Engine noise on cold start

[EXBMWGUY]

do you think the thicker oil can do any harm?

It would concern me. There is most wear on cold startups. Climate makes a big difference of course. In the dark frozen block of ice called Minnesota, I run 0-20 M1 without noise, oil consumption or apparent oil shear.

 

[427435]

There are 0w-40 and 5w-40 oils out there that would be fine at cold start.

Does this sound you guys are hearing go away after the car is warmed up??

If so, it likely is piston slap------common in some engines (especially GM engines).

 

[landtuna]

do you think the thicker oil can do any harm?

I would stick to Hyundai's recommendation. Here in the desert we worry about heat, not cold, so oil viscosity is not usually a concern. As most engine wear occurs at startup I would be most concerned with that and not normal running temps.

 

[Mark_888]

There are 0w-40 and 5w-40 oils out there that would be fine at cold start.

Does this sound you guys are hearing go away after the car is warmed up??

If so, it likely is piston slap------common in some engines (especially GM engines).

There are no 0w-40 or 5w-40 oils that meets Hyundai specifications (nor those of most American and Japanese cars). It is true that these oils do meet most BMW, MB, and VW specs, but that is a matter that has already been discussed in detail, and people should not fall into the trap of thinking that if a motor oil is good for a MB that it is good for a Hyundai. Nor should one commit the fallacy that somehow a 0W-40 motor oil is better for your Hyundai than a 0W-30 (or similar) motor oil.

 

[Kfahland]

My 2012 Genesis 3.8 (53,000 miles) started making a similar noise a month or so ago. Cold starts sounded like a sewing machine on a piece of sheet metal. It was embarrassing to start the car with people around. I took to the dealer and they couldn't "reproduce the sound".

I waited until I knew the weather was going to be cooler and left it in the dealer's lot overnight. I called the next day and asked the tech to start it - he heard it this time!

Their first suggestion - your oil is pretty dirty (it only had 150 miles since the change). Said they needed to change it since I had used an "inferior" oil filter, before they would do anything else. I knew this was BS but I told them to do it.

Later that day they called and told me that they diagnosed it as a timing chain noise and they would need to order the parts.

Well it's been almost 2 weeks (at least they gave me a rental) and they have replaced the timing chain, and tensioners along with who knows what else. I should get it back tomorrow and I will follow up with a complete list of what they did.

I hope it's fixed because this Elentra isn't quite as fun to drive as my Genesis.

 

[sluggo]

This may or may not be helpful in this discussion, so my apologies in advance if it's not.

At cold start, GDI engines will often perform additional injections of fuel during the expansion phase. This unburnt fuel then collects on the walls of the cells in the catalytic converter, where it will ignite as the converter heats up, further accelerating the warm-up of the converter.

Also during cold-start, GDI engines will also employ a fast idle with an advanced ignition timing to accelerate the heating of the engine itself.

This is all designed to get the converter and engine up to operating temperatures as quickly as possible. When the converter is at operating temperature, the tailpipe emissions levels drop quickly. The additionall injections are then eliminated and engine timing is then retarded to it's normal setting.

So the sound you're hearing is probably additional injections and the mild "knock" of advanced timing, which goes away as the converter (and engine) heat up. This how it works on my wife's 2014 Mazda6 and I'm assuming this is what's happening on our cars as well. The two cars act and sound the same at cold start.

 

[Orjackson]

My Genesis has a noticable noise on the cold start. The dealer says Hyundai says this is normal or within range. I dont think so. I purchased the vehicle in January of 2009 the noise was not prominent then. I live in Texas where I can't blame the noise on excessively cold winters. Basically the engine is a bit noisey anyway for the quality of the vehicle.
ADVISE!!

A.Y.

I recently bought the 2012 genesis and sometimes at start up there's a clattering sound that's horribly loud. I took it back to the used car lot and they replaced the oil filter with a genuine hyundai oil filter. It's still making the noise, sometimes on a cold or warm start. I then took the car to an authorized dealer and they "couldn't" find anything wrong. This cannot at all be normal?

 

[landtuna]

My 2012 R-spec does not make noise upon start-up or at any other time. It is dead quiet. Because I live in a hot climate I use 5W-40 Mobil-1 and always use a genuine Hyundai oil filter. If you are using a very thin oil you might try something a bit heavier and see if that makes a difference.

 

[vGYogi]

I have had the same problem on my 2011 Genesis sedan V8, tried everything, new tires, K&N filter, spark plugs. For as much as this car cost, it shouldn't be shaking like the timing is off or the thermostat issued on a cold engine. I kept taking it back to the dealer and they kept telling me nothing is wrong. So I went an purchased a 2015 with a V6 and darn it, the same problem. asked my friend who has a 2013 and he told me that he has the same problem. I love the car but not going to buy another one because the cold shaking just don't feel right to me.

 

[jediscuba]

My 2012 5.0 R spec never made this noise but my 2015 sounds like a sewing machine on cold start. I can't believe its NORMAL. But like many here, mine is a leased vehicle and it will be someone elses problem at 36,000 miles. Like yours, my dealer says it's to be expected. Ha!

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[snork]

Here's my experience with this noise, which I've been able to pretty consistently replicate.

If you start the car and immediately turn it off (ie: just moving the car out of the driveway), the oil doesn't have enough time to start to circulate out of the pan and by running the engine for such a short period of time actually circulates what little oil remaining naturally up in the engine back down to the pan (the spinning whips it out). Then on the next engine startup, I get that horrible clanking/dieseling sound as the time chain/engine is basically running with little to no oil until it starts circulating again after the first 5 seconds or so. I live in NJ and have witnessed this in both the summer and winter, so temperature doesn't seem to make a difference.

Long story short, I've basically made it a habit to let the car run for a least a couple minutes to let the oil start to circulate even if I'm just moving the car briefly. Yeah, I agree you shouldn't have to do this, but I've replicated this issue with nearly 100% certainty. Since I've started doing this, I pretty much never get the noise any more. Hope that helps!

 

[Rodney10]

Until someone starts seeing premature engine failures, I don't think this is a huge concern. So far the highest mileage I've seen reported for the Genesis is 60,000. I imagine someone out there has put on more. Meanwhile there are Sonatas with much higher mileage and you don't hear about a rash of Sonata engine failures. I suspect it isn't an issue.

I have a 2011 with 185674 no problem at all

 

[jep604]

My 2014 Genesis is garage kept. When I start with garage door open I immediately drive down the driveway and let it idle while putting on my seatbelt, adjusting the temp control and hitting the radio on. No issues for me. My mail lady commented that I didn't let it warm up, told her I didn't want to fill the garage, main or 2nd floor with fumes.