2011 ZCP M3 clicking noise

[penny31]

im going to try and see if i have the problem. From what i understand to test it, i should rev between 1k-2k on and off for about a minute?

[z00m]

after some time hearing such noise- my engine blew

[Bananas92]

Originally Posted by z00m

after some time hearing such noise- my engine blew

Not sure if serious...
*checks history*
Damn.

Is your new engine making any noise?

[derric]

Originally Posted by K-M3

could it be the octane rating?? BMW recommends premium grade gasoline and 91 aint exactly premium, definitely not if it has some ethanol in it. And i myself am not really sure about this thought but i was thinking about it. could it be engine knock (and I know that the M3 has anti-knock sensors) from a lower octane than what it should be (atleast a 93-94 or higher). A clicking/ticking sound at part throttle/low rpm is very consistent with engine knock from bad quality fuel.

Are people on this forum using the 100 octane/91 octane blend also having this problem? or does this make it go away.

like I said before, there is just way too much of a consistent association with this noise and the break in service. I absolutely cannot fathom why or what will cause this to happen after the first service but the association is there!!!

@ derric - after you got the crank and bearings replaced, you said it came back after 3 months. did it come back again after another service/oil change ??

I didn't notice it until a couple months after the "re-break in" period.

It's in the shop getting a new bottom end. I think they are replacing everything except the head. Does anyone know if the engine blocks are shipped with or without heads. I.E are they rebuilding my bottom end or are they taking a factory bottom end.

[Diavel Tom]

Originally Posted by elp_jc

You need to do the 'garage test' every once in a while . The good news is it's a gradual process, so it'd get worse over time. Therefore, I wouldn't even bother with a dealer until it's easily heard and duplicated.

And I'd completely eliminate an oil pump (there're two) folks. Can't be the chain (main pump is chain-driven; secondary is driven by the main one), since noise is metal to metal, and chain guide is plastic. And a bearing without side loads would screech instead of knocking. That knocking sound has to come from either a main or rod bearing IMO. And random ticking is a lot more likely on main bearings.

Finally, the thought of that kind of ticking not being detrimental to the engine in the long run can't be true IMO, whatever it is, but I'd love to be wrong. All I know is if my car starts to develop that after warranty without more encouraging news before it potentially happens, I'd just trade it in. But the way I drive my car and I maintain it, I REALLY, REALLY doubt I have anything to worry about .

The main reason I had it checked out by the dealership was to have the noise documented....oil pump or not. If she blows up before the warranty is out, so be it. I would expect BMW to make good since the proper maintenance is being followed, and no modifications have been made.

The car will be sold before the factory warranty is up.

In the meantime, I will continue to enjoy driving it rather than worrying about it.

[TeKNiC3]

Originally Posted by derric

I had my crank and bearing replaced, however after 3 months the sound came back albeit worse. Tech said it was a tolerance thing and that outside of the annoying sound it would have no affect on actual engine wear (unsure on validity of his comment). Car is in the shop for the sound plus leaking oil now...

Just dropped off the car again today. The service writer said they will be replacing the crank and bearing.....but sounds like that does not solve the problem.

This is their second attempt at fixing this problem. The first was loosening some bolts in the oil pan and retorquing the bolts back down.

[ChrisK]

Originally Posted by radiantm3

Looks like I might have this issue too. I have about 14,000 miles on my 2011.5 and just started to hear random ticking sounds coming from the engine bay. Seem to only hear it when my engine is fully warmed up and at low speeds.

Here's a link to an mp3 of the sound: http://d.pr/RZXz

That's exactly what my 2011 sounds like. I hope it's fine.

[stefan]

Surprisingly large sample number here.. interesting.

Originally Posted by z00m

after some time hearing such noise- my engine blew

Woah.. how'd it all go down? Everything turn out ok in the end?

Also find it kind of funny that there's a need to include ZCP.. maybe only cars with ZCP wheels and suspension package are affected

[Stainless 45]

This is starting to worry me as I have a 2011, now I'm listening to the engine too much. Since all of these happened after the first service, and knowing there have been many oil change nightmare threads- could it be possible they've been putting the wrong oil in and causing failures?

[Lodaka]

Originally Posted by Diavel Tom

The main reason I had it checked out by the dealership was to have the noise documented....oil pump or not. If she blows up before the warranty is out, so be it. I would expect BMW to make good since the proper maintenance is being followed, and no modifications have been made.

The car will be sold before the factory warranty is up.

In the meantime, I will continue to enjoy driving it rather than worrying about it.

