Squeak/noise from engine area

Good morning. Have any of you guys/gals heard this noise from your F10? I hear this every time I drive my car. Sometimes it will go away for several seconds or a few minutes, but it always returns.

http://imageshack.us/clip/my-videos/405/iin.mp4/

http://imageshack.us/clip/my-videos/10/jfm.mp4/

I can often hear it from inside the car because I know what to listen for, but I know anybody standing around outside the car has no trouble hearing it.

It's at the dealership now. They said they drove it 3 times yesterday and didn't hear anything abnormal. I'm going to send them these videos, but it would be nice if someone else on here heard it before and knew what it was so I could point them in the right direction.

Thanks for your time!

Rut Roh. Something is definitely wrong. It's quite subtle, but you can definitely hear it. There are a million things it could be. My first inclination is to point to the BELT DRIVE- which connects the alternator, air conditioning and power steering.

Sounds like a dog barking.

Yeah, first inclination is the accessory drive belt (tensioner issue?)

Originally Posted by Needsdecaf

Sounds like a dog barking.

Yeah, first inclination is the accessory drive belt (tensioner issue?)

I agree...sounds a lot like the squeak of a bearing on any of the pulleys.

And they're saying they can't hear that?

Helen Keller could have heard that!

Please let me know what the dealer says. I have the same exact sound coming from mine!

Since I'm assuming this isn't tripping a engine malfunction warning, I'm going with: BELT DRIVE-VIBRATION DAMPER.

With the hood closed. Does the noise seems to come from below the car? Does it continue for a second after you turn off the engine? Is your car a 1/11 or nearby build?

Thanks everyone I will report back what the dealer finds. I did not hear from them today.

Originally Posted by caribz

With the hood closed. Does the noise seems to come from below the car? Does it continue for a second after you turn off the engine? Is your car a 1/11 or nearby build?

I can't say for sure if it sounds like it's coming from below the car when the hood is closed, but if they don't fix it I will definitely get down on my hands and knees to listen.

Yes, usually the last sound I hear is this squeak for a fraction of a second when I turn the engine off.

Yes, I placed my order mid December and it arrived at the dealership in late January or early February I think.

I had a simlar noise, i heard your audio and it was a DeJa Vu. After several weeks at the dealer they found out it was a Cardan/Crankshaft Seal which has been wrongly placed in a batch of cars built by that date. They replaced it and the noise has gone away. It took a long time until the chief mechanic, who was out on a trip, came back, called me, I described the problem and right away, he figured it out. The rest of the wait was because the part was not available. Ask your Service guy.

Originally Posted by caribz

I had a simlar noise, i heard your audio and it was a DeJa Vu. After several weeks at the dealer they found out it was a Cardan/Crankshaft Seal which has been wrongly placed in a batch of cars built by that date. They replaced it and the noise has gone away. It took a long time until the chief mechanic, who was out on a trip, came back, called me, I described the problem and right away, he figured it out. The rest of the wait was because the part was not available. Ask your Service guy.

Thanks I forwarded him this information. Sounds like it's the same issue. Hopefully mine won't take weeks! Thought I don't mind too much putting miles on a loaner...

Man you gotta love this board, well done caribz!

2nd vote for rear main seal (crank seal). They said it's pretty common on this car.

Thanks again guys I did not hear from them today either. Maybe that's a good thing...

Originally Posted by b|ake

Thanks again guys I did not hear from them today either. Maybe that's a good thing...

That's total BS. They should be giving you an update at the very least, a call an email, something. Radio silence is the worst possible response. You're a heck of a lot more patient than me.

Originally Posted by TJPark01

That's total BS. They should be giving you an update at the very least, a call an email, something. Radio silence is the worst possible response. You're a heck of a lot more patient than me.

The dealer called Friday, but long story short I didn't speak with the service guy until Tuesday. He said they were waiting on a part that should be in Wednesday. Forgot what his exact words were but I know he said transmission seal so I'm sure it's the same thing.

Will let you guys know the result. Should hopefully have it back Thursday or Friday.

Hi again, another update. I still have the loaner. I spoke with the dealer again today and they said they are waiting on parts/tools from Germany.

Originally Posted by b|ake

Hi again, another update. I still have the loaner. I spoke with the dealer again today and they said they are waiting on parts/tools from Germany.

Let me get this straight? They've had your car for 2 weeks. Man you're a nice guy.

Again, the same thing happened to me; 3 weeks. They say that as this is a new model they don't have the parts in stock. On the other side, being a "common" issue they should get some parts in advance to serve well their clients. How much can a seal cost? Hope they gave you a nice loaner.

I dropped my 2011 535 xdrive off at the dealer today. Same squeal noise, they claim it's the rear seal and they'll fix it tomorrow. They test drove the car trying to hear the noise and they claimed they couldn't do the fix since the engine/transmission was too hot and didn't cool down in time.

Do they really have to remove the transmission to swap the seal? This is the info I was given by the service advisor and one of the mechanics. They say the shop foreman heard the noise briefly and since there is TSB about the rear engine seal, this is what they believe is the problem.

Yes, the transmission has to be removed. You are lucky that they seem to have the part.

Well the car is at Hassel BMW which has a large service center. Probably about 40 service bays.

Wanted to update everyone again. Got the car back July 21. Total time in the shop was 24 days.

Noise does seem to be fixed, so that's good. The SA said the reason for having it so long was they had to order "parts and tools" from Germany. Paperwork lists "faulty rear main seal" as the cause and remedy was "replaced rear main crank seal."

They did give me a loaner, and I was very happy they did. I shopped them when I was in the market last winter but ended up going with another dealer (sponsor Adrian Avila at BMW of South Atlanta, highly recommended BTW). Loaner was another double black F10, only with AT, sport package, and xDrive. Most people didn't realized I had a loaner because it was so similar to my car. Happy to be back in my car but certainly didn't mind putting 1000 miles on someone else's!

Thanks everyone for helping with this.

Blake

Had this happen too with mine. I got lucky and one of my friends heard the noise when I stopped to talk to him in a parking lot. You're not really going to notice it from the inside, but you can't miss it if you're stopped with the window down. Official description of the fix is "Replaced rear main radial oil seal". FWIW, it seems to be running better than new at low speeds, although maybe I'm just imagining things after driving the loaner.

Originally Posted by b|ake

Happy to be back in my car but certainly didn't mind putting 1000 miles on someone else's!

lol I wouldn't have minded either Glad you got it back.