[F32Fleet]

Two instances of ticking. Both went away after 10 mins of driving.

[gary328xi]

Guys,
This does not look good the ticking is back @3920 miles. I called BMWNA and the problem WILL be investigated since this will be the 4th try and i'm now covered under NJ lemon law. I will update with further info.

[klinkerklu]

Gary, you just had the lifters replaced, right?
That's why I am worried about taking ours in for unecessary work, if it won't fix the problem. They called and the lifters are in so they can finally start working on the car, but it seems like will be a waste, unless they find other things grossly scored or out of spec.
I think all posts indicating LIFTERS ONLY replacement ended up in the shop again.
Maybe I am being overprotective, but I don't want work done on a new engine unless its actually going to take care of the problem. :mad:

[flicks28]

I have not heard of anyone having their car permanently fixed by replacing only the lifters. In fact, I dont know of any one who has had anything fixed and the problem do not reappear. If you are out there, PLEASE let us know.

Its also scary the supplier cant keep up with the lifters. BMW sales are up quite a bit more then expected for the 3 series so whats probably happening is the supplier is pressed into a lot of OT, and now that there is a potential problem with the lifters, the supplier cannot keep up.

Today, I had no issues on my car and Im sure nothing will happen when I take it in Wednesday. When everyone takes in their car to be inspected, make sure you tell them that there is a huge thread going on the message boards about this issue.

I also plan on contacting some of the Auto magazines in the future if I can gather enough data.

[flicks28]

Originally Posted by hav2flynow

Mine ticks only in the morning when cold, they say that is normal.

What BS. If this was normal, everybody would be writing on here about how their cars DONT tick.

[flicks28]

Originally Posted by klinkerklu

^Right, if you listen very carefully, upon cold start up you may hear suttle noises as things are warming up. If you take your car in to complain about this, they are going to tell you its normal and all cars do this.

However, the audio file posted WAY back somewhere in this thread clearly demonstrates the more pronounced ticking that is freaking out what appears to be quite a few of us.
Because our ~$40K+ BMWs that we are so devoted to SHOULD NOT sound like a diesel truck after driving them around town for 15-30 minutes.
This noise is VERY distinct from the normal faint tapping or ticking the car may make upon cold start up.

The sound in the audio file, which is the same ticking we have, is not normal for any reason. There might be sounds when we cold start, or just turn on our engines, but this tick is by far and away not normal. A McDonalds drive thru worker was the first one to tell me that I had a problem with my car. Unfortunatly she had to repeatedly tell me that as I could hear a word she said as the ticking bounced off the sides of the restuarant.

[d3l0n]

Originally Posted by msinfo_us

OK. Finally I was able to attach one of the sound tracks with ticking noise. If you are wondering about ticking noise listen to it. For those of us who already know what it is it would be very intresting if you can compare it to yours and share your opinion here. Thanks.

PS Before you ask. The sound was taped with car warmed up but before I drove it. Also oil level is at max.

^^finally heard the sound.. um.. sounds familiar.. damn i dunno.. that shit is scary. When i go out tonight ill try and see if thats the same sound i get.

[msinfo_us]

Originally Posted by klinkerklu

Gary, you just had the lifters replaced, right?
That's why I am worried about taking ours in for unecessary work, if it won't fix the problem. They called and the lifters are in so they can finally start working on the car, but it seems like will be a waste, unless they find other things grossly scored or out of spec.
I think all posts indicating LIFTERS ONLY replacement ended up in the shop again.
Maybe I am being overprotective, but I don't want work done on a new engine unless its actually going to take care of the problem. :mad:

Consider that if you refuse to repair your car than you can't complain later. Also keep in mind that your dealer service depo has to follow what BMW tells them to do in PUMA case and they would not authorize bigger repair UNTIL technician opens your engine and report cam, rocker and etc out of spec. So, take your car in and put your concern about successful outcome in writing on their computer, you can refer to PUMA cases mentioned in this thread -- I don't know what else you can do but refusing to repair is not the best option IMHO. GL.

