Whether I am idling or moving, the car emits a single "tick" every 6 seconds. It sounds like its coming from the passenger side, but I saw nothing out of the ordinary when I inspected. The other ticking threads state to have the tick more frequent or find that the issue was related to start up. Is anyone familiar with this?

 

Six seconds is a long time in engine speak. That's only 10 RPM if it's a rotational issue.

 

Thats what has me confused. It doesnt seem to affect performance, but it is fairly loud and annoying. I've ruled out the belts and plugs so far. I'll just keep listening and searching.

 

Possibly a heat shield?

 

I looked into those threads as well and they describe a rattle. This is a singular pop/tick that occurs at the same rate under various driving conditions. It sounds like a louder version of a rubber band snapping against an object. Its loud enough to startle people (which it has).

 

AC compressor kicking on and off?

 

Hate to revive an old thread, but this was either my alternator or the belt. The bearing on the alternator went out and after replacing it along with the belt, no more periodic "tick".

 

Definitely worth a revival for the solution.