I have the dreaded lifter ticking at cold start
 

My question is how serious is this issue? My dealer is over 45 miles away, and finding time away from work is difficult. So is it ok to wait a bit, or should I make it a priority to get the car to the dealer asap? Thanks

Mine does it every once in a while.

Mine does it every morn..and afternoon on a cold start. I get 2 second tat tat tat tat loud enough to hear inside car. It stops after oil pressure gets up. About 2-3 seconds.

If tapping very loud when you start the the car, you should be worried.

But if ticking only then you are fine. Specially if it is L99.

It only ticks on cold start but its pretty loud. And yes its a l99

These cars have mechanical oil pumps, it takes few seconds to build pressure. If you notice when you idling or setting at a light the oil pressure drops also.
There was an issue where the pumps went out on several cars and some had to have engines replaced or rebuilt.

I would definitely recommend you getting your vehicle to the dealership as soon as you can to prevent any other issues that could arise. Please let us know if your dealership was able to address your concern!

Brandon
Chevrolet Customer Service

Mine was at the dealer for this exact reason a lil while ago loud Tating sound at start up not long like 2 seconds worth Dealer has said is normal started up new camaro auto and sounds the same. Oil pressure is fine though and it does sometimes go lower than 30psi idling almost down to the second line and back up to 30 psi. I hope it lasts.

Low oil level will cause the lifters to make noise,

^^ this. FIRST thing you should do is check oil level. Hopefully its good.

If I were you, I would take it to the dealership if it is bothering you.

when u start seeing a big cloud of blue smoke (especially when you rev up) come out the tail pipes, time to take it in for the valve lifters TSB

There have been many threads on this. Some people have had success with lifter replacement, others, not.

In my case, it happens only occasionally and lasts for 2 seconds max. I'm not gonna tear into the engine for this (or leave the car at the dealer for weeks so he can duplicate the symptom).

I will let the 100,000 warranty take care of it if it causes a serious problem.

But, I will never buy another DOD car.

Well I finally got around to dropping off my 2010 A6 to have the lifter tick looked at. Hendricks was nice enough to give me a 2012 SS M6 (with 351 miles) as a loaner. Now hoping they can reproduce it.