ES350 Tapping when car is off

[panthermike]

Hello,

My brother recently purchased a 2008 ES350. Overall the car is very nice.

He sent me a short video today of what sounds like a tapping noise he recorded from the front of the vehicle. He said it happens after the car is shut off. Said it lasts about 30 seconds. Normal for these cars?

 

[Astro14]

Cooling cat or exhaust heat shield would be my guess. Nothing to worry about.

Any chance you can share the video?

 

[panthermike]

Good idea, here's what he sent:

 

[dnewton3]

Hmmmmm ... that's not normal.
That's too evenly syncopated to be a cooling effect. Truly sounds like a tapping and not a "tink" of cooling exhaust.

Sounds like a mechanical device trying to achieve a task (unknown what it might be) and not completing the job. (like a solenoid trying to open or close a valve). Could it be EVAP related??? I know that many Toyota engines have a purge cycle immediately after engine shutdown; there's a small pump that pushes air through the exhaust, but it makes a whirring/buzzing noise, so that's probably not the problem. Does the car have auto-leveling headlights?

Has he opened the hood and tried to isolate the general area of the noise?

 

[panthermike]

Hmmmmm ... that's not normal.
That's too evenly syncopated to be a cooling effect. Truly sounds like a tapping and not a "tink" of cooling exhaust.

Sounds like a mechanical device trying to achieve a task (unknown what it might be) and not completing the job. (like a solenoid trying to open or close a valve). Could it be EVAP related??? I know that many Toyota engines have a purge cycle immediately after engine shutdown; there's a small pump that pushes air through the exhaust, but it makes a whirring/buzzing noise, so that's probably not the problem. Does the car have auto-leveling headlights?

Has he opened the hood and tried to isolate the general area of the noise?

Great tips I'll point them in the direction of this thread for things that he can try. He's not real mechanically inclined, so it may have to wait until I can see it.