[rce90]

Originally Posted by bayerischeperformance

talked to the dealership yesterday about the ticking noise and the SA was basically saying they wont do much of anything about it and it is a known thing on these motors.

He also told me i can bring it in for them to check but if they decide its the regular noise the motors make they will charge me for the labor of checking it out.

I guess i'll just have my friend from work take a look at it and get his opinion, i honestly trust him more than the dealership at this point

oh hell no. Dude that's some bullshit there...go to a different dealer. Even if you're not familiar with cars your gut instinct will tell you it's not normal. My wife doesn't know anything about cars and when she heard the tapping she was like wtf??? Sure the motors are known for doing that tapping but is it normal, hell no! It's very distinct from normal valve chatter you can't miss it, your only concern would be getting the car to do it in front of them mofos (dealer).

[rce90]

Originally Posted by rambalu80

I agree, it certainly is unacceptable for the price paid and its a shame that the SIB that is available doesn't fix the issue.

If your SA and/or tech hear(s) the ticking noise, they will talk to BMW NA to open up a PUMA case. If they do this, be prepared to be without your car for about a week or two. When I dropped my car off, I went in at 7:30 AM so I can get a BMW loaner. If I had scheduled for a later appointment, they would have given me a blue PT Cruiser from Enterprise, lol.

Yep, they opened up a PUMA case for me already since the 2nd time I brought it in. Shop foreman told me to drive it (long distances) which I did. It helped for a bit but it's still there every now and then. As for the loaners lol, they've always given me x3's. PT cruisers?? Those bastards!

[rambalu80]

Originally Posted by bayerischeperformance

talked to the dealership yesterday about the ticking noise and the SA was basically saying they wont do much of anything about it and it is a known thing on these motors.

He also told me i can bring it in for them to check but if they decide its the regular noise the motors make they will charge me for the labor of checking it out.

I guess i'll just have my friend from work take a look at it and get his opinion, i honestly trust him more than the dealership at this point

Like rce90 mentioned, this ticking/tapping noise is very distinct. It is very similar to an old diesel engine. If you have the time, go back about 5 - 10 pages and you will find a few videos that are available on youtube or just search on youtube for “BMW ticking noise” and there are several videos from 3 series to 7 series and X’s and Z’s.

The first time I took my car in, they told me it was normal and performed a BS bleeding procedure per the SIB available a few pages back. They told me it was fixed and sent me back but my SA told me to let him know if the noise was back and sure enough, it was back in no time. I spoke to a tech that was aware of the issue but mentioned that they wouldn’t do jack until the customer pushes them hard, so you’ve gotta stay on them. Read the whole thread and when you go in, make them think you know more than they do about the issue but do it in a way that they think you’re all concerned and worried that something bad might happen to your car and you if you don’t get it fixed!

[bayerischeperformance]

Originally Posted by rce90

oh hell no. Dude that's some bullshit there...go to a different dealer. Even if you're not familiar with cars your gut instinct will tell you it's not normal. My wife doesn't know anything about cars and when she heard the tapping she was like wtf??? Sure the motors are known for doing that tapping but is it normal, hell no! It's very distinct from normal valve chatter you can't miss it, your only concern would be getting the car to do it in front of them mofos (dealer).

Im very familiar with cars. my Girlfriend that isn't at all was freaking out at the noise and she usually doesn't notice many things like that. Im going to trailer the car down there next week some time and make the SA listen to it

[rce90]

Ok, after nearly 2 weeks at the dealer with the head replacement, I finally got my car back a few days ago, 4 to be exact. The first 2 days, not a single tick or tap from the engine, nothing; the engine is purring like it should be. I tried to replicate the previous situations when the car would tap/tick. I started her up first thing in the morning, nothing no tapping. Did some short distance driving, went to the post office (.5miles), grocery store (2 miles), the mall (8 miles) nothing, no tapping whatsoever. The car sat over the weekend for more than 48 hours, I started her up late Sunday evening, let it idle for about 5 minutes, nothing. No tapping at all, it's gone (knock on wood). I did notice however my trip info updates a lot quicker compared to before. MPG and average speed changes or updates more on the fly now.

[rambalu80]

Originally Posted by rce90

Ok, after nearly 2 weeks at the dealer with the head replacement, I finally got my car back a few days ago, 4 to be exact. The first 2 days, not a single tick or tap from the engine, nothing; the engine is purring like it should be. I tried to replicate the previous situations when the car would tap/tick. I started her up first thing in the morning, nothing no tapping. Did some short distance driving, went to the post office (.5miles), grocery store (2 miles), the mall (8 miles) nothing, no tapping whatsoever. The car sat over the weekend for more than 48 hours, I started her up late Sunday evening, let it idle for about 5 minutes, nothing. No tapping at all, it's gone (knock on wood). I did notice however my trip info updates a lot quicker compared to before. MPG and average speed changes or updates more on the fly now.

