Hello Philip
>
> I do not race the engine at startup. I do not even touch the
throttle.
The oil was changed at 1000 miles by Lexus with a Lexus oil filter in
> an attempt to quiet the noise. The problem is that oil pump allows the
> oil that is up in the engine to drain back into the oil pan. A
mechanic
who has fixed this problem after market told me that he has seen engines
> with this problem and there are 2 possible causes -- the oil pump is
> defective, or the oil pump is improperly installed. He said that either
> one is a simple repair. He owns a Supra and is very familiar with > Toyota engines.
> Martin
>
I thought that the readers of this thread would be interested in my recent experience with a 2002 Toyota Avalon with only 12K miles - same engine as the Lexus I believe. Horrendous "rattle" from engine for a few seconds before it started. Only on first start after sitting at least 24 hours.
Dealer duplicated the problem and determined that a valve lifter (I think he should have said "follower") was worn. Part was replaced, and problem appears fixed, but it's disturbing to have such a defect at such a low mileage. Any comments?