This is my wife's car, we bought it at 35k in 2018, it's now at 85k. GT Skyactiv-G 2.5 non-turbo.

Over the last few days I've noticed a clicking sound that's particularly loud at certain RPMs. I don't know how long it has been going on because she normally drives it. I originally thought it might be the lifters, but it's coming from the passenger side where the timing chain/tensioner should be, so this is my initial thought. It's most pronounced between 1500 and 3000 RPMs, but it can be heard at idle and up to redline. It's loud enough that you can hear it inside the car, even with mild music, from the outside @ 1500RPMs, it definitely sounds like something's wrong.

I will mention, I'm religious about changing oil; every 5 or 0, so 40k, 45k, 50k, etc. I prefer Castrol Edge 5W20 with a Fram Ultra-Syn filter, for all my vehicles (10W30 for my truck).

This time, however, I probably went a good 8,000mi just out of being too busy, I just changed it, today.. Not my ideal interval, but the oil and filter are easily designed to go 10-15k in extreme circumstances. I will probably change it again in 3k just to restore my 5/10 schedule. In either case, the clicking has only been recent, I did notice on this morning's drive that if I make a hard turn, the red oil pressure light will come on for a split second. I will have to see if it comes on, now that I have changed the oil. There may be some very mild starvation issues that has me a little worried.

So, that's my situation, any thoughts or experiences from the community? Thanks.

 

Did any reliably looking oil change history for that first 35K miles come with the vehicle? If not, then lots of bad things might have taken place during that first 35K, and it's possible that whatever damage was done to the engine back then is now becoming more serious. In any case the noise coupled with the oil light sounds bad, and you really need to do an oil pressure test, in order to determine if the pressure is below spec, or if the light is just due to a bad pressure sender. Fingers and toes crossed it's the later, even though it sounds like it's the former.

 

There wasn't any maintenance history available. That said, I have a tendency to look under the oil cap, look for any staining, build-up, or burning smells that might indicate someone lapsing on their oil schedule. It's not perfect, but I've had engines that look like this after 50k:

and then I've had engines that look like this after 50k:


What I can tell you is that the oil light does not come on in a sharp turn, anymore, so I was probably a bit low, but I wouldn't say low enough to starve it under 99.9% of driving conditions. I had to really toss the car into a corner for the light to come on, and once I saw it, I stopped tossing the car around. Sure, it could've been, and still could be a loose connection on the pressure sender, but since I couldn't replicate the oil light after changing the oil, I'm betting that the oil pickup momentarily lost pressure. Personally, I don't think THAT, alone, would've led to any long term damage. The engine is starved of oil for a much longer period of time just by hitting the start button, or by waiting for a brand new oil filter to pressurize.

Nonetheless, the ticking sound can't be mistaken, it's likely something in the timing, either the chain, guide, or tensioner. I'll have a look at some more diagnostic methods, but suggestions are welcome, particularly if this is a common issue with the N/A 2.5.

 

More info. Here's apparently normal sounds:

Here's the noise mine is making:

 

bump?