I always keep my display set to Miles to Empty. So I haven't noticed the quicker Average Speed or Average MPG updates. I shall check on it.

[jcrwu]

Originally Posted by rambalu80

@ jcrwu:

I guess it has been a month since they replaced the cylinder head. Did this correct the ticking noise?

I have scheduled my second appointment for this issue. Last time they did the bleeding procedure and the noise had reduced for a couple of weeks. It has been about 5-6 weeks now and the noise is louder than ever now. I called my SA and he asked me to schedule an appointment and bring the car in but the earliest appointment I could get was the 17th of July.

So far, so good - no ticking noise from engine. I do have another chopping noise coming from the tranny (similar to the "death rattle" post) but at least the engine ticking noise is gone.

[Phila]

So driving long distances definitely minimizes the ticking. I drove from SF to LA and back and the car ticks much less.

In other news, the dealer has finally got the re-designed cylinder heads in and we've set up an appointment to have them installed. Bad news is I'm going on vacation so I won't be able to give you guys a before-and-after for about 3 weeks.

Anyone else replaced their cylinder heads with these redesigned ones?? Any comments/suggestions? I think the part is new and it was on back-order all summer, I read a few lucky people got it, but I had to wait.

[flicks28]

Originally Posted by rce90

Ok, after nearly 2 weeks at the dealer with the head replacement, I finally got my car back a few days ago, 4 to be exact. The first 2 days, not a single tick or tap from the engine, nothing; the engine is purring like it should be. I tried to replicate the previous situations when the car would tap/tick. I started her up first thing in the morning, nothing no tapping. Did some short distance driving, went to the post office (.5miles), grocery store (2 miles), the mall (8 miles) nothing, no tapping whatsoever. The car sat over the weekend for more than 48 hours, I started her up late Sunday evening, let it idle for about 5 minutes, nothing. No tapping at all, it's gone (knock on wood). I did notice however my trip info updates a lot quicker compared to before. MPG and average speed changes or updates more on the fly now.

Originally Posted by rambalu80

I always keep my display set to Miles to Empty. So I haven't noticed the quicker Average Speed or Average MPG updates. I shall check on it.

Originally Posted by jcrwu

So far, so good - no ticking noise from engine. I do have another chopping noise coming from the tranny (similar to the "death rattle" post) but at least the engine ticking noise is gone.

Its been a month with the new head for us and no problems at all. The mpg and everything else is the same as before.

[rce90]

Originally Posted by flicks28

Its been a month with the new head for us and no problems at all. The mpg and everything else is the same as before.

It's been about 2 weeks now with the new head and the car has been running perfect. No noise, no tapping/ticking whatsoever. My MPG has improved since they installed the new head. It was at 19.2 mpg before the head replacement and now it's at 24.0 mpg after the head replacement.

[Phila]

It's almost kind of funny...
Went in for my service appointment last weekend to have the replacement put in, only to find out today that the replacement parts arrived damaged...

Was told the part is STILL scarce and they need to special order another one form Germany, so now i'm stuck with a bare bones loaner until the new order arrives.

"psy-yay-yay-yay-yay"

[rambalu80]

I expected to have a 2 month wait on my replacement head but my dealership installed the new head and had my car ready in less than 3 weeks of which they spent about 10 days to initiate the PUMA case. I've read that some have waited for about 2 months for the replacement heads.

Do some dealerships have easier access to the parts than others?

I hope you won't have to wait too long.

[flicks28]

Had the new camshaft put in 2 months ago and no problems. Was back at the dealer today for state inspection and found out I needed a new sunroof cassette as mine has gone bad. I asked the SA who has been extremely helpful through all these problems and he said that the cost of this problem (new camshaft) would be about $8K if done at the dealer and if the car was out of warranty. Just food for thought.

[F32Fleet]

Mobil 1 0w-40 and I have yet to reproduce the tick.

[Phila]

Have had my car back for 2 weeks now, so far so good.
actually, good, except my gas mileage meter constantly reads 99.9mpg... weird

[rambalu80]

Originally Posted by Phila

except my gas mileage meter constantly reads 99.9mpg... weird

Did you try resetting it?

[flicks28]

Originally Posted by Socom

Mobil 1 0w-40 and I have yet to reproduce the tick.

