For a little while now, my TL has made a whining noise when first started in the mornings or afternoons. Sometimes it's quick, other times it goes on for 10 or 15 seconds.

It's clearly audible over the exhaust (!), and it's louder inside the car than out. It seems to be coming from the driver's side of the motor, which can't be a good thing. It also seems to be alleviated for a few days after an oil change. There's plenty of oil in the motor, and the idiot light flicks off as soon as the engine fires.

Is my oil pump about to grenade itself?

i've been told it's the fuel pump, just firing up. don't stress :)

If it's coming from the drivers side of the motor it will not be the fuel pump which is in the fuel tank at the opposite end of the car. I seem to remember someone saying it was the idle speed control motor adjusting itself after a cold start...last for a few seconds.

I get that occassionally. It sounds like a supercharger but lower in frequency.

I get that occassionally. It sounds like a supercharger but lower in frequency.

Spot on. It actually turns out that all of our cars do it; a KL, a TL and a KE. So who knows.

Spot on. It actually turns out that all of our cars do it; a KL, a TL and a KE. So who knows.

Scared the hell out of the Mrs when I fired up the car with her standing next to it in the garage. As it only happens occassionally, whether in Winter or Summer, could it be some sort of a purge pump?

There's that much stuff crammed in there it's hard to know where to start. Alternator, oil pump, power steering pump, A/C compressor, water pump. It could be the brake booster coming up to operating pressure for all I know. It'd just be good to pin it down to one component and find out if it's harmful or not.

It can't be harmful as if it was there would be broken down Magnas everywhere - but after checking my engine, I reckon it may be the electric vacuum pump that sits on the drivers side - it supplies vacuum to the cruise control. Although thinking more about this pump, it probably only operates when cruise is selected.......so my guess is back the the idle speed control motor.