2000 Camry - Rattling Noise from Front of Car at 1500-1700 rpms on a Cold Engine

Hey folks,

This is my second post on the forums. I’m hoping someone can help me out. I’m getting a metallic rattling sound coming from the front of the car in and around 1500-1700 rpms when I start the car cold. It gets better as the car warms up, and after about 15 minutes of driving on a mild day, the sound completely disappears. The sound begins when you turn on the car, and also when you put it into drive. I tried to take a video, but the sound doesn’t come through so well. This Camry has roughly 60,000 miles on it, and it’s a pretty great car. The sound has been going on for about 6-8 months now. It hasn’t really gotten any worse, and I’m not seeing any decrease in the quality of driving. If you want me to answer any other questions, please feel free. I will greatly appreciate any help I get!

4-cylinder or V6?

4

Water pumps make that noise when going bad but not normaly that long.
Can you raise hood and start it and narrow down where its coming from?

Well, I went outside and tried to figure it out again. I just noticed that when I change gears it gives another of the little metallic rattles. So, I went from park to drive, and it went “Bzzzz”.

It sounds like a metallic rattling, but it’s almost a buzz too. A buzz with a “waah” in it.

I was unable to locate where it was coming from, though. I need an assistant. It is definitely coming from the front, as I had the door open and I could hear it more clearly.

The noise might be caused from a loose heat shield on the exhaust system. Take the car to a muffler shop and ask them to check for this. If one is found, they’ll either sting it with a welder, put a clamp on it, or remove it if there’s nothing left of the heat shield.

Tester

Sounds like a loose heat shield on the exhaust system. Sometimes you can stop the buzz just by bending the shield a bit. After you figure out which shield is making noise, of course.

That would make sense. It sounds a lot like a piece of metal rattling, almost like the range of rpms that it rattles at creates the right frequency for it to make that sound.

I’ll definitely have my mechanic check that out for me. I truly appreciate the help from people who know what the heck they are talking about.