dee

Hey there fellow 545i owners,I was just wondering how many of us out there that are feed up with our clattering 545i.

Southpaw80

I've complaint to my dealer several times. (05 545i 8/05 delivery) All they can tell me is its normal, that all the V8s do it. I told the head technician when he told me that that its like saying its normal for his son to be doing drugs because other kids are doing it. He had nothing to say. I certainly will not get another when my lease is up.

Southpaw80

drjochen

Mine almost sounds like a Diesel sometimes, but of course its all normal...

jsal

I hear a clatter after I start my car in the morning, then get out and load the kids. It does not sound like an engine noise but more of an accessory component (i.e. like a compressor pump). Which, I was also told was normal. Is this the noise you are referring to?

I do not hear it inside the car.

I am assuming it is not a lifter noise, which some people have had due to tolerance issues with the Valvtronic.

Veight

Anyone having these issues with their 550?

speedracerF4i

I've noticed the clatter or tapping noises since 1,500 miles. I've complained, complained, and complained to my dealer, to other dealers, and finally to BMWNA (twice). They all claimed that the noises were normal. I have posted somewhere a video showing the engine clatter which all whom have seen it, believed to be a diesel engine running.

I was so fed up that I put my car for sale at only 5 months. I then wrote to BMWNA regarding my predictment and send along my cars ad to prove my resolve. They responded to me by assigning its Field Engineer to meet me at my dealer (second time) to find a cure. This time, I planned to be in the test drive with him.

Long story short, the FSE was terrific, he said the Cam chain tensioner may be bad and so it was replaced. The noise was gone for about a month but has now returned. However, when the engined warms up, the noise disapears, versus before, the noise will still remain long after the engine has warmed up.

I have suspected another culprit, the infamous out-of-torelance intermediate valve lifters. Epoii and Andy545 have exchanged these valve arms, and all reported problem solved. However, Andy545 reported a month later that the noises have returned. So I guess it must be something else.

I am currently living with this problem since I've exhausted all options and my patience has worn out. It's really not that bad if you leave your radio pumping along.....

Bimmer32

I don't hear clatter in the engine, but at low speeds, the car sounds like an electric motor starting up. Does anyone have this issue? It's usually on cold starts. I suspect it's the tranny and its fluid.

gwf545

I get a very quiet, slight ticking sound when the engine is cold. It is audible in the passenger compartment when the audio is muted. It sounds like one or possibly two of the lifters or intermediates are making it. Once the engine gets up to normal operating temp, it completely goes away. My only concern is that it will worsen with age. I didin't notice it until recently when my CCC failed and I had no audio, so it may have been there all along. I have about 18,000 miles on it.

I considered taking it to the dealer for analysis and possible repair, but I'm a little concerned any cure attempted may be worse than the symptom. Having someone horse around with the complicated valve train to eliminate a little intermittent noise violates my "if it aint broke, don't fix it" logic. It really doesn't bother me all that much anyway.

jet190rs

No clatter with my 545.


When I first got my car, the stock exhaust is so quiet that it sounded like a computer whizzing away. Now that I have the Remus, it sounds like a real engine again. Not sure if this is what you're talking about...

dee

Good thing we live in califorina,the lemon law here is great.I'm gonna get a lawyer and get my money back.