[critterracing]

hi everyone

just bought my 09 328i xdrive,prem,sport,cold, ect about 5 weeks ago with 22k miles. now i have 27k mile. car is under warranty and cpo'ed.

n51 motor.

when cruising around motor sounds normal. as soon as i toe into it say half throttle or more it'll ping for a second or 2 then go away. its totally repeatable.

if i crawl up a steep hill at walking pace it'll ping real bad.

i drive with the windows open and this is all i hear it killing me. if im in the mountains the pinging will be constantly happening since im always on the gas.

ran 2 bottles of techron and same thing.

4 visits to the dealer and same thing.

1st visit they replaced all the exhaust lifter, go figure. same problem.

second visit they couldnt hear the ping.

3rd visit was to take service manager for a ride so he can hear it. no problem he heard it. told me he needed a week to research the problem and scheduled me for the following week.

i got a call from them after 1 full day of them having the car and they told me they couldnt reproduce the ping even though service manger heard it.

they told me they checked the gas and was at 17percent ethonal. i told them it didnt matter about the fuel because ive been to every single gas station in north jersey and no gas make a difference. they tested everything so they say and found no issues.

i drove 5k in one month listening to this trying to figure it out. no way its the gas.

so they cant fix my car and im at my wits end hear. i bought this car to drive it in the mountains around my house and this is just impossible now.

dealer said there setting up some appointment with some regional bmw tech guy who stops by the dealership every 2 weeks or so.

so i have another week of waiting before i see him.

last night i ordered new ngk plugs to try out. i pulled a couple of plugs last night and they look fine maybe alittle lean looking.

any ideas what my next move is??

i gave up on dealer and was thinking of going to VAC for a AA tune. would the tune improve this? does the tune actually richen up the fuel mixture??

the car is an 09 and was only driver about 6k a year. could this be an issue??


HELP

thanks
Aldo

[Three_thirty_I]

Originally Posted by critterracing

hi everyone

just bought my 09 328i xdrive,prem,sport,cold, ect about 5 weeks ago with 22k miles. now i have 27k mile. car is under warranty and cpo'ed.

n51 motor.

when cruising around motor sounds normal. as soon as i toe into it say half throttle or more it'll ping for a second or 2 then go away. its totally repeatable.

if i crawl up a steep hill at walking pace it'll ping real bad.

i drive with the windows open and this is all i hear it killing me. if im in the mountains the pinging will be constantly happening since im always on the gas.

ran 2 bottles of techron and same thing.

4 visits to the dealer and same thing.

1st visit they replaced all the exhaust lifter, go figure. same problem.

second visit they couldnt hear the ping.

3rd visit was to take service manager for a ride so he can hear it. no problem he heard it. told me he needed a week to research the problem and scheduled me for the following week.

i got a call from them after 1 full day of them having the car and they told me they couldnt reproduce the ping even though service manger heard it.

they told me they checked the gas and was at 17percent ethonal. i told them it didnt matter about the fuel because ive been to every single gas station in north jersey and no gas make a difference. they tested everything so they say and found no issues.

i drove 5k in one month listening to this trying to figure it out. no way its the gas.

so they cant fix my car and im at my wits end hear. i bought this car to drive it in the mountains around my house and this is just impossible now.

dealer said there setting up some appointment with some regional bmw tech guy who stops by the dealership every 2 weeks or so.

so i have another week of waiting before i see him.

last night i ordered new ngk plugs to try out. i pulled a couple of plugs last night and they look fine maybe alittle lean looking.

any ideas what my next move is??

i gave up on dealer and was thinking of going to VAC for a AA tune. would the tune improve this? does the tune actually richen up the fuel mixture??

the car is an 09 and was only driver about 6k a year. could this be an issue??


HELP

thanks
Aldo

Hmm, in the same boat at the moment with my 330i (N52B30)! Going to also be replacing the spark plugs as soon as I can get the Bosch FR7NPP332 plugs - considering also eventually replacing the coil packs since my car is not 7 plus years old. But yours is still very young and also pretty low mileage!

Does yours ping also between 1800 - 2500 rpm? What about during gear changes?

