RogPJ

Thank you for the tip, I'll keep a regular eye on the oil.

Thanks to everyone for your responses. I dropped the car off at the garage and the mechanic flushed the engine and replaced the oil, apparently the oil hadn't been changed for a while! This has reduced the rattling noise from the engine considerably and it's running smoothly, but I will ask him to check out the VVTI Cam gears next time it needs a service.

Thanks Tony, we shall see what my local mechanic says on Friday when the car's booked in. Fingers crossed that the repair bill won't be too painful!

Thanks Mooly for your reply. The aircon is turned off and the engine oil is clean. The car was serviced last year by the previous owner. I'm just hoping that the repair bill isn't going to be huge!

Hello, I've just bought a 2010 Toyota Auris 1.33 petrol for my eldest daughter to learn to drive in. It's done 67,000 miles and runs very smoothly when warm, but when starting from cold there is a very loud clatter from the engine which lasts about 20 secs. My local mechanic thinks that it is the timing chain tensioners. Are these external to the engine or internal? Am I likely to be facing a large bill? Thanks in advance for your help... IMG_9845.MOV