I notice that when I start my car in the mornings the engine seems louder than other times when the car is warmed up. Anyone else experiencing this? I would characterized the sound as a moaning sound that rises and falls with engine revs. After about a couple of minutes of warm-up, it goes away suddenly.

My theory is that the intake plumbing may be purposely rerouted during warm-up so that intake air passes over the exhaust manifold as a pre-heating measure. And then after a few minutes the intake rerouting valve switches to its normal position and the car becomes its normal quiet self. This is all a guess. I just want to know if this is normal or if my car has a unique problem, like maybe a missing or disconnected duct. Is anyone else experiencing the higher engine noise level that I am hearing from cold starts?

Thanks,
BSteely

You described exactly what my car behaves every morning. It also shifts realy hard from 1st to 2nd in auto D position.

I noticed the same thing but thought it's just a normal warm-up procedure. Also I wouldn't use the word moan. It's kind of high pitch to me. The other thing I do noticed is that sometimes it takes a second or so to engage reverse but not all the time.

...and it's intentional for warm-up. See older postings from around Nov 16.

Anyone know if the 2.7T has solid lifters? This could be the reason for the louder cold engine.

moaning is good. it means the earth moved.