Hyundai Lambda 3.3L V6 - startup rattle - 2017 Hyundai Santa Fe SE - is this normal?

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We have a 2017 Hyundai Santa Fe SE with the 3.3L V6 Lambda engine. We bought the car brand new in May 2016, and it has about 31,000 miles on the odometer. I've always done the oil changes at the dealership and brought my oil. Since new, I used Mobil 1 5w-30 EP in the engine and did the first oil change at 4100 miles. Last year the dealership changed its policy, no longer allowing customers to bring their own oil. I was hesitant but needed to change my oil, so I used their oil. They claimed it was Pennzoil Platinum 5w30. I was a busy time in our life, so we did about 7500 miles on that oil change. I looked at the oil cap and oil filler hole and noticed some brown varnish, possibly oxidation. Sure enough, I decided against going back to the dealership ever again for an oil change. After reading so many good things about Pennzoil on this forum, I doubt that I really got Pennzoil from our Hyundai dealership. I ordered Pennzoil Ultra Platinum 5w-30 on Amazon and did the next oil change at home (bought a nice torque wrench as well - Craftsman). My wife put about 2000 miles on the Pennzoil Ultra Platinum, and I decided to change the oil again, to completely clean out the crud that the dealership put in. Because I saw what a great job Castrol Edge did cleaning the engine in my 2018 Hyundai Santa Fe Sport, the 2.4L, I decided to switch her car to Castrol Edge Extended Performance 5w-30. I also installed a Votex DP001 magnetic drain plug in her Santa Fe SE. Anyway, the startup noise that you're about to hear in the YouTube video bellow started happening even before I began doing our own oil changes. I am wondering if anyone else here that owns a KIA or Hyundai with the 3.3L V6 Lambda engine has or is currently experiencing this. It sounds like a timing chain rattle due to a bad tensioner. It only happens after the vehicle has been off for many many hours. From my research, it seems that this happens when the teeth on the tensioner are ground, and once the tensioner is drained of oil, the teeth can't keep tension on the timing chain any longer. Notice that the rattle happens right after ignition, once the engine starts turning on its own. Your input is more than welcome. I am sorry if my post is a bit longer, but I tried to offer the entire maintenance history of this vehicle as far as oil changes are concerned. However, I don't believe that the issue at hand is due to oil changes, especially since most of the time we went with 5000-mile to 6000-mile drain intervals.

YouTube Video:
 
Yes-it's normal. Some say an OEM oil filter quiets "this feature". I use conventional oil and get the same noise So as an anecdotal example.-the oil doesn't matter but the filter does. I believe your research is flawed-it is NOT A PROBLEM. So a solution isn't forth coming.
 
Yes-it's normal. Some say an OEM oil filter quiets "this feature". I use conventional oil and get the same noise So as an anecdotal example.-the oil doesn't matter but the filter does. I believe your research is flawed-it is NOT A PROBLEM. So a solution isn't forth coming.

I used the OEM canister type filter from Hyundai and I got the timing chain rattle. Then I got a Purolator One PL26127 which looks exactly identical to the OEM and I got the same rattle. Since these are canister type filters and don't have a drain back valve, I honestly don't think it matters as long as you install them correctly. The part number for the timing chain tensioner is 24820-3CGA3. It seems like on some of these the teeth that are supposed to keep tension on the timing chain are worn out and as soon as the oil drains out the tensioner, the chain is loose. It's sad that this is considered normal. My 2.4L Santa Fe Sport isn't doing this, neither does my mother's 2017 Santa FE SE with the same 3.3L engine do it. So it makes me wonder...

[Edit]

Reminds me of that old saying: "It's not a bug, it's a feature!"
 
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I used the OEM canister type filter from Hyundai and I got the timing chain rattle. Then I got a Purolator One PL26127 which looks exactly identical to the OEM and I got the same rattle. Since these are canister type filters and don't have a drain back valve, I honestly don't think it matters as long as you install them correctly. The part number for the timing chain tensioner is 24820-3CGA3. It seems like on some of these the teeth that are supposed to keep tension on the timing chain are worn out and as soon as the oil drains out the tensioner, the chain is loose. It's sad that this is considered normal. My 2.4L Santa Fe Sport isn't doing this, neither does my mother's 2017 Santa FE SE with the same 3.3L engine do it. So it makes me wonder...

[Edit]

Reminds me of that old saying: "It's not a bug, it's a feature!"

Its very rare for a 3.3 not to do this. The 2.4 isn't known for a start up rattle. You seem to want to belive it isn't normal. But if you take it to the dealer (under your warranty) you are wasting your time.
 
I have read that it is the injectors pressuring up, the hydraulic lash adjusters or the timing chain adjuster.
Have not read of any long term issues from it though.
My 2018 Santa Fe with the 3.3 does this occasionally, as does my co-workers 2015 Santa Fe.
 
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Its very rare for a 3.3 not to do this. The 2.4 isn't known for a start up rattle. You seem to want to belive it isn't normal. But if you take it to the dealer (under your warranty) you are wasting your time.

