Clicking/Ticking sound in engine? RESOLVED

[schnell325]

Fuck me. 40,000 km and I’m going to have to replace a SECOND valvetronic motor.

So pissed off. I don’t think the first one lasted more than 5,000 km

[samir85]

I have a similar issue, see video below.

Sometimes, the problem disappears for few days. The problem began as soon as I began driving my car again after it had been parked for over a year.

Sometimes it does that even when I open the doors or if the car if unlocked. Could this be faulty valvetronic servo motor? I went to two mechanics in town, one of them said it might be timing chains and the other one said its nothing, just keep driving it will go away (strange advise lol)

Any idea what it is?

Thank you,
Samir

[samir85]

Originally Posted by schnell325

Fuck me. 40,000 km and I’m going to have to replace a SECOND valvetronic motor.

So pissed off. I don’t think the first one lasted more than 5,000 km

Wow, two already? Those things arent cheap . Good luck.

[millerrh]

Originally Posted by samir85

I have a similar issue, see video below.

Sometimes, the problem disappears for few days. The problem began as soon as I began driving my car again after it had been parked for over a year.

Sometimes it does that even when I open the doors or if the car if unlocked. Could this be faulty valvetronic servo motor? I went to two mechanics in town, one of them said it might be timing chains and the other one said its nothing, just keep driving it will go away (strange advise lol)

Any idea what it is?

Thank you,
Samir

Yes, this is the valvetronic stepper motor described in this thread. Same sound on mine when unlocking doors. They had to replace it as well as the shaft to fix the issue.

[samir85]

Originally Posted by millerrh

Yes, this is the valvetronic stepper motor described in this thread. Same sound on mine when unlocking doors. They had to replace it as well as the shaft to fix the issue.

is the shaft necessary to replace? I was told no. I am just curious now.

[millerrh]

Originally Posted by samir85

is the shaft necessary to replace? I was told no. I am just curious now.

They told me no as well. Replaced the motor and the sound came back. Next time they replaced both and the sound has been gone since. Just a data point, but it seems to me it was necessary to replace based on that. Might be different for different people. Or it might just be that both motors were bad for me and the shaft was an anomaly. Not sure.

[samir85]

Originally Posted by millerrh

They told me no as well. Replaced the motor and the sound came back. Next time they replaced both and the sound has been gone since. Just a data point, but it seems to me it was necessary to replace based on that. Might be different for different people. Or it might just be that both motors were bad for me and the shaft was an anomaly. Not sure.

I see now. You are right, might be different for other people. I will have to inspect the eccentric shaft thoroughly.

Thanks
Samir

[mineremoval]

My 2018 M4 vert makes the same noise, showed video to tech and said since they can't reproduce he wants to update all my modules / istep software. LOL, are you kidding me?

[schnell325]

Originally Posted by samir85

Wow, two already? Those things arent cheap . Good luck.

Yup. Only money. I’m off warranty for both

[No_curebimmer]

Originally Posted by mdefalco25

So I got my car back and thought I'd share about my experience. My Master Tech had made a call out to his engineer who put out a search to see if anybody else was dealing with my issue. As stated, it was identified that there was only one other car in the nation that was being serviced for the same exact thing. They took my car in on Wednesday the 14th and the car was just completed today. The valvetronic motor was having an electrical issue that was causing it to continue clicking as described in the video. Here are some pics of the process/part that was replaced for your viewing pleasure:







They are going to reach out to me after six weeks to see if there has been any issues.

Cost to repair had this not been under warranty: $2000

Moral of the story, if you have this happen, take a video so you can show them since it is so random on when it occurs and likely won't be duplicated.

I can validate this is true: I had the same ticking noise after unlocking & the car sat overnight (not every single time, but more often than not).

I initially referenced this thread to my dealer…refused to work on it. Said they needed video of MY car doing this, not just my word and some internet forum (kind of makes sense…not every problem occurs on all cars).

A few weeks later…I sent them a video of my car doing it: they contacted the regional engineer who approved to replace the valvetronic motor: a 2-3 day affair.

Haven't had the issue since then (it's been a solid 5 months).

PS when I took my car in, it had just about 5k miles, so it isn't related to age or anything.

