I actually came in here just to see if you where complaining about the tapping noise.

All the MK4 petrols have this. There was a thread on here (I think) years ago with a guy who brought his car back to complain and they started a brand new one to show him it had the same noise when the engine was cold.

If it goes away when the engine is warm, it's normal. If you're keeping up with oil levels and nothing else seems amiss, I'd ignore it.

You've just noticed it now and it will be more prominent with the cold weather.

 

This is general with the 1.6 Ecoboost where the oil is not immediately being pumped to the top of the engine. I got around this by having the oil level at the top of the oil dipstick measuring cone shape which is only an extra 1/4 of a litre or so. This seems to make it quieter on cold start.

 

Forgot to mention, the 1.6 Ecoboost engine advises to use 5W/20 engine oil. Generally, 5W/30 can be put in these engines, but it takes longer for 5W/30 to lubricate the top part of the engine, particularly in cold weather. 5W/20 oil creates less friction because of thinner viscosity causing less drag and noise in the engine, but it also enables the oil pump to get 5W/20 more quickly from the oil pan to the top of the engine.

 

So I have this tappet symptom after jump starting another car!

My 1.6 ecoboost petrol engine was quiet and didn't have ANY tappet noise, but now it ticks on all cylinders like a small diesel. It's very weird.

It's as though the ECU has detected a load and has now determined it will be a constant load even though the jump leads are disconnected, and now seems as though it will tap like a diesel perhaps?

Any suggestions to reset this?

 

This is normal. The 1.6 ecoboost does make a tappet noise which does quieten as the engine warms, but experience shows this engine runs much quieter on 5W/20 oil as indicated in the owner's manual where this is the best engine. 5W/30 can be used otherwise, but it will take a bit longer to circulate and which causes the tappet sound which is usually the sound from the high pressure fuel pump on cold start.

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