I only want to know our engine is fine. This is the wrong time to trade vehicles. In fact, we decided never to trade our Hyundais in. If we need a third car, we'll buy something cheap, possibly used. Trading cars is a financial black hole. When this hits a little over 100K miles I will buy a timing chain kit and install it. I know they're supposed to last forever, but I also know that they will slightly stretch over time.

I have read that it is the injectors pressuring up, the hydraulic lash adjusters or the timing chain adjuster.
Have not read of any long term issues from it though.
My 2018 Santa Fe with the 3.3 does this occasionally, as does my co-workers 2015 Santa Fe.

I tested this several times very carefully, and sometimes the rattle is a bit longer than in the video, especially if it's colder outside in the morning. Without fail, if it's been sitting for at least 10 to 12 hours it will rattle at startup. I assumed it was the injectors or valves or anything else on the top side of the engine, but the rattle starts immediately after ignition and comes from the passenger side of the engine. Leave your Santa Fe off from the evening until the next morning, and make sure at least 12 hours have passed. Then start her up and listen carefully.

To see what I'm talking about when it comes to timing chain tensioners on these engines, look at the following video please:

 
I believe in 2019 the oil filter on Kia's and Hyundai's 3.3l V6 was moved to the underside of the motor to reduce drain back and startup rattle .
 
I believe in 2019 the oil filter on Kia's and Hyundai's 3.3l V6 was moved to the underside of the motor to reduce drain back and startup rattle .

Thanks for the info, I read about this before, probably here on BITOG. I'm stopping by my dealer in the morning and will talk to a tech. I know them pretty well as we have been customers there for a very long time. I'm curious what the tech says after I show him the video. This was an issue on older 3.3L engines. I'm curious if the Genesis with the 3.3L TGDI has it as well.

I looked up the part number for the timing chain tensioner of the 3.3L GDI, but I didn't find an actual picture of it. I don't know if on these engines it still has the little teeth that are supposed to keep tension on the chain while the engine is off, or if Hyundai revised it and removed that small arm with teeth completely because it was a failure point. It's one of those issues that many people ignore because they may hear it once in a while, and even then, only if they pay attention.

Thanks for the reply and I will update this thread with the info I get from the dealer after I speak to a Hyundai tech.
 
I’ve seen people replace the tensioner with no resolution because it was a bad/stiff o-ring in the oil pump allowing air to be drawn into the oil before it's pumped into the engine, aerating the oil. Valvoline Maxlife (it is fine to use it it in newer cars) will soften it up, or use LiquiMoly Oil Saver or ATP-205 if you want quicker results or just changed your oil.

What also works is Archoil 9100 or LiquiMoly Ceratec. The nanoborate stays/plates on and lubricates well enough even with a defective oil pump o-ring during cold starts. Lasts 60k miles so it is cost effective.
 
I’ve seen people replace the tensioner with no resolution because it was a bad/stiff o-ring in the oil pump allowing air to be drawn into the oil before it's pumped into the engine, aerating the oil. Valvoline Maxlife (it is fine to use it it in newer cars) will soften it up, or use LiquiMoly Oil Saver or ATP-205 if you want quicker results or just changed your oil.

What also works is Archoil 9100 or LiquiMoly Ceratec. The nanoborate stays/plates on and lubricates well enough even with a defective oil pump o-ring during cold starts. Lasts 60k miles so it is cost effective.

Thank you so much for the solution, you have no idea how much I appreciate it. God Bless You!!!
 
We had the 3.5 v6 in a 2010 Danta Fe, had the same noises as yours for years. Finally engine started to stumble when warm..threw codes and we needed new VVT Actuators. They were not holding pressure any more.

I suspect this was the issue from the start. Poor sealing in the actuators causing loss of oil after a night's shut down.......and that awesome sound every morning. Tried all sorts of oil weights and filters ....nothing worked.
I changed the oil every 6 months with syn 5w-20.
Usually the oil only had 3-4000kms on it.

Try a 5w-40 see if that helps the noise
 
I will probably get shot for saying this. But I have used Fram Ultra on occasion and have noticed more startup rattle with them. I am going back to the Hyundai filter next change.
 
It may not be the timing chain, it may be the high-pressure fuel pump for the GDI Injectors, NOT the pump in the fuel tank. That thing has a tendency to be very noisy in Hyundai GDI engines and often at start up.

Otherwise use a Hyundai OEM oil filter or Fram Titanium/Ultra with an SN PLUS or API SP oil and see if it makes any difference. That is what I did with my Hyundai GDI engine and it made a noticable difference.
 
and I thought my 3.5 mitshibishi sourced engine in my 2003 sorento was a dud. its a gem compared to these engines

The 3.3 is actually a great motor. Not many long term issues have been reported. The Op's issue has been discussed over and over again (here and elsewhere)-and doesn't affect long-term reliability. The OP just doesn't want to hear it.
 
This kind of racket (if oil pump related) is mostly reported in recent-ish models with variable displacement oil pumps like the Hyundai 3.3 and Nissan 3.5 and others (2011 and later). If you know how these pumps work you can imagine why a transient poor seal for a couple of seconds at startup (whether at an oilfilter gasket or oil pump o-ring) can cause a situation where they cannot possibly work correctly. Many of those oil pumps rely on oil pressure itself to operate correctly so have a bad chicken/egg problem designed in.
 
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