Clicking Noise From 328i Engine

Greetings to all. I had my 328i (56,000 mileage) into my local BMW dealer yesterday (Friday) for an oil change and basic service. However, when I picked the car up, it had a distinct clicking noise from the engine which I had never heard before. I have now read up on the issue and it sounds like it probably is coming from the hydraulic lifters, a problem well chronicled here and elsewhere. My question is, what could the dealer repair shop have done to cause this? One advisor brusquely told that me that he had seen this problem 100's of times and that it had to be just a total coincidence that it first appeared on the same day my car was serviced. I got the General Manager to intercede and he gave me a loaner car and promised to have the car looked at on Monday.
In case they come back with the "miraculous coincidence" argument, does anyone have thoughts on what they could have done to bring on this clicking problem? Maybe improper oil used?

Thanks very much.

Yes the "ticking" noise is a very common problem with lifters going bad. Theres nothing they did they just go bad, simple as that. Don't think driving habbits are a real issue its just a ware and tear item. Check to see if ur warranty covers it, might just have to pay the deductible.

Yes, ticking noise is a very common problem and some cars can be fixed with lifter replacement but some aren't. I was told that you need to replace cylinder head which was newly designed.
I have the same problem and currently fighting with dealer regarding this issue.
dealers will tell you that it is normal to have some noise and it would not further damage the car but if you do more research about it, that is not true.
bad lifter, bad cylinder head means not enough lubrication, oil leak would occur due to build up pressure... you would pay everything from your own pocket if you ignore this problem.
I am paying for BMW and driving with a noise like an old truck does not sound right.
BMW is well aware of this problem and they are not doing 'recall'... this is a big issue.
if this isn't an issue, why would they design new cylinder head???

They won't do a recall on this in all likelihood. BMW would have done the calculations on the cost of the repair (which would be pretty massive) vs the cost of any potential lawsuits, and taken the lower money option. Since it's not a safety thing, they won't get forced to do a recall by the government.

You'd think it could be another way with a "premium" manufacturer, but they are all out to make money just like Honda and Ford.

Then,
what is my right as a customer??
Do I keep fight for it??
Right now, I'm still waiting to hear from the BMW rep to see whether they would authorize the dealer shop to repair or not.
What do I do if the noise problem does not get fixed even after the repair?

Your right as a customer is to have it fixed, assuming it is covered under warranty. If there is a service bulletin for this with revised parts, I'm not sure why your dealer would be fighting you on it. Track down the service bulletin and take it in to them.

they are claiming that my new vehicle warranty is expired but I have extended warranty which only covers maintenance not repair. So, they are saying that they need authorization from BMW regional rep to repair it. I guess the dealer does not want to pay for the parts or the repair instead, they want BMW North America to pay for it. but the ticking noise started while I was under new vehicle warranty.

I'm confused. In your first post, you said that it just started ticking after you picked it up, but now you are saying it was ticking before the warranty ran out? Was this oil change a long time ago? If you brought this complaint up before your warranty had expired, and can easily prove it (ie you have a service receipt even if it shows no problem found) then I would think BMW will step up to the plate and fix it. Give BMW NA a call with all of the details - when it started, when your warranty expired, when you told the dealer, etc.

Your dealer is doing the right thing though - they can't fix an out of warranty car without the rep's approval. If the rep denied it after the fact, who would pay for it?

Originally Posted by julietve

they are claiming that my new vehicle warranty is expired but I have extended warranty which only covers maintenance not repair. So, they are saying that they need authorization from BMW regional rep to repair it. I guess the dealer does not want to pay for the parts or the repair instead, they want BMW North America to pay for it. but the ticking noise started while I was under new vehicle warranty.

Unless you have documentation that it started under warranty (such as a invoice that the car was at the dealer for this issue, the issue was just not fixed) there is nothing they can do short of a goodwill repair. In this case, they are just trying to be nice.

If they honored warranty based on claims that an issue started before you crossed 50k miles or 4 years, they'd incur quite a bit of cost they'd have to push on to you in the sale price of the vehicle, as everyone near warranty mileage would put that claim on the table.

