[badfish]

We have a 2010 4 cylinder terrain purchased new July of last year, it has 15k miles on it and has sounded like this since i can remember. Some people mistaken it as a diesel. Other than the sound it seams perfectly fine. I brought it to the dealer to have it checked out and they agreed it sounded loud, and we listened to their service terrain and i could hear the sound, just not as loud. Wondering if this is anything to be concerned about? I use Mobil 1 synthetic 5w-30, i was a quart low and they accused me of bad maintenance as they were setting up for a trial. I told them i change according to what the manual says by going by the meter, and they said thats not the proper way to do it and its my fault if anything happens. They are the worst dealer i have ever dealt with (sorry to go off on a little rant).

anyway, here is the video, the video definitely amplifies the sound, doesnt sound this loud in person, but you should get the idea.

 

[Colt Hero]

No such sound with my V6, but then again it seems that most of the problems with this vehicle are with the I-4 (which I'm guessing is what you have?).

The direct injection engine DOES make a different kind of sound - but it's a softer sound than what yours is doing. But as long as you've been changing the oil regularly you should be OK as far as your warranty goes. It sounds like the mechanic was trying to tell you that if you just change the oil by the manual and odometer instead of using the oil life monitor, you could be leaving the oil in there too long and causing engine wear. Let's say you change your oil and go on a 2000 mile interstate trip (at 70 mph). The Oil Life Monitor is going to tell you to change the oil a LOT sooner than the manual and odometer because the vehicle was driven hard. What happens if you don't change the oil when the Oil Life Monitor tells you to? Probably nothing - unless your oil change schedule is something ridiculous like 8000 miles or more.

I think there's a problem with your engine but it doesn't have anything to do with your maintenance of the vehicle. Go to another dealer and get another opinion ... but this time make sure you're not down a quart, or do a fresh oil change beforehand. And don't mention anything about maintenance. Let the oil speak for itself. You're just giving them ammunition to shoot their mouths off and upset you...

 

[grometsc]

Normal

gDI is very similar to Diesel injection

GM 2.0L SIDI-Turbo
Sean's 2009 Cobalt SS/TC

Kia gDI setup

Engine idle @ 8:02 in video

2011 Kia Sportage SX FWD T-GDI, Detailed Walkaround

VW gDI idle

2.0T idle

 

[RIT333]

Wow - the Kia sounds like a Singer Sewing Machine. Count your blessing that your Nox doesn't sound like that.

 

[grometsc]

Wow - the Kia sounds like a Singer Sewing Machine. Count your blessing that your Nox doesn't sound like that.

But I would take the Kia motor over the two options in the Nox/Terrain anyday!

 

[Frisco1522]

I've always found that the more highway driving that I do, the longer the oil life monitor tells me to go. If I did a lot of very short trips where the oil never really got hot, I would suspect it would tell me to change a lot earlier. My Rendezvous was driven mostly at highway speeds and the monitor always added a few thousand miles per change.
I wish my Terrain (and the Buick) got the mileage I got from my LeSabres. I had a 90 and a 99 with the 3800 engines and used to get up into the mid '30s on the highway.
Terrain still doesn't top 22 hwy and it has 10k on it now.

 

[RIT333]

Yep - the 3800 Engine was a fantastic engine, reliable and economical, plus pretty good power too.

Must pollute too much for today's regulations.

:banghead:

 

[pacman]

I always follow the 3000-3500 rule. Never follow the the monitor if i did then the monitor tells me about 8k-10kbjhaze inerveral. Sorry but oil is oil and u follow the old ways. I would never wait 10kfor to change it. You can feel it in the engine when its ready to change

 

[IceMan]

****You can feel it in the engine when its ready to change****

Huh...I've been driving since 1964..and never been able to feel that.
What does it feel like..??

 

[badfish]

thanks for the info Gromet. So i guess ill just go by a normal oil change and not by what car says. Kind of a relief knowing its supposed to sound like that.

 

[grometsc]

thanks for the info Gromet. So i guess ill just go by a normal oil change and not by what car says. Kind of a relief knowing its supposed to sound like that.

Sound is very normal for a gDI....The 2.4 does have some abnormal start-up engine noises (vvt acting up)...But your idle is very normal sounding for a gDI engine

On the oil changes..I follow OLM's. Dont go by the others saying the old way is the good way. Times and technology has changed. On my I4 Work nox I do the OLM, and it pushes 10-12K miles between changes. I've done this on all cars I have driven for work, and I'm on my 4th. I've never had an issue related to "oil"...This as well gets the cheapest oil from Firestone stores, and cheap filters.

On my personal nox I change the oil @ 6K...Which is what the OLM recommends now since the software update on the V6. I have NEVER done a 3K mile oil change, and never will. Even when I did autocross I never had my oil changed @ 3k, and this was with engines pushing alot more power then stock

 

[Colt Hero]

Sound is very normal for a gDI....The 2.4 does have some abnormal start-up engine noises (vvt acting up)...But your idle is very normal sounding for a gDI engine

On the oil changes..I follow OLM's. Dont go by the others saying the old way is the good way. Times and technology has changed. On my I4 Work nox I do the OLM, and it pushes 10-12K miles between changes. I've done this on all cars I have driven for work, and I'm on my 4th. I've never had an issue related to "oil"...This as well gets the cheapest oil from Firestone stores, and cheap filters.

