[klinkerklu]

Goddamn Murphy!! Where is he so I can kick his ass in person?!!
Took the car in and they could not replicate the problem. :mad: Shocking, I know.
Fortunately (or unfortunately) for us, the ticking comes and goes, some days the car runs quietly and others obnoxiously loud and disconcerting. I was hoping to get this fixed before it turned into an every day annoyance and to prevent further damage to the engine, but I guess that is too much to hope for right now.
After showing them the video of the car running on a normal day vs. on a bad day (zooming in on the exhaust portion of the engine), they agreed it sounded like the lifters but would not work on the car until they heard it in person so they could troubleshoot. We also supplied them with the PUMA case # from this thread. Their response was to have a tech take the car home and drive it around to see if it happens while he has the car.
Instead, we are picking the car and have a standing appt to bring in the car as soon the noise re-occurs.
Forgive me for having a female moment here, but I would like to cry right now... and then punch something.

[gary328xi]

Dude,they are trying to blow you off. I dont understand if they agreed with the recording and still try to put you throught the hoopla. Call BMW after sales and let them know.

[ages944]

Originally Posted by BimmerEnvy

Do we know if this problem has been corrected for current production?

BMW might be looking into it, but I don't know if it's been totally resolved. Look at the guys with the newer production cars who are having the issue.

On a personal note, my tick came back a couple of days ago in the morning. I got upset, and told my baby that just because she was ticking didn't mean that she gets out of work. So, I revved the sh$t out of the car on the way to work after it warmed up (the lifters are hydraulic, so I wanted to make sure they got their oil) Either way, the noise stopped before I had gotten the 12mi to work (and hasn't been back since, knock wood). Not suggesting that you all do the same of course, but I just thought I'd share how therapeutic it was for me, lol.

Since my car was repaired back in March 2006 for this issue, I've heard the noise on exactly two mornings. This is a weird issue all around.


---
Gary328Xi:
It doesn't sound to me that they are giving him the run around. It just sounds like they need to have it occur firsthand in front of a tech before they can justify the time and expense of opening up the engine. I'm not really trying to defend them especially or anything, but I doubt they'd get much work done if they opened up the engine of every person that came in complaining of a noise.

[msinfo_us]

Originally Posted by needforspeed

I hadn't seen this thread before.

My car made this exact noise about 2 weeks ago. It didn't go away as it warmed up and it continued to make the noise all through the morning.

I left the car for a few hours and later that evening the noise was gone.

There is no sign of it re-occuring.

Oil level is one dash above minimum - I've done about 8000 miles since 1st Sept 06 (it's an August 06 build) and haven't topped it up yet.

At the time I put it down to bad / dirty petrol.

I'd recommend to add oil ASAP to max before you ruined your lifters. Use engine braking to force oil to lubricate.

[ages944]

Originally Posted by msinfo_us

...Use engine braking to force oil to lubricate.

I like my method better

[335I talian Stallion NJ]

Mine has been making the same ticking sound, went to the dealer the head of service came out and told me that the sound is normal and all the engines make it because of the magnesium used in the engine?!?

[gary328xi]

Originally Posted by 335I talian Stallion NJ

Mine has been making the same ticking sound, went to the dealer the head of service came out and told me that the sound is normal and all the engines make it because of the magnesium used in the engine?!?

I have news for you..... E90 335i DOES NOT HAVE MAGNESIUM in the engine.

[dth656]

msinfo, did you hear back from the BMW engineer that was going to produce a report of some kind on the problem? as a former engineer, i'd be curious to see what kind of problem/root cause analysis they've done, and how they've substantiated it.

[335I talian Stallion NJ]

Originally Posted by gary328xi

I have news for you..... E90 335i DOES NOT HAVE MAGNESIUM in the engine.

I have an E92

[STE92VE]

Originally Posted by 335I talian Stallion NJ

I have an E92

Originally Posted by gary328xi

I have news for you..... E90 335i DOES NOT HAVE MAGNESIUM in the engine.

If you have a 335i, whether E90 or E92, you have the N54 engine.....quoting from:http://www.answers.com/topic/bmw-n54

"Surprisingly the engine block of the N54B30 is from the older generation BMW M54B30 engine - all aluminum with cast iron cylinder liners. This is due to the fact that the newer N52 aluminum-magnesium engine block was not deemed as suitable for turbo-charging with the above-mentioned engineering goals."

