Engine scraping sound

Do a good video of the engine that captures the sound. Usually noises "go away" after 50 mph because of road noise masking them out.

 

Does it change with engine speed?

You are able to "race" the engine a little while sitting in Park. It is computer controlled (throttle by wire), so there's no direct connection, but the computer is programmed to say "hmm, driver is pushing the go pedal while we're parked, ok, I'll play along and increase the RPMs a little". )

If the sound doesn't have some quality that's proportional to the engine speed, then it may well be a loose buzzy heat shield. Those can sound a little like scraping.

 

Toyota spent the money to put it there for a reason. Can you devise a way to secure it so it doesn't rattle?

 

Usually a cat heat shield is designed to protect other parts of the vehicle from excessive catalytic converter heat. The problems prevented could be melted wires, extremely hot floorboards, overheated electronics or outright fires.

 

Yeah "should I rip this part off?" is usually not a good idea. Well maybe except for those plastic wheel covers...