Engine Replaced Under Warranty

[gabeo]

Just to share my experience.

Bought a MY2016 M4 on July 30 of this year (with 20K miles). Within the first month or two, I noticed the below knocking sound on cold idling. It would start after about 3 minutes of idling.

I took it in and was told it was normal. Others' experiences on here that I could find regarding the same sound ranged from being told the same, to replaced lifters, to a replaced engine. So I didn't give up, thinking it could definitely be an issue. Second visit to the dealer they thought it was an issue but BMW NA would not authorize repairs. They wanted to replace the lifters.

I finally made an appointment to have it there when the field engineer was in. He agreed there was an issue. The following 3-4 weeks was nothing but back and forth between BMW NA and one of the Master Techs at the dealer, as well as 2 more followup visits from the field tech.

After a month I'd had enough of this back and forth, as had the service department. I spoke to the service director about my frustration, and they agreed with me and pushed for and got an engine replacement approved.

After a week of working on it, the new engine was not in yet, as the tech was still swapping over components. I made a visit and asked to talk to him and see the progress. Below is a link to the photos I took. I should have taken a further back pic too, for perspective, but the car is up in the air in all of this.

The tech was super cool to talk to and very open about the process. It was awesome to get to talk to him and see the guts of my car. He felt the noise was rod knock likely due to a bad rod bearing. But opening up the bottom end was not authorized, so it will remain an educated guess at this point. He hopes to have it done by Friday. But we will see!

View post on imgur.com

[Tommy L Garage]

Congrats. I think they did the right thing in this case.

The best part is that you get to break the engine in again!

[kerm1t]

its hard to tell but do you think this idle sounds similar to yours? i was advised that it was just a noisy injectors and that its fine.

[SanchoDivine]

Originally Posted by kerm1t

its hard to tell but do you think this idle sounds similar to yours? i was advised that it was just a noisy injectors and that its fine.

Not the same sound at all. Yours sounds more like injectors spraying and clicking he has the injector noises as well as what sounds to be a lifter knocking a valve rod.

[kerm1t]

Originally Posted by SanchoDivine

Not the same sound at all. Yours sounds more like injectors spraying and clicking he has the injector noises as well as what sounds to be a lifter knocking a valve rod.

gotcha, thanks!

[gabeo]

Yep yours sounds perfectly fine, don't worry!

[logicalunit]

Great that the issue is resolved!
I just hope someone one day can report back with more information, because stories like these can cause trust issues.

As you may or may not know, I had this issue (also recorded it on video), complained about it four times or so, got an official writing from BMW that they noted my complaint yet couldn't find anything wrong with it. (really annoyed at this point, still convinced an engine failure of some sort could happen anytime soon)

2 oil changes later (plus oil additive) the sound is gone. And it has been absent 3 months since the last oil change.

It wasn't the first time the noise went away after an oil change. It previously came back after a week, so obviously I'm still a bit sceptical or anxious (can't find the right words). The fact that its holding up during winter time for this long is remarkable, hence why I'm sharing my findings.

I have covered almost 25.000km's with the issue and it didn't seem to affect the car in any other way than annoy me soundwise. And now the noise is gone, try explaining that!? I have the impression that oil viscosity/pressure could be the culprit. I also assume the chain tensioner operates under hydraulic pressure, since the chain also makes less noise.

In my second life, I will be working as an engineer at BMW. Then I would know how to check oil pressures, lifters and so on, ... how difficult can it be anyways (replacing the whole engine because of some lifter tick ).

[gabeo]

logicalunit I know what you mean. That was one of the things they had replaced/checked on my car was an oil pressure sensor. BMW had them change/check countless things before doing this.

I think if you have, in-writing, that there's no problem, you are a little better off if something happens outside of the warranty.

[gabeo]

Just an update for everyone: The car was finished as of Dec 12. Tech stated this was a bitch of a job but he did fantastic work and my car is running perfectly. BMW of San Diego is footing the bill for the 1200 mi break in service for the engine, because apparently BMW NA didn't want to do so. Interesting, but oh well. Glad it's being taken care of! They also did a full detail including a clay bar because it sat outside in the elements for some time untouched during all the waiting and back and forth with BMW NA before the engine was approved.

[NickyC]

Congrats on the new engine!