On my personal nox I change the oil @ 6K...Which is what the OLM recommends now since the software update on the V6. I have NEVER done a 3K mile oil change, and never will. Even when I did autocross I never had my oil changed @ 3k, and this was with engines pushing alot more power then stock

That sound is normal ??? Maybe the acoustics make it sound worse, but that sound doesn't sound normal to me. Anyway, as far as the oil changes, I won't be following the OLM. My changes will be every 5,000 - 5500 miles (with PP synthetic). This is a little less than twice the range of my "dino" oil changes (which I've always done at about 3000 to 3500 miles). Seems about right to me substituting synthetic for "dino" oil.

 

[grometsc]

That sound is normal ??? Maybe the acoustics make it sound worse, but that sound doesn't sound normal to me. Anyway, as far as the oil changes, I won't be following the OLM. My changes will be every 5,000 - 5500 miles (with PP synthetic). This is a little less than twice the range of my "dino" oil changes (which I've always done at about 3000 to 3500 miles). Seems about right to me substituting synthetic for "dino" oil.

Because this is your first gDI setup I'm certain...Just look around for other setups using gDI, you will find all the engines sound like this. On your V6 remove your massive sound damping engine cover, you will find the same noise under the hood

 

[pacman]

What i meant by"you can feel it" was i can feel the engine working harder and acceleration is slightly heavier. When u do oil change in the nox you can feel the engine lot smoother but then 3the days later it feels like crap. Btw in last 4one oil changes i did in the nox. The oil is lots dertier than my tibby used to be

 

[grometsc]

What i meant by"you can feel it" was i can feel the engine working harder and acceleration is slightly heavier. When u do oil change in the nox you can feel the engine lot smoother but then 3the days later it feels like crap. Btw in last 4one oil changes i did in the nox. The oil is lots dertier than my tibby used to be

You have an ability that science cannot explain

 

[sumr616]

I have noticed in the last couple hundred miles (current mileage is 11,500) that ticking noise has become more pronounced, more noticeable. I can kind of hear it from inside the car now, whereas before all I could hear was the hum of the engine... I mean, I could hear it before, on the outside of the car, but it's definitely more pronounced now...

Would that be an indication of anything in particular? Or is it just, typical, "the car is getting used" effect?

 

[RIT333]

You have an ability that science cannot explain

+2

Seems like GM could use a guy like you testing vehicles.

 

[grometsc]

I have noticed in the last couple hundred miles (current mileage is 11,500) that ticking noise has become more pronounced, more noticeable. I can kind of hear it from inside the car now, whereas before all I could hear was the hum of the engine... I mean, I could hear it before, on the outside of the car, but it's definitely more pronounced now...

Would that be an indication of anything in particular? Or is it just, typical, "the car is getting used" effect?

Could it be you notice it more now because you know its present?

The other idea is do you "ECO" on, and previously you did not? The car has a ANC to fight the sounds the engine makes because of torque converter lock-up (ECO mode) at low rpms, I do not believe its to neglect any of the sound from the engine itself (DI), just the tranny noises from ECO mode. On this I could be wrong though...

 

[sumr616]

Could it be you notice it more now because you know its present?

The other idea is do you "ECO" on, and previously you did not? The car has a ANC to fight the sounds the engine makes because of torque converter lock-up (ECO mode) at low rpms, I do not believe its to neglect any of the sound from the engine itself (DI), just the tranny noises from ECO mode. On this I could be wrong though...

Hmmm, no, I've pretty much had ECO on since I've had the car. (With the exception of some of the initial break-in miles and I turned it off every here and there, but I'd say it's been on about 80% of the time)

I've known before, several months ago, that this ticking noise is normal, and I could pick it out before, but now it's pretty noticeable. I can also hear it more when I accelerate, either from a stop or while making a turn. I don't think it's just that I'm *listening for it* now. Sometimes when I accelerate, I can hear it over the radio, radio is not turned up very loud, just enough to be able to hear the music, and I can still hear that ticking. You know how some people say that it "sounds like a diesel", sometimes when I accelerate, I can really hear that side of it, whereas I barely ever heard anything from the inside of the car before.

It's kind of hard to explain that, I hope that makes sense, if not, let me know. I can try rephrasing it. I appreciate your input.

 

[Chevrolet Customer Svc]

We have a 2010 4 cylinder terrain purchased new July of last year, it has 15k miles on it and has sounded like this since i can remember. Some people mistaken it as a diesel. Other than the sound it seams perfectly fine. I brought it to the dealer to have it checked out and they agreed it sounded loud, and we listened to their service terrain and i could hear the sound, just not as loud. Wondering if this is anything to be concerned about? I use Mobil 1 synthetic 5w-30, i was a quart low and they accused me of bad maintenance as they were setting up for a trial. I told them i change according to what the manual says by going by the meter, and they said thats not the proper way to do it and its my fault if anything happens. They are the worst dealer i have ever dealt with (sorry to go off on a little rant).

anyway, here is the video, the video definitely amplifies the sound, doesnt sound this loud in person, but you should get the idea.

I would recommend contacting a second dealer if you do not feel that they have addressed your concerns. Please feel free to kepp me posted. Thank you.

Tricia, GM Customer Service.