I went to a BMW dealer (Calgary BMW) to check the ticking noise in the engine. first they mentioned $130/hour for the diagnostic (the car already ran out of warranty ) then they called me they can't figured it out and asked me they need more time to diagnose.

I got several emails from them.

Here are copies of emails from the BMW dealer:
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Email #1:

I’ve had the technician look at your vehicle and he certainly hears the knocking noise. Due to the severity of the knock he would like our shop foreman to take a second look at it. Is there any way you can leave the vehicle with us overnight so our foreman can look at it first thing in the morning? Please let me know.


Email #2:

The technician working on your vehicle has found what we believe to be noise coming from the cylinder head area. He’s had both the team leader and the shop foreman look and listen to the vehicle and they both agree that it’s coming from the top end of the engine. To further diagnose this I’m afraid we need to remove the valve cover gaskets to get inside the engine to pinpoint where this noise is coming from. This procedure I’m afraid is quite costly but will help to prevent us from quoting you an entire engine that may not be required.
I need your approval first to go ahead with the diagnosis as it will cost about $1150.00 for the entire procedure as it is not only highly labor intensive but requires replacement of the old valve cover gaskets.
I will also need to keep the vehicle overnight.
Please let me know if you approve the work or if you have any questions.


Email #3:

The tear-down of the cylinder head work plus the current hour of diagnosis you have already approved will come out to about $1280.00 before taxes.
I just want to make a note that this is not for the actual repair, this is not for the repair but another step towards the full diagnosis. When this is done I should have an estimate for the full repairs.


Email #4:

Hey there Miguel,
Looks like we did not get the valve cover gasket needed for your vehicle – If you would like to pick the car up and bring it back tomorrow we can pick you up this afternoon, if you are ok to leave it overnight again that would work as well.


Email #4:

Hey Miguel,
I’ve got some good news.
We do not need to replace the engine. I’ve got the estimate for your car and it’s not as bad as it could be. What we’re looking at is a knocking from the top half of the driver’s side valve train. Upon taking the valve cover off nothing is obviously bent or damaged so the technician has put together an estimate for what all COULD be wrong in there. Now this estimate includes EVERYTHING that the technician, service team leader and shop foreman believe could be wrong. There is a good chance you won’t need all of these parts but we would prefer to give you this HIGH estimate and have the final total be lower than give you estimates along the way that keep adding up.

This estimate does not include the work already done which was roughly $1280.00
The work will be 7 labor hours at 130.00 an hour. Total additional labor is $910.00 dollars.
The parts list is as follows:

Hydraulic lash adjusters: <There are 16> $632.64
Intake Camshaft: $757.00
Exhaust Camshaft: $757.00
Eccentric Shaft for bank 5-8: $967.00
Bearings for above shaft: $57.88
Eccentric Shaft position sensor: $438.00
Lever Arms:<There are 8> $536.00
Rocker Arms:<There are 16> $764.16
Timing case cover gasket: $17.40
Coil Pack: $67.00
Coil Pack Tubes: $200.00

The technician believes that not all of these parts will need replacement :thumbsdown: – However it is impossible to pinpoint at this time exactly which of these parts DO need replacing.

At the VERY most the work quoted will be $6104.08 plus the $1208.00 diagnostic and taxes.

Please let me know how you wish to proceed from here as I will need to order the parts.

The reason I quoted you all those parts is because we have to disassemble the engine more to find the bent/damaged/broken part that is causing the ticking and the shaking. Now that we’re in the top of the engine we can see inside it and there is nothing “obvious” inside there that is broken. The technician believes that a roller on one of the cams may be slightly worn which would not be noticeable to the naked eye or something else hard to see. The estimate I gave you is the absolute worst that could be wrong with the engine. Chances are it’s only a few of the parts that will need replacing which will cost less than that estimate.

And as always, if you have any questions please don’t hesitate to ask.

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NO WAY!!

Can you believe it? or are they right?

Of course I refused and unapproved their service and went to pick the car up (with the noise on ) because they are worthless (I can't believe they are BMW certified mechanicals and still don't know what the problem is). :thumbsdown:


So guys! I need your


I am thinking to sell the car as is or repair it?

What do you think?


By the way my car is 2004 BMW 545i with sport package.

 

I will post the audio of that noise soon.

 

Your problem is your basically in the most complicated part of the engine. As you can see there is many parts in there. It's not like one part is waving hello fix me. Most of those parts you can't just tell by looking if something is wrong. Once the tech starts tearing it apart he should beable to find the bad part. Though by doing that some other parts will be replaced.

If you want to save some money find a good European/forgien repair shop in your area. Chances are the labor is more like $90 to $100 an hour for labor and less mark up on each part.

This is the double edge sword of owning a German car. Rewards you every time you drive. But when the crap hits the fan you better have a warranty. Ever think of buying an aftermarket warranty and then a month or so down the road take it in for the ticking sound. Some motors live with a ticking sound for years. Either way paying a few thousand for aftermarket warranty may save you $4,000 instantly. May want to see if your dealership is willing to work with you on getting a warranty through them.

Good luck and keep us all updated.

 

A knocking sound in the engine is such an "classical" failure, that the service should have
been able to diagnose the problem much, much cheaper.

All they would have needed was to listen to it and locate the valves involved!

Since the problem is only "a knocking from the top half of the driver?s side valve train"
only that needs to be repaired.

The whole ordeal sounds like a ripoff to me!

Have many miles do you have on you car and do you know the service history?
Has it been served at the same dealer?

 

Your problem I would guess is valve lifters!

Just have them replace those. I wish you would have posted before and asked. You could gotten them replaced at the cost of the diagnosis that your dealer did and THEN proceed if it wasnt. *sigh* let me post some links for you.

 

http://forums.e60.net/index.php?showtopic=52242

 

Thank you guys! here is the sound as I mentioned: http://www.youtube.com/v/jJ7ptk_1jmI

skylolow: Yes, I know and will plan to take it to a local european repair shop and see.... thanks!

Ricracing: the car has about 121.000 km. Yeah! I know Canada is huge and I travel lots. LOL. I am the second owner (it was a leased car) since 2 years ago. No, it is different dealer (not friendly) the car was from Chicago, IL then delivered to Calgary, AB.

EBMCS03: thank you for the links, yeah, I mentioned them (BMW dealer www.calgarybmw.ca ) about the valve lifters and they said it might be but not sure... ???? lol
Is it possible for a DIY to change the valve lifters? I know basic repair... but a BMW...... that is the question!


So guys will it damage the car if the noise keep ticking for months or years? Also I am thinking to sell it right now.....

 

Thats ticking pretty good. I won't want to say it will last for months and then bam worse case scenario happens. Ask the dealer and see what they say. Though I'm sure they'll make it sound as if you shouldn't even start the motor until its fixed.

It's a job you could do yourself if your up on repairs like this or know someone that is pretty good around cars. It does need to be done correctly otherwise you could really have a big issue on your hands.

I'd try a small shop and see what they say on cost to replace the valve lifters.

 

WOW!!!!

my uneducated opinion is that...

A) they are idiots

you are getting screwed

This just confirms my rule on cars. I will not own/lease an expensive foreign car without a factory warranty. If it's not "their problem" the consumer get screwed.

 

No, it was under factory warranty when I purchased (it was about 28.000 miles) in 2006 and it was valid in Canada. The warranty expired at 50000 miles or 80000 km. I asked for extended warranty and BMW Canada does not support it. That sucks.

Now I got that noise....