By the way, you actually do not have an extended warranty then it sounds, just an extended maintenance plan. They are two different things and as you found out, covered two different set of service. Once is for maintenance required as the CBS computer indicates; the other covers certain repairs.

No, the noise started about 6 months after I purchased the car.
So, the dealer replaced the lifter.
Then, the noise came back recently. So, at this point, the new vehicle warranty is expired but still have extended 6yr/100,000mile warranty.
replacement of the lifter was not the permanent solution. it was just a band-aid temporary solution.
of course there is a documentation about the lifter adjustment. Dealer is well aware of this problem.
Yeah, I think dealer is doing the right thing, but I'm just worried that what if replacement of the head does not solve the problem...

Well good luck I guess. If they fixed it for 3.5 years, it wasn't a Band-Aid solution. Maybe they changed a different lifter than the one that has failed now. You just said that your extended warranty is for maintenance. That's not going to cover this. You need to wait and see what the BMW rep says at this point. If you don't agree with him, you can call BMW NA and plead your case.

Originally Posted by julietve

No, the noise started about 6 months after I purchased the car.
So, the dealer replaced the lifter.
Then, the noise came back recently. (about 3.5yrs after) So, at this point, the new vehicle warranty is expired but still have extended 6yr/100,000mile warranty.
replacement of the lifter was not the permanent solution. it was just a band-aid temporary solution.

3.5 years is wayyyyy too long of a time frame. Repairs (labor and parts) are generally warrantied for 12,000 miles or 1 year. Calling a repair that lasted 3.5 years a band-aid is a bit of a stretch.

Talk to your dealer nicely and they'll possibly work with you. It seems you have been doing this. But don't expect them to perform miracles, as a "free to you" fix would be money out of their pockets, and they tend to want to want to hang on to that money. Good luck!

i am so glad that i joined this forum, thank you guys for providing such great advice..... i just bought a 2009 bmw 328i coupe on 11/09/2012, a certified pre-owned with only 30k miles from vista bmw....i have both the service warranty left and the repair warrenty...as i was paying attention the my engine i noticed that same cliking noise as well... it is not loud but if i really pay attention i can hear it ... and also i thinik that my engine is idling high and hard....do you guys suggest that i bring it in as soon as possible? what do i say to BMW?

Originally Posted by TPack

Greetings to all. I had my 328i (56,000 mileage) into my local BMW dealer yesterday (Friday) for an oil change and basic service. However, when I picked the car up, it had a distinct clicking noise from the engine which I had never heard before. I have now read up on the issue and it sounds like it probably is coming from the hydraulic lifters, a problem well chronicled here and elsewhere. My question is, what could the dealer repair shop have done to cause this? One advisor brusquely told that me that he had seen this problem 100's of times and that it had to be just a total coincidence that it first appeared on the same day my car was serviced. I got the General Manager to intercede and he gave me a loaner car and promised to have the car looked at on Monday.
In case they come back with the "miraculous coincidence" argument, does anyone have thoughts on what they could have done to bring on this clicking problem? Maybe improper oil used?

Been while since your post; maybe you're still viewing.

Which dealer was this?

Originally Posted by TPack

My question is, what could the dealer repair shop have done to cause this?

Maybe they replaced your oil with an incorrect viscosity?

well, but every time when I brought my car to the dealer( since the first repair), I mentioned about the noise and the dealer sent me home saying that it's normal.
I finally realize that it is not normal and trying to bring up as an issue. So, it is a band-aid solution rather than a permanent solution.

The longest thread on this is

http://www.e90post.com/forums/showthread.php?t=13504

The first solution was new lifters.
Then they came out with the new Head.
Now I here they have revised lifters and that's all they will do
and the new lifters that have a different noise associated with them.

Some have tried a heavier oil or additives.
I don't see they can say that it doesn't make a difference since this is
the sound of something hitting on something else.