[gary328xi]

I have a Degree in Aeronautical Engineering . I have been trained on a variety of engines. My recommendation would be to replace the lifters and cams as factory spec kit/set and address the oil pressure at low RPM. Just my 2 cents.

[gary328xi]

Originally Posted by klinkerklu

Gary, you just had the lifters replaced, right?
That's why I am worried about taking ours in for unecessary work, if it won't fix the problem. They called and the lifters are in so they can finally start working on the car, but it seems like will be a waste, unless they find other things grossly scored or out of spec.
I think all posts indicating LIFTERS ONLY replacement ended up in the shop again.
Maybe I am being overprotective, but I don't want work done on a new engine unless its actually going to take care of the problem. :mad:

If want to build a case you have to give them at least 3 tries to fix the problem. Then the ball will back on your side of the court.

[klinkerklu]

Originally Posted by flicks28

The sound in the audio file, which is the same ticking we have, is not normal for any reason. There might be sounds when we cold start, or just turn on our engines, but this tick is by far and away not normal. A McDonalds drive thru worker was the first one to tell me that I had a problem with my car. Unfortunatly she had to repeatedly tell me that as I could hear a word she said as the ticking bounced off the sides of the restuarant.

Exactly. The first time I heard it, I was actually standing outside on the street, waiting for my husband to pick me up for lunch. We live in a quiet neighborhood. I heard, and I distinctly remember this, what I thought was an old UPS truck coming. Then I saw our car pull up to the light 2 blocks away. I waited for the truck (which I assumed was out of my line of sight) to pull up behind him. It didn't, and no other cars were around. To my confused horror, as he pealed it around the corner, the clatter increased in frequency with his speed, and slowed down to a loud, evenly spaced sewing machine meets diesel clatter (as in the audio file) as he slowed to a stop in front of me. He couldn't hear it bc the radio was on and he was yakking to the passenger. When he saw the look on my face, he rolled down the window, and instantly realized why. To be honest, it was so loud & disconcerting, I was a little afraid to get in the car. It was present the whole drive to lunch, as well as when we started and drove the car after.
This first time seemed the longest/worst of the experiences, but then I was standing outside, and it is obviously much louder and nastier sounding from the outside than when you hear it while you're driving. I've also noticed sometimes even at idle it is much louder on some occasions than others.

[klinkerklu]

Originally Posted by msinfo_us

Consider that if you refuse to repair your car than you can't complain later. Also keep in mind that your dealer service depo has to follow what BMW tells them to do in PUMA case and they would not authorize bigger repair UNTIL technician opens your engine and report cam, rocker and etc out of spec. So, take your car in and put your concern about successful outcome in writing on their computer, you can refer to PUMA cases mentioned in this thread -- I don't know what else you can do but refusing to repair is not the best option IMHO. GL.

No definitely, I am completely aware that in order for them to attempt to fix the problem, they have to work on the car.
I was just venting my frustration. I am 100% in love with this car, I love driving it everyday, it continually surprises me, puts a smile on my face, and in general makes my day. So I don't want a band-aid for my engine.
The shop we've been dealing with has been super accomodating so far and are well aware of my fears. Last time the car was in, I discussed every detail with 3 of the guys including my SA for about an hour after they were "done for the day".

[flicks28]

Originally Posted by gary328xi

If want to build a case you have to give them at least 3 tries to fix the problem. Then the ball will back on your side of the court.

This is exactly correct. If you hear the ticking, dont wait to have it inspected and repaired, even though its horrible to think that they will have to start tearing your engine apart. It appears there are a few people that have turned their cars in as a lemon, and a few others who now qualify under their state law. And we all have low miles and at least 2-3.5 years of the warranty left. That is a long time for the ticking to never come back after you have had it initially repaired.

[timber71]

Originally Posted by flicks28

Has anyone been able to determine the approx. build dates on the cars that are having problems?? I dont know what the date is on mine yet, but will find out.

