This morning and last week when the temperature was near 15* everytime i start my car there is a light scraping sound coming from under the hood for like almost a minute.. nothing like the heat or defroster are on at this time.. has anybody else experienced this?? i cant have a dealer look at it cuz the car has to sit for most of the day (8.5 hours) to replicate it, and since the x is my only transportation i cant not have it!

 

almost a minute???????

mine goes away after like a quick second.......it's suppose to be the timing chain but I dont know about almost a minute.....it doesn't get that cold in socal.

 

its not a timing chain sound, more like a metal to metal sound.. this morning was a minute and when it sat at work from 8-4:30 it made the sound for like 40 secs.. its not overly loud but is really noticeable.. i have oil too, maybe not full but not critically low.

 

Um... scary.

If you can get some audio or video that would be helpful.

 

ur tellin me! ima try and record it tommorow morning if i can. just realize when i went to the grocery store my car hit 81000 miles =/ time to find a cheaper commuter car!! 1st gen altima hunt about to start.. =p

 

What oil are you using? If your oil is too heavy of a weight then it will not lubricate as well in freezing temps. Make sure you have 5w-30 in it. If you had the oil changed at a shop they may have used bulk 10w-30 because its cheapest. Even still you shouldnt have metal on metal. You could have a number of mechanical issues such as weak oil pump or something but those are unlikely. Also check oil level and make sure it's not a little low.. that makes cold starts even worse.

 

The dealer can keep the car and try to replicate it the next morning. Hopefully they will give you a loaner.

 

sometimes i get a bit of a continual grinding/dragging sound when its extremely cold and I don't let it sit before i start moving. i don't think i've ever had it while still in neutral before i start the car moving though. keep us posted.

 

idk, i usually dont warm it up either. but when its 10* i dont wanna freeze for 2 mins til it warms up.. but that noise seems to go away so im hopin its just the cold. im worried the dealer will find sum drastic problem that is costly and since im wayy out of warranty its all on me!!! as far as oil changes go, i get them done at my nissan dealer b/c infiniti is a good distance away and $20 more for a change plus they dont clean my car as well as nissan does! =p

 

better to find a problem now than later when it gets worse

 

ur absolutely right. but i know for a fact they wont be able to duplicate the problem, just like the axle click and the grunt sound when i go over speed bumps.. my service people are lazy!! lol.

 

could be not enough oil. at least thats what happened in my FX. heard a terrible sound for about a minute until the oil pressure built up.

 

the same thing happens to my 03 sedan, but only when its really cold out like you said, i have no clue what it is tho. mine go's away in like a minute or two after i let my engine heat up for a bit. and i kno its not the oil bc i jus had my oil changed... so idk.

 

Last week we had some realy low temps here in ATL. I noticed the same sound. I am using 0-30W Mobile-1 oil. So the oil is not the issue. My car is 05 Auto Sedan. I have the same deal from 8-5 after work it did that. Sounds like it came from the brakes, like two metals grind together for about a 40 seconds, but after the car/wheels rolled for few yards the noice went away. I was scared to death. The morning the car sits in the garage so I do not notice the sound but in the office sits outside.