[msinfo_us]

Originally Posted by dth656

msinfo, did you hear back from the BMW engineer that was going to produce a report of some kind on the problem? as a former engineer, i'd be curious to see what kind of problem/root cause analysis they've done, and how they've substantiated it.

He finished the report but I never got a copy of it. Here is what I was told: he did not pursue in-depth analyses due to absent of ticking noise during his inspection. In any case I've had enough of this car and traded-it-in for a new 335Xi.

[hav2flynow]

I noticed my engine making a ticking noise while at the checkout booth for airport parking. I had never heard it before inside the car, so dont know how long its been going on. The engine was cold and I had the window down, the sound was bouncing off the booth wall. It sounded like an old Bonneville. I got on here and read the posts and made an appointment. Took it in-They tried to give me a Ford Taurus (supposedly out of BMW loaners) i had a mini-fit calling the Taurus crap and left. The Service Advisor must have gone back and looked up my profile (I must be a VIP, LOL) he called me in the car an told me to come back, he just found a BMW, and he was really, really extra nice nice. He just called, while I was on here reading about lifters, the cars been there 2days now. They are waiting on a BMW Rep. to come on Monday (yes they also heard the noise) I will keep you posted on results. I do not like the stripped 2007 X3 loaner, but I aint complaining, its better than the Taurus. Its just very plain and ho-hum for a newly remodeled BMW. Has hardly any of the computer and dash functions of the E90s.

[MacAttack]

Taking mine in on Wednesday...and asked for a loaner. All they'll offer are street car/bus coupons. At least you guys get a loaner.

[ski360]

Well mine went in on the 30th and I got a call this morning from the Shop's master mechanic. Turns out they called Munich about it because mine was the second car they had brought in with this problem. The first was there again because they had replaced the lifters and the problem still persisted.

Anyway they are keeping it another day and tomorrow morning they are going to video tape it and send it to Munich. Apparently BMW is aware of the problem and according to the mechanic they are trying to figure it out. They did say though that the problem isn't bad for the engine. So now I guess I have to just sit and wait.

Mac: That sucks they didn't give you loaner. The dealer in Mannheim gave me one. Its a 118i and its empty but its better then nothing. What dealer did you take it too?

[gary328xi]

Just picked my car up from JMK they replaced all 24 lifters.The car sounds very quiet now. I am still awaiting an answer from BMW NA whether they are gonna extend my warranty.

[John 070]

I must say that each concern I come across on this forum applies to me! I hear that tick, shudder when shutting off, but I dunno, I'm not sure what is not spec and what is hearing things go bump in the night.

My feeling is how does the dealer know that something is out of spec, and is the factory really that bad? I hate the idea of something coming brand new from the factory, and then having to open it up when it was designed to be left intact for its lifetime. I had a similar tick on my Nissan at 300 mi., and now the car is at 140k. Point being I don't think anything is wrong with it, it may be vacuum, MAF, injector, something, but it doesn't seem to be related to internal moving parts.

So yes, we all seem to hear this noise, but is opening the motor up and replacing things the solution? I'm not sure, just asking....my .02

[gary328xi]

Originally Posted by John 070

I must say that each concern I come across on this forum applies to me! I hear that tick, shudder when shutting off, but I dunno, I'm not sure what is not spec and what is hearing things go bump in the night.

My feeling is how does the dealer know that something is out of spec, and is the factory really that bad? I hate the idea of something coming brand new from the factory, and then having to open it up when it was designed to be left intact for its lifetime. I had a similar tick on my Nissan at 300 mi., and now the car is at 140k. Point being I don't think anything is wrong with it, it may be vacuum, MAF, injector, something, but it doesn't seem to be related to internal moving parts.

So yes, we all seem to hear this noise, but is opening the motor up and replacing things the solution? I'm not sure, just asking....my .02

If you don't think anything is wrong , good for you but to each its own.

[timber71]

Originally Posted by John 070

Point being I don't think anything is wrong with it, it may be vacuum, MAF, injector, something, but it doesn't seem to be related to internal moving parts.