If it started when you had your oil change try running on the highway to bleed the air
out of the head(original solution from BMW) and make sure the oil level is all the way up.
You have to run the engine up to 3k to 4k for a few minutes.

Originally Posted by julietve

well, but every time when I brought my car to the dealer( since the first repair), I mentioned about the noise and the dealer sent me home saying that it's normal.
I finally realize that it is not normal and trying to bring up as an issue. So, it is a band-aid solution rather than a permanent solution.

Wait! Your complaint was normal.

I just got a 2013 328i. After driving it for approximately 700 miles, I noticed a clicking/tapping noise after the engine is shut off. The noise goes on for about 10 minutes. It is a loud tapping noise that sounds off along with the normal ticking sound after the car is shut off.

This is quite unbelievable. I had to returned a 2012 service loaner with less than 5,000 miles that I purchased because it was giving off a grinding noise at 15 mph that the dearlership could not fix. After numereous back and forth and headache the dealer finally gave me a 2013 as a replacement. Now the 2013 car is giving me problems too. BMW's quality has definitely gone down hill. I had a 2000 323i for eleven years and never experience the problems like these. Just unbelievable.

Originally Posted by uncle spike

I just got a 2013 328i. After driving it for approximately 700 miles, I noticed a clicking/tapping noise after the engine is shut off. The noise goes on for about 10 minutes. It is a loud tapping noise that sounds off along with the normal ticking sound after the car is shut off.

This is quite unbelievable. I had to returned a 2012 service loaner with less than 5,000 miles that I purchased because it was giving off a grinding noise at 15 mph that the dearlership could not fix. After numereous back and forth and headache the dealer finally gave me a 2013 as a replacement. Now the 2013 car is giving me problems too. BMW's quality has definitely gone down hill. I had a 2000 323i for eleven years and never experience the problems like these. Just unbelievable.

This is a joke right? Dont most BMW turbos engage the electric waterpump after engine shut-off to cool it after? I think I heard some commotion about fuel pumps doing stuff after engine shutoff too.

Welcome to the world of turbos.

Here's another neat fact of BMW electric waterpumps, you can trigger them to bleed off the coolant system after you change the fluid. Go figure, it makes a weird sound when its pumping fluid with the engine off to bleed off the air for get this, 12mins!

Originally Posted by uncle spike

I just got a 2013 328i. After driving it for approximately 700 miles, I noticed a clicking/tapping noise after the engine is shut off. The noise goes on for about 10 minutes. It is a loud tapping noise that sounds off along with the normal ticking sound after the car is shut off.

This is quite unbelievable. I had to returned a 2012 service loaner with less than 5,000 miles that I purchased because it was giving off a grinding noise at 15 mph that the dearlership could not fix. After numereous back and forth and headache the dealer finally gave me a 2013 as a replacement. Now the 2013 car is giving me problems too. BMW's quality has definitely gone down hill. I had a 2000 323i for eleven years and never experience the problems like these. Just unbelievable.

Most likely the metals contracting as they cool, along with oil dripping back into the sump. Comparing this to a loaner/beater is ridiculous.

Just noticed oil spot on the garage floor on top of the noise. Taking it in to the dealer tomorrow. This is really sad. I thought BMW makes quality cars.

Originally Posted by uncle spike

Just noticed oil spot on the garage floor on top of the noise. Taking it in to the dealer tomorrow. This is really sad. I thought BMW makes quality cars.

What color is the spot?

Clear. No color. Similar to oil leak.

Ok, I almost purchased the 328i XI today from the dealer, but not the BMW dealer. The car was mint until I heard the ticking noise and then immediately noticed it's gotta be something because the ticking noise was loud. The dealer said he is gonna fix it on Monday and almost sign the papers, but decided to back off and glad I did.

I still don't buy **** when they say "hey, its under the warranty, you have nothing to worry about".. Yeah, I give **** about it because I just came to buy this car and immediately got disappointed. First of all, the car has 32K miles and you don't know how long its been like this. You don't know how much damage has been done, you don't even know if the dealer is going to fix the issue or not. Bottom line, you don't want to pay $30K for troubled car.