Should I Worry About Piston Slap?

But the general consensus is that piston slap isn't really something you will need to worry about, at least not immediately. You can still drive with a piston slap, but it may be uncomfortable and annoying if you can hear that knocking noise from the engine.

Is piston slap serious?

Is Piston Slap Bad? If you let piston slap occur for too long, it is very harmful to your engine. ... Your cylinder walls and piston clearance will continue to get higher. Furthermore, if your pistons are aluminum, they can damage pistons when you rev up a cold engine.

How long will a car last with piston slap?

As other posters have state, some engines will run over 100,000 miles with that condition, and others will self destruct in 30,000-40,000 miles.