AchtungE60

Why embarrassing? debadge it and tell everyone its a diesel. lol

KyleB

yep; not sure if you have ever heard the N52 tick though - if you haven't, it is unmistakeable.

ihaveabmr

Initially had my lifters replaced from the dealer under warranty for ticking noise. Ticking came back 3 months after the lifter replacement. Dealer then replaced the entire cylinder head.

deltabox

It's post like these that make me think it's actually not normal and needs attention. I wouldn't think the dealer would change out something so you don't have to hear the noise anymore. I think they would change out an entire head because it could potentially lead to serious problems eh? Just my opinion.

Ozi5Msport

Same issue with 2006 525i just one lifter and only sometimes. Oil Changed every 10000 km. Put in 200ml Auto fluid in engine. Noise gone in 1 day. Came back 6 weeks later added another 200ML Noise gone. Waited another 2 weeks and changed oil. Lots of small crap held in suspension on oil being drained. Changed oil and no noise – need to wait and see if it comes back. I think ATK high in detergent and dispersant so it cleans and holds crap in suspension so it can be drained / flushed out.

Car_Almond

I looked on another forum and they said adding Hyperlube ZRA (Zinc Replacement Additive) (there is no zinc in it, its a replacement, its only a Polymer Ester polar molecule oil additive) fixed the tick in the N52 engine. So I tried it and it worked.!! I was getting consistent repeated ticking but not after putting just a half-dose (half bottle) in the oil.

Other fixes that others have reported have been LiquiMoly MOS2 additive, just using Castrol 0w-30 or 0w-40, Gunk 5-Minute Motor Flush before an oil change. (One BMW owner said he thought Mobil1 0w-40 did NOT cure the ticking.)

All the above is easy to do, and in my case just throwing in a half-bottle of Hyperlube ZRA means no more ticking for me. I haven't heard it again in about 10 startups now, and it was ticking almost all the time before.

From the BMW TSB on the ticking issue with the N52 engine:
CAUSE
In these situations, the HVA elements may not yet have been supplied with sufficient amounts of air-free oil. This condition will not cause any damage to the engine, and usually remedies itself with a longer driving distance or operating times at full operating temperature.

This is a load, annoying embarassment to BMW, who tries to make the best engines around. Car buyers paying $50,000 plus for a car don't want to hear it. I think it might slightly damage the wear surfaces since the lifters position the rockers.
Its aeration foaming, just a slight amount thats doing it, with maybe some slight varnish or gunk build-up. Not sure.

Maybe not just any BMW LL-01 oil. Some have said Castrol 0w-30 or Castrol 0w-40 (5-quart jugs for cheap at Walmart) cure it, but M1 0w-40 does not. I'd consider Redline 0w-30. I like my Hyperlube ZRA additive fix. Probably getting less start-up wear enhancing the polar clinginess of the molecules in the oil anyway.