bit, but it has not missed timing yet.  I told him to make sure he change his oil every 5000 miles so the chain does not get worse. Like I said the car runs good and is pretty clean in the engine bay. No oil leaks and everything works. 

Another thing to note, when I am sitting in the front passenger seat. I do hear a distinct ticking noise coming from the front. When your idle there is slight ticking sound. My mechanic said it is the lifters ticking from age, but I am not sure if this should be addressed or not?