M3 Noises (What's Normal/Not Normal)

[RichMattB]

Originally Posted by lve2xlr8

I can hear what sounds like a small exhaust leak when at lower rpms with heavy throttle if I'm next to a curb or wall. Normal? Not sure. Have I accepted it? Yes.

Also, do you guys routinely shift to neutral before you shut the car off? It's not necessary. When you shut it off (if the key's not in the ignition) it will go to P automatically regardless if you're in D1 R N or 1.

The exhaust noise you described is exactly what I'm hearing.

And thanks for the shut-off info. Yes, I have been shifting into N before turning the car off.

[youngnastyman]

Originally Posted by brava09

The cow bell noise when pebbles get stuck in the rear wheel brake shield.

The transmission clunking sound at low speeds (6MT too).

phew i thought there was something wrong with my car lol.. ive been hearing a rattling/clunking noise when shifting at low speeds

[ES_TRADER]

if u have DCT and drive with music off and windows closed, u can hear clunking/shuttering sounds...i suspect, and could be wrong, but i think its the sound of the car engaging/disengaging the clutch...its just a clunky transmission and i thought it was just on my car, but i drove 2 others that made the same noises.

[ES_TRADER]

Originally Posted by VonSwoopington

Interior rattling on the passenger door/ glove compartment side.. No idea what it is. I get the other noises mentioned as well but they all seem to be normal noises

BTW, i found the cause for the passenger door rattle and its an easy fix....if u want to spend about 30 mins, its easy...basically remove the door panel by taking off all the bolts first but dont pull it too far away from the door, as there are wires attached...if u have the rattle that sounds like somthing is loose inside the door panel, its because it is...there are wires that have these plastic clips on them...the clips go into a little hole...they are supposed to be plugged into those holes but its not very tight...so basically if u have the rattle, its because the clips came out of those holes and are vibrating over rough roads..thats the sound u hear...so basically u just plug those clips back in and tape it up with electrical tape...put the panel back on and ur set...door rattle gone

*FWIW, its not the glove compartment, or passenger dash..i thought it was too and acoustics when u are alone in the car make it sound that way...but i had my wife sit in the car and listen while i drove and she put her ear right up to the door and voila...for the longest time i thought it was the dash or trim / passenger AC vent..but nope..its the door..the way sounds bounce off things in the car make it feel like its the dash area

[Seattle S65B40]

^^ Thanks for staying on top of the rattles Rich.

My 6MT is really noisy. Anyone else? It just sounds so clunky. Like when you put the clutch in at low speeds, it makes a clunky sound. I know it's normal (E46 M3 did the same), but does it have to be so embarrassing? sometimes it makes people look over like there is something wrong with the car...

[Grail05]

to avoid all this.... crank up that volume... its what i do... so when i turn off my radio... i hear nothing... NO SERIOUSLY I HEAR NOTHING... :LOL:

[JCtx]

Originally Posted by lve2xlr8

Starting off with when you first start the car there is typically the loud noise that resembles an exhaust leak/old school v8. I believe I read this is the Secondary Air Injection leaning out the cats to heat them up quicker.

My car does it as well, but it starts about 3 minutes after engine fired up, so it's not to heat the cats; they're hot by then. And yes, it has to be that air injection pump, but my question is what the hell for, and why it puts such a big load on the engine. An air injection pump's job used to be that of burning fuel on decel on carbureted cars. Have no idea what the hell that thing is doing on a modern fuel-injected engine... and working at idle .

Originally Posted by lve2xlr8

There is another noise that typically happens within the first couple minutes that sounds like it's coming from the front driver's side fender. It's almost sounds like a power mirror motor but is only on for about 5 seconds, what is this?

ABS/DSC pump pressurizing the system. Perfectly normal.

[goldminer]

Originally Posted by elp_jc

An air injection pump's job used to be that of burning fuel on decel on carbureted cars. Have no idea what the hell that thing is doing on a modern fuel-injected engine... and working at idle .

My understanding is that they deliberatley run it a bit rich on cold startup and then add excess air. This means there is a lot of reacting going on in the catalyst which heats it up faster.