Regarding your video, I'm not sure what that noise is but it doesn't sound like any rob bearing issue I've ever heard. I do hear a light tapping at certain times in the video (maybe the angle of the recorder), so perhaps that's it?

[gabeo]

To hear it you have to not focus on the lifter ticks, which are normal. Behind that sound is a once-per-rotation knock. Easier to hear at the very beginning of the video.

[swifty]

Man this type of stuff makes me worry about getting a tune and losing warranty.

Especially considering the noise was there prior to and reported, after a tune, BMW can say it was the tune that caused it.

[Time Lord]

Originally Posted by swifty

Man this type of stuff makes me worry about getting a tune and losing warranty.

Especially considering the noise was there prior to and reported, after a tune, BMW can say it was the tune that caused it.

I hear you, the car is plenty strong already but i only have 300 miles on it so I'm still babying it.

[gabeo]

AllRoadPerformance I bought the car July 30th of 2017 with 20k miles on it and I first heard it about a month later. It IS possible that it was doing it before and I just didn't notice. I took it to 2 local dealers and one said it was normal and the other said it needed to be fixed but BMW NA wouldn't authorized it. They thought it was "lifters." I finally took it back to the one that said it was normal and requested an appointment when the field engineer was there, Nov 6. This engineer agreed it was abnormal. He did some diag but couldn't finish in his day or two there. BMW NA was having one of the dealer's Master Techs take over. They made him tear down the engine and put it back together countless times checking things. Finally in the last days of November, (or maybe first few days of Dec?) I went in and talked to the director of service and she agreed it'd been there too long and that BMW should have authorized a replacement engine sooner. She did her magic and got it authorized within an hour. Took the Master Tech 2-3 weeks to get it finished. I believe Dec 19 I picked it up. It's been good since.

Edit: the imgur pictures in the original post were when I visited for a progress update on Dec 12.

[gabeo]

swifty I know exactly how you feel. Growing up I only drove beaters and I never had any luck with cars being reliable. I'd love to get a tune or something but I probably never will just because I just know that something will happen and I'll be screwed.

[mike@x-ph.com]

Glad they got it replaced, good dealership

[swifty]

Originally Posted by logicalunit

2 oil changes later (plus oil additive) the sound is gone. And it has been absent 3 months since the last oil change.

It wasn't the first time the noise went away after an oil change. It previously came back after a week, so obviously I'm still a bit sceptical or anxious (can't find the right words). The fact that its holding up during winter time for this long is remarkable, hence why I'm sharing my findings.

OP, did you try an oil change and see if it went away?

I just spoke to a M technician and he agreed long interval between oil change can cause "ticking noises." Usually goes away after the oil change.

We have 15k/interval (in Kms) in Canada. I'm going to pay for an extra one every 8k just in case this starts happening.

[gabeo]

swifty yes they tried that, as well as replacing the oil pressure sensor. I know what you mean about the ticking, but this was more of a knock.

[gabeo]

Resurrecting my old thread...another S55 car, another knocking engine...

This was originally about my 2016 M4. As stated, BMW of San Diego replaced the engine after quite a bit of back and forth with BMW troubleshooting. However, I recently acquired a 2018 M3 Competition, and guess what, it has the exact same sound. Video below. Comparing it to the M4's knock in my first post, you'll hear it's the same.

Made an appointment for next week, and confirmed the same tech who replaced my engine in the M4 still works there, as does the same director of service (who got the engine replacement authorized back then).

Not sure what to think. Is it normal?? There's a few other threads on here I've found with others sharing the same concern and opinion that it's not a normal sound. The dealer and the tech who worked on my M4 also felt the same, so I'm really wondering how it's possible that 2 of 2 S55s I've owned are doing it.

EDIT: M3 has 31k miles on it and is in pristine condition, clearly very well taken care of, which is why I bought it

[White340]

That is too weird. I really wonder if they will replace the engine again considering it's coming from the same owner even though it's a diff car. Good luck.

[gabeo]

Yea I wonder too. I really don't want them to replace it. I'd feel much better knowing there's a fix out there by now.

[RugbyBro]

I've had this sound for a while, though not sure what it is. Driven hard on it, tracked with it, dailied on it. UOA has always come back pristine so not sure what to make of it