i recently got my car back from the dealer and they had given me a loaner car which was an 07 tsx and that motor has an annoying ticknig at idle. so i noticed the same noise on my RL with 45k. not sure if anyone has noticed this but there is a loud ticking at an idle if you stand in front of the car. and i dont want to tear this thing apart to start checking the valve lash. anyone notice the same noise?

 

mine doesn't have it...you need to get your valves adjusted if you want the noise to go away. The good news is valve lash noise as a problem it is the noise. No loss of performance but shows itself in an annoying tap from excessive clearance.

 

It is commmon to hear a ticking sound coming from the fuel injectors. The question is how loud is the tick?

The fuel injector tick is pretty faint.

 

Our 2000 TL got a tick around 100K. Turned out to be valves. After they were propperly adjusted the noise all but went away. Now I have a similar tick back (126K) and no dealer knows how to fix it. So I just drive it.

Our 2005 RL has no tick at 48K.

 

Depending on how sensitive you are to the ticking sound, it may not be a valve adjustment issue. The clicking of the fuel injectors may sound similar to valve ticking.

If it was in for service recently, adjusting the valve lash is typical if needed.

 

Don't these cars have hydraulic valve lifters?
Since when do cars with hydraulic lifters need valve (meaning rocker clearance) adjustment?

 

Per the owners manual, page 357 Service Intervals:


"Independent of the maintenance messages in the Multi-Information
Display, replace the brake fluid every 3 years.
Inspect idle speed every 160,000miles (256,000 km).
Adjust the valves during services A, B, 1, 2, or 3 only if they are noisy."

 

They are not hydraulic

 

i could possibly mistaken the tick from the injectors but i just want to make sure im not the only one who can hear it on our cars, its loud at all its just if youre standing in front of the hood you can hear it. its only noticeable at idle

 

If it is only noticeable at idle, I would bet it is simply the fuel injectors clicking away. Valve ticks usually can be heard as you drive at slow speeds and noticeably increase with engine RPMs.

I've never noticed the injectors clicking when driving, only when standing outside of the car, idling or while in the garage with the windows down.

A mechanic neighbor has a Civic and he refers the the Honda injectors as sounding like a sewing machine.

 

My first Acura (1997 3.0 CL) did the exact same thing. I would sit in my car while it idled and wonder what the hell that ticking sound was. After a while, I got used to it .. 177,000 miles later, it still does it.
My hearing is also real sensitive to stuff like that, so blame it on your ears.
Now, I need to buy an RL to hear some "luxury" ticking

 

honda uses hydraulic dampers which completely eliminates tapping noise as long as the valves are adjusted close to their settings. When the clearance goes out of range, or if the damper gets no oil flow (due to a minor clog of an oil port) it makes noise.