Moral of the story: take videos of your car doing it (make sure your license plate is in the vid) AND reference them this thread. You might get some pushback, but BMW NA should take care of this…

[Ajeje]

here another s55 with same problem...after 3 weeks that the car was in garage, battery charger ok, now i have the issue of the valvetronic. didn't nkow about this issue i find this thread by searching the error that i see via ista.

i tried the reset procedure but the issue remain.
car is an late 2016 46.000km

i will try to unplag the cable, check, clean and reinstall them and re try the adaptation. if the error can't be deleted and problem persist i will change them my self

spare part cost aroung 290€ + gasket etc official bmw dealer shop and the original spare part are maked by VDO

I am undecided about buying brand new genuine or non-genuine spare parts like febi bilstein and hope the other brand is more reliable. cost around 200

[No_curebimmer]

Originally Posted by Ajeje

here another s55 with same problem...after 3 weeks that the car was in garage, battery charger ok, now i have the issue of the valvetronic. didn't nkow about this issue i find this thread by searching the error that i see via ista.

i tried the reset procedure but the issue remain.
car is an late 2016 46.000km

i will try to unplag the cable, check, clean and reinstall them and re try the adaptation. if the error can't be deleted and problem persist i will change them my self

spare part cost aroung 290€ + gasket etc official bmw dealer shop and the original spare part are maked by VDO

I am undecided about buying brand new genuine or non-genuine spare parts like febi bilstein and hope the other brand is more reliable. cost around 200

??

[Ajeje]

Originally Posted by No_curebimmer

??

?
I'm talking about the issue of the valvetronic and cost of repair. What did you don't understand?

[No_curebimmer]

Originally Posted by Ajeje

?
I'm talking about the issue of the valvetronic and cost of repair. What did you don't understand?

Yeah, it wasn't clear to me if you're gonna do it yourself. Power to you if you'll embark on that…seems like a bit of a headache, not for the faint of heart

[Ajeje]

Originally Posted by No_curebimmer

Yeah, it wasn't clear to me if you're gonna do it yourself. Power to you if you'll embark on that…seems like a bit of a headache, not for the faint of heart

i don't like to touch the engine but dont like to hear the noise every time that unlock the car and think that in future the damage will be more seriously .
i bought all that i need and i think to do the job next weekend

[No_curebimmer]

Originally Posted by Ajeje

i don't like to touch the engine but dont like to hear the noise every time that unlock the car and think that in future the damage will be more seriously .
i bought all that i need and i think to do the job next weekend

Hey, best of luck!!!

The ticking engine noise was bothering me like y'all; luckily my dealership took care of it (took some persistence though).

[StanislavK82]

So I had my motor replaced about two years ago and the car has been good. Unfortunately, about a few weeks ago, the clicking came back. It happened a couple of times. I read somewhere (sorry don't have link) that the valvetronic sweeps and relearns end points if the ignition is turned on (not motor) and left for ~30 seconds. I did this, the motor made some noise and it has been good since. I wonder if maybe temperature changes are contributing to lost positioning. This only happened to me in the winter so maybe the relearn during season change was it. I don't know if this can help anyone experiencing this but it's worth a shot, and simple to try.

[foreversinglem4]

I just got the CEL for this 135808...My car was parked at the body shop getting work done for 2 months thanks to part shortages (struts)... this does not happen when my car is on, only when I unlock and lock my doors and when I open them ... is there a chance this could be the battery like people have mentioned? I have a jb4 along with the intake/downpipe, I have no performance loss at all.. should I get a brand new battery? I dont get how the car being parked for long periods of time does this

[Kardan2]

Originally Posted by foreversinglem4

I just got the CEL for this 135808...My car was parked at the body shop getting work done for 2 months thanks to part shortages (struts)... this does not happen when my car is on, only when I unlock and lock my doors and when I open them ... is there a chance this could be the battery like people have mentioned? I have a jb4 along with the intake/downpipe, I have no performance loss at all.. should I get a brand new battery? I dont get how the car being parked for long periods of time does this

Did the battery end up being the culprit or did you have to replace the part? Dealing with same issue after car was sitting at body shop.

[cryptz]

Originally Posted by Kardan2

Did the battery end up being the culprit or did you have to replace the part? Dealing with same issue after car was sitting at body shop.

I am curious about this as well. i had my car on a ctek for almost 6 months. took it for a drive didn't have the issue going to my destination, I let the car sit for about an hour and then drove 30 minutes back to my house. Got a cell on the way back, it ended up being implausible valvetronic sensor. Now everytime I unlock the car it makes the noise. I didn't have the noise when I left the house or when I headed back, but now its about 4 seconds of an airsoft gun going off when I unlock the car.

I am wondering if the battery could be going bad, only counter argument to that is it does it with or without the ctek connected, I would assume with the ctek connected it would give it enough of a boost to prevent it from happening.

i may replace the motor myself, if I find the teeth on the shaft are an issue I think its going to be a bit over my head so I am debating how to proceed. I am definitely going to give it a day or two on the charger to see if that changes things.

i vaguely recall this happening a few years back (only 1 or 2 times) without the code but it went away on its own.

i found the relearn procedure in ista but it will not run it, it says either the engine speed is not 0 or the valvetronic relay has not been applied. anyone know how to get around that, no clue what the valvetronic relay is.. I am flashed with bm3, not sure if that has ever interfered with any of these ista adaptations..

my car is a 2015 so its out of warranty and obv the battery is getting up there in age now.. 15k miles only, kinda agrevating to think electronic devices are going bad at that few miles. people are saying letting the cars sit causes this but I cant see why an electronic motor would fail idle...