So yes, we all seem to hear this noise, but is opening the motor up and replacing things the solution? I'm not sure, just asking....my .02

Of course everyone is entitled to their opinion...however, when the dealer pulled out my exhaust cam as part of the repair, they found abnormal scoring and burn marks...so there was definitely something wrong. I believe that earlier in this forum, there are some pictures of this.

I would also refer you to the February edition of Automobile magazine, where they indicate that their test 3-Series just went down with the ticking noise, and is having it's cam shaft replaced.

What I think is that BMW knows full well what's going on, but refuses to recall the "World Car of the Year" for this repair. I know that trying to get information out of the dealer that did my repair was like pull teeth out of a grizzly... my $0.02...

[klinkerklu]

Originally Posted by ski360

Well mine went in on the 30th and I got a call this morning from the Shop's master mechanic. Turns out they called Munich about it because mine was the second car they had brought in with this problem. The first was there again because they had replaced the lifters and the problem still persisted.

Anyway they are keeping it another day and tomorrow morning they are going to video tape it and send it to Munich. Apparently BMW is aware of the problem and according to the mechanic they are trying to figure it out. They did say though that the problem isn't bad for the engine. So now I guess I have to just sit and wait.

Mac: That sucks they didn't give you loaner. The dealer in Mannheim gave me one. Its a 118i and its empty but its better then nothing. What dealer did you take it too?

Hey guys, what's the status of your cars?
We are FINALLY making some headway here with our problem. Took the car in this week to take care of the Turanza RFT bulletin (we qualified for the free replacements) and also because the ticking was back. Of course, they could find nothing wrong when they ran diagnostics and the car purred perfectly for them while it was there. BUT, luck was finally on our side. As they drove the car around for my pickup, there it was, not in all its diesel truck glory but not at all normal either. I started yelling "There it is, can you hear that for Christ's sake" and ran to the car and practically pulled the guy out (it was the end of the day and no one was out on the floor). Funny how a female customer popping the hood and gesturing frantically at the engine gets 4 SA's to run out & crowd around. (in contrast to my husband's experience) Unfortunately it didn't last long enough to troubleshoot but the guys were awesome & we hashed out every detail AGAIN concerning when it occurs, duration, etc.
They went over my case with the BMW regional rep the next day & they decided one of the lifters was not getting enough oil, & basically getting stuck.
So they are ordering parts and are planning on replacing the lifters.
Although it looks like we are on the road to recovery, I am not confident at all that this will be a permanent fix as everyone here with this problem ended up going back 2x to get more extensive work done (cam,cylinders, etc.)
How are they taking care of you guys in Germany?

[ski360]

Originally Posted by klinkerklu

Hey guys, what's the status of your cars?
We are FINALLY making some headway here with our problem. Took the car in this week to take care of the Turanza RFT bulletin (we qualified for the free replacements) and also because the ticking was back. Of course, they could find nothing wrong when they ran diagnostics and the car purred perfectly for them while it was there. BUT, luck was finally on our side. As they drove the car around for my pickup, there it was, not in all its diesel truck glory but not at all normal either. I started yelling "There it is, can you hear that for Christ's sake" and ran to the car and practically pulled the guy out (it was the end of the day and no one was out on the floor). Funny how a female customer popping the hood and gesturing frantically at the engine gets 4 SA's to run out & crowd around. (in contrast to my husband's experience) Unfortunately it didn't last long enough to troubleshoot but the guys were awesome & we hashed out every detail AGAIN concerning when it occurs, duration, etc.
They went over my case with the BMW regional rep the next day & they decided one of the lifters was not getting enough oil, & basically getting stuck.
So they are ordering parts and are planning on replacing the lifters.
Although it looks like we are on the road to recovery, I am not confident at all that this will be a permanent fix as everyone here with this problem ended up going back 2x to get more extensive work done (cam,cylinders, etc.)
How are they taking care of you guys in Germany?

I haven't heard anything yet. All they told me was that they know of the problem and that a solution was being worked on. So now I'm waiting on a call from dealer. If don't hear from them in a couple of weeks I'm going to call and ask whats up.

[gary328xi]

Whats up guys! Any updates. I'm still waiting on BMW NA for an answer on the extended warranty.

[wp326]

I bought a new 2006 330i at the end of jan. 07 with 13 miles. the production date was 06/2006. I have not yet passed the break-in period yet. Should i take it in to the dealer asking to replace the lifters and rockers and etc BEFORE i hear the noise?