Clicking noise

Hi, I have a clicking noise, like click, click, click, only when the car is moving. That is when the tyres are rolling or i am driving or slowing down. When i am in neutral and accelerate, no problem. Sounds like metal on metal. And it gets faster, the faster the car rolls. I have sent it to many bmw mechanics, all said it was a bent rear wheel. Repaired, problem still persists. Any help will be appreciated. 2006 bmw 650 i convertible with 19 inch standard rims with bridgstone run flats.

It's definitely something to do with the rotation of your wheels then. I once got a crushed beer can stuck in between the wheel and the brake caliper.

I'd suggest a good visual inspection. If metal is hitting metal, you must be able to see something.

Thank you, ive tried all that, even changed wheel bearings an repaired bent wheel. No resolution

Put my car on a ramp, and drove it whilst wheels were free. No noise, wheels did not move, so put dsc off, then wheels moved, but now the dsc, abs, brake, and vehicle stability, and passenger airbag lights dont want to go off and steering is gone heavy. Help

I think those warning lights will clear after starting/stopping the car a few times. If not disconnect the battery for 10 minutes then reconnect. I've seen this happen when putting a BMW on a dyno and the lights cleared themselves.

If the clicking is not wheel/brake related I would guess you have a problem with the driveshaft or rear diff. Have the driveshaft centre bearing checked and also the guibo which are both very common wear items. It could also be the CV joint on the driveshaft (rare) or CV joint on the output shafts - common but tend to click only when turning.

See #2, #8 and #17 in this diagram.

Thanks yorgi. Will it help to change the diff oil or is this not necessary in 650i?

Im taking the car into a third bmw workshop today. Hopefully this will resolve all the problems. Could somone please send me a picture of the underneath / undercarriage of a 2006 bmw 650i convertible or similar. For some reason, i feel that the previous workshop had not replaced some of the covers and need to compare. Thanks.

There are several pics under the car in the resonator delete threads. Here are a few:

Post 1
Post 2
Post 3 - click to enlarge pics
Post 4 See 2nd video

Changing the diff oil is always a good idea, especially in a hot place like Dubai where I would do it annually.

Thank you for the help, all the lights went off on their own. Te noise is gone, but i am almost certain it will return. Only thing left is the passenger seat belt airbag light

Hi guys, my clicking noise is back and louder. Three bmw specialists cannot find the cause. Was thinking it could be a loose brake calliper. Also my car shows high battery drain after parking it overnight and this goes away during the day. Any advise please. Thanks

Did you ever check the inside tread of your run flats? When they start to separate 90% of the time from the inner edge, you will hear a clicking noise because the tread starts to flop around.
This was a problem I had, took the tire off and the inside was about to peel right off.

Also another thing I forgot is to try taking off your center caps and drive see if the noise goes away. Had a guy rotate my tires once he put the caps on wrong (yes it can be done) and when I drove slow I could here a clicking noise. I took the caps off and put them back right and the noise went away.

It sounds like a drive shaft problem to me! A rear tear about to come apart, could cause the same noise. I would hope one of your shops would have noticed the problem by now.

Good Luck!

Originally Posted by DrDubai

Hi guys, my clicking noise is back and louder. Three bmw specialists cannot find the cause. Was thinking it could be a loose brake calliper. Also my car shows high battery drain after parking it overnight and this goes away during the day. Any advise please. Thanks

As far as the battery drain! Do you leave anything plugged into the power sockets? IE a Iphone Charger, even when the IPhone is not in the car. Some of these chargers stop the car going into sleep mode even though there is nothing plugged in, so you need to pull them out and only use when you are in the car!!!!

Thanks guys, run flat tyres are new, tried the center caps already, checked the drive shaft, dont leave anything on charge. Any other ideas?

Originally Posted by DrDubai

Thanks guys, run flat tyres are new, tried the center caps already, checked the drive shaft, dont leave anything on charge. Any other ideas?

Can you isolate the noise to one particular area?

It sounds like the rear right

Originally Posted by DrDubai

Thanks guys, run flat tyres are new, tried the center caps already, checked the drive shaft, dont leave anything on charge. Any other ideas?

Just clarifying, items dont have to be on charge just the charger etc plugged in??? Power use overnight is mostly the car electrical system has not gone to sleep??? Or are your keys close to the car????

No chargers plugged in. Keys 31 floors above car. I have noticed the light on the gearbox P and the start stop button stay on after i lock the car. Everything else seems to go off. Thanks.

31 floors should be a safe distance from the car. One way to see if it is a communication issue such as Bluetooth, leave the keys in your home. With the car unlocked, check to see if the ACC comes on? If the ACC ignition comes on, the car is not going to sleep!

Good Luck!

I had a similar clicking sound from my after market rear brake pads on my 5 series.

Thanks again for all the help. The brake pads are original. I will try the acc advice HerbP. IF it is that... what could be the cause? and what is the solution?

Regarding the clicking noise, it sounds like metal on metal, has gotten louder, adn is not always there. no other associated factors.

on another note, my sos/telephone and bluetooh dont work anymore, ever since I reset the i drive???

If your car is still getting a signal from the key that far, put the key in a safe?

If the clicking noise goes away when applying the brakes, it is probably brake related.

With your battery getting drained easily, the random errors indicate the battery might be going bad.