This is kind of what I did with mine. I did find one interesting thing tho. Where I live, there is Chevron 94, which I always used. Then, just to see what happens, I changed it to Shell 91 (highest for Shell gas here) and this "clicking" noise actually went away!

Well, the problem was, I was experiencing a different sort of noise, which was even more annoying than the clicking noise. So I went back to Chevron 94 and guess what the noise back. Ugh.

[rjd598]

thats just there to let you know you got more hp with zcp

[jmarino21]

Originally Posted by Diavel Tom

Hello all-

Have a 2011 M3. This noise started with my car as well after I had the oil changed around 7500 miles. Took it into the dealership, and provided them with a very detailed description of the noise. They looked the car over, and indicated that they could hear the same thing. According to them, they contacted the mother ship, and were told the noise is linked to the oil pump, and is nothing detrimental to the engine.

I had been reading about this issue before the noise started with my car, and wanted to have the dealership document my complaint in detail in case something comes up at a later date.

BMWNA has been replacing the oil pumps on their PC cars. A certain dealership in Chicago that has a bunch of these PC cars, and all have the roughly then same maintenance history.

The only reason everyone's car hasn't been recalled because the problem isnt widespread enough to do so. Remember that scene from Fight Club? They will just fix the ones that have problems because it is cheaper overall.

-JM

[derric]

Originally Posted by ChrisK

That's exactly what my 2011 sounds like. I hope it's fine.

This sound is actually different and not really tied to revs. My previous E90 made this sounds once but then not again I never figured out what it was.

[GrussGott]

Just did a listen on my newly ED'd 2011 e93 and I have the clicking but it's not random. At idle it's a tick,tick,tick,tick,tick. And I can only hear it loud at the drivers side wheel well. I don't totally remember it but I have heard it with the top down and ignored it. But def there.

Not sure if it's aligned with revs as I'll need to find someone to rev it while I listen

[nusevad]

when I rev my engine in neutral past 2K the idle drops past 1K slowly, this never happened before. Also i hear a very faint puff noise, not a metallic tick but puffish.

Anyone have similar idle rev drops and hear the puff in theirs?

[Stainless 45]

Originally Posted by GrussGott

Just did a listen on my newly ED'd 2011 e93 and I have the clicking but it's not random. At idle it's a tick,tick,tick,tick,tick. And I can only hear it loud at the drivers side wheel well. I don't totally remember it but I have heard it with the top down and ignored it. But def there.

Not sure if it's aligned with revs as I'll need to find someone to rev it while I listen

What you're describing sounds like mine- which I've been told is normal valvetrain noise. What other members are experiencing seems to be random and distinct "clicking" as the engine rpm's drop.

[TeKNiC3]

Update: The local dealership had the car for 5 weeks now. On week 4, I called BMW client relations and inquired about a buy back. They called back a few days later and agreed to buy back my girlfriends 2011 M3 with 6k miles.

Just placed an order for a 2012 M3. Hope it does not have the same problem.

[bates1325]

i currently have this too, made an appointment with service to have this and a metallic buzzing noise (comes in around 1500-1800rpm). tried to figure it out before having them drive the car around but no luck ):

[Stainless 45]

Originally Posted by radiantm3

Looks like I might have this issue too. I have about 14,000 miles on my 2011.5 and just started to hear random ticking sounds coming from the engine bay. Seem to only hear it when my engine is fully warmed up and at low speeds.

Here's a link to an mp3 of the sound: http://d.pr/RZXz

Anyone have any new updates on this issue (which is now WAY too common...)

[derric]

Originally Posted by Stainless 45

Allow me to introduce myself- My M3 sounds exactly like this now.... With 5K on the clock I thought I had gotten off easy, and was going to be in the clear- WTF! At least I'm not the only one. Anyone have any new updates on this issue (which is now WAY too common...)

I must say though the buybacks BMW have done have been great for customer sat. When they bought back mine I thought it was going to be a pain they replied within 3 days bought it back and I even received a additional check later for unused portions of my registration fee. A+ for that.

[Stainless 45]

Originally Posted by derric

I must say though the buybacks BMW have done have been great for customer sat. When they bought back mine I thought it was going to be a pain they replied within 3 days bought it back and I even received a additional check later for unused portions of my registration fee. A+ for that.

The fact that they are so eager to buy the car back w/o even sorting out the cause of the problem does not fill me with confidence.

[derric]

Originally Posted by Stainless 45

The fact that they are so eager to buy the car back w/o even sorting out the cause of the problem does not fill me with confidence.

Better them buy it back than have your car sit in the shop for 1+ month, "maybe" solve the problem and get a Carfax the size of a textbook.