We picked up our car in May of 2006, so I'm guessing a build in March/April 2006.

[timber71]

Originally Posted by flicks28

I have not heard of anyone having their car permanently fixed by replacing only the lifters. In fact, I dont know of any one who has had anything fixed and the problem do not reappear. If you are out there, PLEASE let us know...

...I also plan on contacting some of the Auto magazines in the future if I can gather enough data.

Flicks...I had all exhaust lifters, exhaust cam and cam follower replaced. Occasionally I think I hear the sound, but it's not nearly as loud as before the fix so I do not know if it is the same. The sound is also coming from a different part of the car...

If you saw the Feb '06 'Automobile' magazine, you will see a blurb about their long-term test drive E90 being in the shop...because of a drive train ticking noise.

[johnc_22]

This thread frightens me . . . and I don't even have my 335i yet.

[flicks28]

Originally Posted by timber71

Flicks...I had all exhaust lifters, exhaust cam and cam follower replaced. Occasionally I think I hear the sound, but it's not nearly as loud as before the fix so I do not know if it is the same. The sound is also coming from a different part of the car...

If you saw the Feb '06 'Automobile' magazine, you will see a blurb about their long-term test drive E90 being in the shop...because of a drive train ticking noise.

Thanks Timber. Looks like they are two different ticking noises.

Thats strange on where your sound occasionally come from. I have not had the ticking back since last Thursday (5 days now) and about 200 miles. I am hoping in a way that it reappears Wednesday when I take it in for service or I will just leave it there for a week and see if they can get the tick. I'm pretty convinced that the best thing thats has been done to improve this problem is to have all three things you have had replaced. It doesnt appear replacing the lifters only solves anything. I'll be writing again on Wednesday with the info I get from the service dept.

[flicks28]

Well, took the car in this morning. Was told the sound is normal. Figured I would get that response. They hadnt even looked at the car yet, but they said "Its been determined that the noise you hear is normal." Has anyone else received the same confirmation?? I told him, the noise I hear is so damn loud you cant hear anything when its ticking away and if thats normal, I want to buy the unnormal car. They are looking at it further but if they dont hear the sound they wont do anything yet.

I was talking with an engineer at work who knows some things on how engines function. He said that if that noise does get louder or more frequent, then the lifters certainly need to be replaced. But if you do have MINOR tickiug sound, then that is normal. He said they would be out of spec. He also mentioned that the metallic noise we hear, is not metal on metal. I guess there is a very thin layer of oil that is covering the two metal pieces when they hit together.

[gary328xi]

Hey guys,
I got an attorney involved and was told i qualify to file under the lemon law which i did. I will keep you guys updated as the case progress. I did'nt want to do this but BMWNA was giving me the run around.

[STE92VE]

Best of luck. Let us know how your case progresses.

[flicks28]

Originally Posted by gary328xi

Hey guys,
I got an attorney involved and was told i qualify to file under the lemon law which i did. I will keep you guys updated as the case progress. I did'nt want to do this but BMWNA was giving me the run around.

Let us know how everything progresses. If you do "win", you should be entitled to any and all finance charges you have paid, registeration fees, doc fees, etc etc etc, etc etc.

Today, I picked my car back up. They did not do anything with the engine because they "could not reproduce the sound at this time." When I brought it in Wednesday, they guy immediately told me that sound was normal. Today, as I was at the counter checking out, the guy asked me how long the sound lasted for, I said "about 10-15 minutes or so." As we were walking outside to get my car, he seemed surprised and told me to keep an eye on it. He said the ticking sound is normal if it last less then 30 seconds. I told him its far from that. So, I think he realized something is not quite right but I need the sound to come back.

Has anyone noticed the sound occurring more frequently as time goes on?

[d3l0n]

So you hear it with the hood down? It's not common and I have yet to estimate how long I have waited for it to start or listend to it for how long. I just know that it doesn't happen as much. I think i would notice. (I am hoping I am good)