It's generally in the 20s when I start it up. I let the oil gauge do its countdown think before I crank, but I hear a little rattle. Common? Yes. I am new here.

 

Hi. Here in basically the same weather I can't say I hear any rattle ( I assume you mean from the engine), just a rotation or two more from the starter. Noises are subjective things though so take this fwiw and don't lose sleep. You might expect a little extra chatter to be of no consequence. Btw, I know of no reason to do the oil gauge rundown unless you are checking the level every morning. You will get oil pressure no sooner and that is really the issue.

 

Is it only doing it on startup? Disappears after a while?

I had a rattle coming from the rear section. It ended up being the Cat. Try to locate if the sound is coming from the exhaust. If it is the cat and your car is under 80000 miles and less than 8 years old, it's covered under federal emissions warranty and your dealer will replace the broken Cat for free. Just had that done myself last week

 

Just a half a second on start-up. Then purrs like a kitten.

 

It is likely the chain tensioners not being fully pumped up especially with the thicker colder oil. They bleed down, and just have to be pumped up on initial startup, and as a result you get a bit of slacked chain rattle. Normal operational noise.

 

Just the reply I was looking for!