I used Mobil 1 0w-40 and my tick continued to become more frequent and louder. Thats why I had the new cylinder head done. This tick is strictly and old design issue with the engine that has been fixed.

[F32Fleet]

Originally Posted by flicks28

I used Mobil 1 0w-40 and my tick continued to become more frequent and louder. Thats why I had the new cylinder head done. This tick is strictly and old design issue with the engine that has been fixed.

Thanks. I'll let you know if the tick comes back.

[BK]

Originally Posted by flicks28

Had the new camshaft put in 2 months ago and no problems.

New camshaft? I thought it was a new head that was fixing the problem.

FWIW, I normally start the car and begin driving immediately. This morning, I started it and left it idling for 10+ minutes. It was cold outside, and I noticed it ticking for the first time ever (I'm at 27K miles). You can't miss the ticking sound. It was the same as others here. Drove it pretty hard on the way to work, higher RPMs than usual, and when I arrived, took another listen. No ticking.

I'm going to keep listening to see if it sticks around. If it does, I'm going to insist on the new head.

I find it extremely hard to believe that lack of oil on the valves (from sitting / draining) could cause "no damage," per the SIB with the "bleed" procedure. I don't want to waste my time going to service just to have the engine warmed up. If the engine is ticking and it is actually damaging the valves, I want the new head design.

Why doesn't oil get on the valves unless the engine is under load? Shouldn't they get lubricated even at idle? I don't get that.

[mishenka]

Originally Posted by damadama

I'm a ticker!!!

I read thru the first 10 pages or so, then have glanced at the last couple... I'm gonna have to stop ignoring this sound i hear everytime i cold start my car and get on these bmw mofos to fix my damn ride i guess.

sorry to resurrect a dead thread

This thread will not be dead until BMW finds the fix for this problem.

[2 years of ticking]

We had the problem since the weather turned cold in the fall of 2006. In to the dealer quite a few times. Eventually, BMWNA authorized replacement of all lifters.

Ticking came back. Has always seemed related to cold weather and engine not being warm, although it did not always go away when warmed up.

Research on the various forums made it clear that it was one or two hydraulic lifters bleeding down when engine not running and then not pumping back up as they should on restart.

Further research led to belief that the combination of 15K oil change intervals, and the oil BMW sources from Castrol (which we believe to be semi-synth, not full synth), was delaying lifter filling/pump up (obviously in combination with lifters having a borderline spec or manufacturing tolerance).

Decided to try a different oil. Dealer changed oil and filter last Thursday. Saturday I drained oil dealer had just put in, put in a new filter, and used 6.25liters of Motul X-MAX 5W-30, which is LL-01 certified, and in some markets around the world is billed as having been formulated for BMW engines.

It sounds like a completely different car. Even on cold morning starts after sitting outside in 32 degree F weather, it is absolutely quiet. I'm having a ha rdtime believing it is the oil, but it seems like it is.

Planning to compare the VIS spec at 0 celsius for Motul versus the Castrol.

My .02.

[mishenka]

Originally Posted by 2 years of ticking

We had the problem since the weather turned cold in the fall of 2006. In to the dealer quite a few times. Eventually, BMWNA authorized replacement of all lifters.

Ticking came back. Has always seemed related to cold weather and engine not being warm, although it did not always go away when warmed up.

Research on the various forums made it clear that it was one or two hydraulic lifters bleeding down when engine not running and then not pumping back up as they should on restart.

Further research led to belief that the combination of 15K oil change intervals, and the oil BMW sources from Castrol (which we believe to be semi-synth, not full synth), was delaying lifter filling/pump up (obviously in combination with lifters having a borderline spec or manufacturing tolerance).

Decided to try a different oil. Dealer changed oil and filter last Thursday. Saturday I drained oil dealer had just put in, put in a new filter, and used 6.25liters of Motul X-MAX 5W-30, which is LL-01 certified, and in some markets around the world is billed as having been formulated for BMW engines.

It sounds like a completely different car. Even on cold morning starts after sitting outside in 32 degree F weather, it is absolutely quiet. I'm having a ha rdtime believing it is the oil, but it seems like it is.

Planning to compare the VIS spec at 0 celsius for Motul versus the Castrol.

My .02.

It was very good .02 cents It was not clear from your post if the dealer ever actually changed the cylinder heads? Some people on this thread tried using different oil, but if I remember correctly the results were different: it helped some of them it made no difference for others. The cylinder heads are scheduled to be replaced on my car next week. If the ticking returns after that then I have no other option but to file a law suit because I do have documentation proving that my vehicle was in the service shop three times and the problem still not resolved.