[Yoyoman]

Originally Posted by Seattle S65B40

^^ Thanks for staying on top of the rattles Rich.

My 6MT is really noisy. Anyone else? It just sounds so clunky. Like when you put the clutch in at low speeds, it makes a clunky sound. I know it's normal (E46 M3 did the same), but does it have to be so embarrassing? sometimes it makes people look over like there is something wrong with the car...

My does the samething too: in gear, low speed, step on clutch....clunk, clunk clunk..It is embarrasing, especially inside indoor parking where noise is emplified.

[Nine]

loud noise comes from my driver side view mirror right after I turn on the car and go in reverse...what could that be?

[goldminer]

Originally Posted by Seattle S65B40

^^ Thanks for staying on top of the rattles Rich.

My 6MT is really noisy. Anyone else? It just sounds so clunky. Like when you put the clutch in at low speeds, it makes a clunky sound. I know it's normal (E46 M3 did the same), but does it have to be so embarrassing? sometimes it makes people look over like there is something wrong with the car...

I found that when I first got the car it was doing that but I could make it pretty smooth by timing the clutch and throttle roll-off carefully. If the car is decelerating hard and loading the gearbox it will clunk when the clutch is depressed. If you time rolling off the throttle correctly it will be hardly noticable. Also, if you wait till the car is moving very slowly it will be minor.

[mattkim85]

will the stealerships do something about the rattles if your under warranty?

[AMPowerJ]

I have all of these plus the 'whine'. I guess it is the gears in the 6MT? Do you DCT guys have this too?

[Seattle S65B40]

Originally Posted by mattkim85

will the stealerships do something about the rattles if your under warranty?

Yes, they will, but it involves letting them have the car for a potentially long period of time, as analyzing the source of the rattle can take some digging and lots of driving to hear where it is rattling.

I'd rather just deal with my rattles than give old Jonny the Tech a reason to drive my car around town.

[BlackSaphr]

i got the clunking in low gears when the engine and tranny are cold

i actually dont mind the old V8 startup noise its aggressive

in reverse and 1 st gear i got the 3 clanks when i depress the clutch too fast if i do it nice and slow and low rpms it doesnt happen

im learning to live with all the rattles, the car still puts a smile on my face everytime i drive it

[lve2xlr8]

Originally Posted by AMPowerJ

I have all of these plus the 'whine'. I guess it is the gears in the 6MT? Do you DCT guys have this too?

Yep from about 35-40mph there's a nice "whirrrr"

[SenorFunkyPants]

The "clunking" you get when shifting the DCT in neutral ( and almost certainly the MT when low speed declutching) is the result of torque reversal in the drivetrain. Basically there is a small amount of play in the propshaft, differential and driveshafts that is taken up when the engine is applying torque to the drivetrain...when you remove this torque (by declutching/shift into neutral) the drivetrain "unwinds" causing the clunking noise.

[andret]

The clunk when slowing down in 2nd off throttle at 1200rpm. Apparently it is the injectors kicking in before the revs get too low. I think this ma also be related to efficient dynamics regen braking. I wish this could all be programmed out. Could this limit be lowered to 600rpm?

[BKMK5]

The rotor's shrinking after a nice drive is intoxicating. "Dink, dink, dink, dink" Tonight I may make a video of it. I know there are a bunch of people who are like :WTF are you talking about, my accord doesnt make that sound when I shut it off???"

[GIdriver]

Originally Posted by youngnastyman

phew i thought there was something wrong with my car lol.. ive been hearing a rattling/clunking noise when shifting at low speeds

Same here!

[elm3]

The noise coming from the left rear quarter panel that sounds like an air pump is actually a vacuum pump. Some of the stuff in our car uses vacuum to operate them. If you look under the car on your left, you can see either one or two little cylinder looking thing, that is your vacuum cans.

[drjoe66]

The entire car sounding like a 17 th century wooden ship. Creaking from every corner. Rattling from nav screen and windshield air ducts. Loud banging from rear seat going over bad roads when seat is not occupied.
And a high pitched whining noise all the time from the engine.