[Kennedy]

Originally Posted by pruettfan

The more lifters making noise the louder and faster it will sound. One lifter would be slower.

That sounds great.....


Looks like I'll be scheduling a service with my local BMW Dealer....besides reading all 54 pages can someone summerize the problem or lead me to which page will help me when speaking to an SA?

[pruettfan]

Originally Posted by Kennedy

That sounds great.....


Looks like I'll be scheduling a service with my local BMW Dealer....besides reading all 54 pages can someone summerize the problem or lead me to which page will help me when speaking to an SA?

There is a history of issues with the lifters and overhead cam system. There are several opinions of what creates the issue but it appears that the upper part of the engine and lifters in particular do not get enough oil pressure at times. Many have noticed the issue comes up when they make a lot of really short trips and do not drive at high speed for a while. This seems to support the idea that higher oil pressure situations seem to make the problem less likely although I am sure that some have had it. The dealer will know exactly what to do. BMW has a standard list of parts to be replaced to fix the issue. They have apparently recently made some changes to the parts to fix the issue long term which is good because some have had the issue several times.

The good news is the noise is a irritation and according to all of the experts I have spoken to or heard from no damage to the engine has taken place nor will.

That is my interpretation as I have read all of these posts and many others on other sites. I am sure someone will disagree with my interpretation however the fact that BMW will fix it is not debatable. I am disappointed that BMW has not extended the warranty for this. I really think they should. Heck Nissan extended the transmission warranty on all 03/04 Murano's till 110,000 miles because some of them had problems. They even reimbursed all owners who had to pay out of pocket for a CVT repair. BMW needs to step up on this because I am guessing at some point every car with this engine will have this issue pop up. I am just hoping mine will pop up near the end of my extended warranty.

[MrDummy]

[QUOTE=pruettfan;6334661]The good news is the noise is a irritation and according to all of the experts I have spoken to or heard from no damage to the engine has taken place nor will.
[QUOTE]

Thanks for this little piece of mind, I want to at least wait until spring time to get the issue resolved and I can deal with the sound of the ticking but was Worried about other damage to the engine from the lifters/valves making noise. Also when the dealer told me my 06 engine was normal to tick since it has the valvtronic Vanos system or whatever, could it be the design? Or is it FOR SURE faulty parts causing the noise?

[djsolution]

Got my car back last night after the head was replaced. I definitely notice a smoother idle and smoother operation in general. Of course the tapping is gone (for now). The part list noted the new head had a revised oil check valve. We'll see if the new design proves effective.

[ede92]

BMW needs to extend the warranty and fix this problem once and for all. Just way too widespread a problem and really does detract from the BMW value proposition and their market messaging.

The ultimate driving machine should not tick like a 40 year old Timex watch on steroids!

[BMWORD]

Got my car back tonight, the hand-off was rather impersonal as I never even spoke with service advisor. They did the lifter replacement and from what I can see it looks like they did a good job (can't see a leak in the seal). After inspecting further I noticed the bottom panel has a puddle of oil in it, I assume this is from when they did the repair and the result of a lazy cleanup or worst case something is leaking, either way it's going back first thing in morning because that oil shouldn't be there... Kinda ticked off about this added hastle.

[MrDummy]

^^ that is what I am afraid of, INCOMPETENCE of whomever gets assigned the job to replace the parts to stop the ticking.

Thats why if it WILL NOT do anyother damage to the vehicles engine I might leave it until summer so I can search around for the best dealer & tech around my location.

[roger955]

I'm looking at buying a 2008 328xi that got the valve bleed treatment at the dealer as a result of valve racket at 48000 miles.

Does anyone here know whether BMW has replaced heads where the car is out out warranty, but the complaint was reported (and treated sort of) while the car was under warranty?

Incidentally, the "defect Code' on the repair history was 1112943900.

thanks.

[MrDummy]

^^ I am not sure on YOUR particular issue but all my work that was done to other issues on my car B4 the OEM warranty ran out, are warrantied for 3 years on parts/labor according to what my SM told me.

[skimo]

ummm.... 54 page thread!!!!

If someone can share the just of this thread in one line that would be much appreciated!

I had that ticking sound, but its gone after adding oil. Not sure if this even helps!

[Ryan323i]

^^check up the page a little bit in post 1173.

[AlbAtRoS]

the most important thing on the e90 m52 engine the oil needs to be changed every 3000 miles not like dealer says 7-1000 miles. use 0w40 castro oil or mobile1

[BK]

Every 3K is overkill for synthetic. Every 7.5K is more than fine. BMW says every 15K.

This problem seems to plague not the guys who don't change their oil, but people who take lots of short trips with few highway miles.

[E92_328i_Boston]

I agree completely, BK.

-A

[JRJ1970]

Originally Posted by BK

This problem seems to plague not the guys who don't change their oil, but people who take lots of short trips with few highway miles.

True in my case. When I had this issue, it would come and go but was definitely more frequent with short trips. Ambient temperature was irrelevant -- it would do it in the summer at 105 degrees it would do it in the winter at 20 degrees.... IT WAS SHORT TRIP BASED for sure.

With the new engine head placement I had six months ago, the ticking remains non-existent, and I still do lots of short trips. The revised engine head definitely seems to have been a be all end all fix in my case. Whew! And for those of you who are scared of the engine head swap, don't be. It's a "clean" fix.

[MrDummy]

^^ Well going by that I might try and get it in this spring then, but mine is not because of short trips as I am on the highway at least 15 mins min. each morning and afternoon.

But I am still hearing the dealer saying that a 2006 styled valvtronic system is normal for the ticking when it is not warmed up yet or when its a little low on oil?

I dont know if that is true or if that is an excuse for them not to have to warranty it?

[fotoguy335]

I have complained about "ticking" over and over and keep getting told "we dont hear anything" or "they all sound that way" The 335xi engine has serious problems that they don't want people to know about and quietly keep trying to fix them.
I'm on my way to the dealer again in the morning......

[MrDummy]

^^ that is SO SAD to hear, sorry and good luck to you, a great guy on hear has been pming me and I am now thinking my cars tick is normal, for the 06 engine design. But I am going to keep an eye on it.

[BMWORD]

follow up.
After heading back to bmw to complain of oil mess on bottom panel and upon showing my advisor... tick tick tick! unbelievable, I had just had the new revised lifters put in after all. They took it in immediately, said this is the first one to tick after the new lifters, with no argument at all they replaced the entire cylinder head with the new revised one, problem has not returned. So from what I have read and now experienced, until you get the new head, the problem is still going to remain. Good luck everyone.

[MrDummy]

^^that is one informative update thanks, I will make sure to mention that t0 my SM if I decide to have them fix mine.

[Ryan323i]

I had my lifters replaced last month and the tick came back one day last week on my way home from work. Haven't heard it since then though. I will ask about the cylinder head replacement when I go to the dealer in February for a brake fluid flush.

[MrDummy]

^^ Please do and report back what they say for sure, since that is what I am ONLY going to insist on. As it seems the other is just a temp. fix.