It sounds like a car out of oil.
Most likely you checked that...

 

Oil level is fine

 

There noisy engines for sure. Getting closer like that makes it more so. I can tell when the AC compressor switches on and off. Some of the noise could be a idler pully or waterpump.
The engine in mine has similar lifter noise , maybe I've gotten used to it.
So is this a new noise then ? How long have you had this vehicle?

 

There noisy engines for sure. Getting closer like that makes it more so. I can tell when the AC compressor switches on and off. Some of the noise could be a idler pully or waterpump.
The engine in mine has similar lifter noise , maybe I've gotten used to it.
So is this a new noise then ? How long have you had this vehicle?

I have replaced water pump and idler pulley recently. Prior to have them replaced, the engine sounds the same. The van is now 175K miles. I have owned it since new, 2014.

 

I always thought from day one (2012) that it sounded like a diesel and still do.

 

There noisy engines for sure. The engine in mine has similar lifter noise , maybe I've gotten used to it.

I can't say mine was chattering at day one but it's been doing it for at least the last 70,000 miles out of 119,000 total. Otherwise, it runs like a top and I don't notice it once out of the garage echo chamber. I agree it's probably the valve lifters. It's in the nature of the beast it seems.

The inexpensive solution is to not listen for it, especially in the garage with the hood up and a phone stuck in there. If one stops reminding oneself it's there the problem goes away as with many annoyances in life.

 

Our 2012 XLE doesn't sound anything like that from day1. At cruising speed, all we hear is road noise. If everything is normal and it bothers you that much, you can get the windscreen replaced from the regular one to an acoustic one. It significantly reduces the engine noise inside the cabin

 

As long as it is normal, I can live with that. I work on the car myself.

 

remove the accessory belt and briefly run the engine for no more than 30 seconds... does it still make the sound?

If so, it's engine related, if not, it's something driven by the belt