Before my motorplan came to an end I did try to get the agents to sort it out, they couldn't, and now it is somewhat worse than then, so also a tad frustrated!

[critterracing]

pretty much pings when ever im on the gas.

cars seems to like SUNOCO 93 the best. very sensitive to the fuel i use. shouldnt be this way since it has an even lower compression ratio then the n52.

i have no ping while the motor is coming up to temp.

seems to ping the most when im around 3-4k and just lay into the throttle.

when i do my plugs in a few days if they all look as number 1 and 2 looked then i would imagine the coils are good ??? anyone??

[Three_thirty_I]

Originally Posted by critterracing

pretty much pings when ever im on the gas.

cars seems to like SUNOCO 93 the best. very sensitive to the fuel i use. shouldnt be this way since it has an even lower compression ratio then the n52.

i have no ping while the motor is coming up to temp.

seems to ping the most when im around 3-4k and just lay into the throttle.

when i do my plugs in a few days if they all look as number 1 and 2 looked then i would imagine the coils are good ??? anyone??

In my case running 95 Octane Unleaded, and only pings when the engine is up to temperature under partial throttle under acceleration through 1800 - 2500 rpm. But noticed it was more constant when going up a steep bumpy road the other day. Hoping that it's the spark plugs - according to my car's service records, they have never been replaced, so maybe a bit tired now!

[critterracing]

Come on guys 64 views and no opinions.

[E90ROXS]

Originally Posted by critterracing

Come on guys 64 views and no opinions.

What do you mean by "ping"?

[jkrew]

A faulty coil pack would result in a "miss" rather then a "ping".

Is there any noticible loss in power during WOT when your hearing the ping?

[critterracing]

Originally Posted by E90ROXS

What do you mean by "ping"?

Like when you put a low grade fuel in your car.

Originally Posted by jkrew

A faulty coil pack would result in a "miss" rather then a "ping".

Defiantly not a miss.

Is there any noticible loss in power during WOT when your hearing the ping?

Now loss of power. Pulls hard right to redline.

I was reading carbon build up can cause this.

Still waiting for my new spark plugs to arrive. Hoping for a quick fix lol. Ya right

[MaximusJ]

Its a known problem on N52's. http://www.e90post.com/forums/showthread.php?t=13504

If you're still under warranty, I would find the service bulletin and give them a copy

[critterracing]

Originally Posted by MaximusJ

Its a known problem on N52's. http://www.e90post.com/forums/showthread.php?t=13504

If you're still under warranty, I would find the service bulletin and give them a copy

Like I stated in my original post lifter were replaced already. It's not a lifter tapping sound its a pink/knock, big difference.

[driverman]

Since you can reproduce it and you are under warranty, I'd call dealers in your area and see who wants to tackle it. If no luck, I'd widen the search. If that doesn't work, I'd look for the best independent shop that can diagnose it and then report the findings to a dealer so they can fix it under warranty.

[leebermeister]

Have the tech check your 3 stage intake to make sure DISA valves are not loose.

[driverman]

Don't our engines have knock sensors? Shouldn't that prevent pinging, at least heavy pinging? Isn't that what prevents our cars from pinging badly if someone puts in lower octane gas than what's called for?

[Three_thirty_I]

Any updates? Did the new spark plugs make any difference for you?

[critterracing]

Haha still haven't put plugs in. Basically I'm living with it.

[flinchy]

sorry for a bit off topic.. but how the hell did you get 17% ethanol? i mean, WOW.. here we get E10 (10% MAX) and E85 (race is 85% solid, flex is 70-85% usually around 80 min), - the worst part you'd find with that is that running 17% ethanol will give you 5-10% less power outright :/

ED: can you record the sound at all? i know the lifter noise sounds like a metallic clatter (at least the one i get *sometimes* on cold start that goes away after a few minutes), but it's pretty obviously lifter noise lol

[Three_thirty_I]

Originally Posted by critterracing

Haha still haven't put plugs in. Basically I'm living with it.

Well, replaced my car's plugs and although better, still pinks - maybe knock sensors...