My 2006 Z4 3.0i Roadster occasionally has what seems to be a mild "ticking" noise when initially started and it seems to be a bit louder when the weather is cold. Fades as the engine warms up so was not evident when I brought it in to the dealership recently. My previous 330xi did not ever make a noise like this. Any suggestions as to what this might be?
I'm in the same boat ... My '04 Z4 Maldives does the same thing. I guess I'll find out soon enough, but I was hoping someone would reply with the answer before I go to the dealership.
I'm taking my car in for a pre-roadtrip low mileage oil change and plan to discuss with the dealer. I'll post any information I get. It can't figure it out, its seems completely random. Lately it has disappeared. I think I read somewhere in one of the forums that driving with high revs more frequently helps......whether it helps or not, sounds like fun. I've been driving in sport mode a bit more lately while dodging potholes in Chicago.
my local dealership didn't find anything, but the temp has been mild this week. If it had of been 30-45 degrees when they tested, I feel like they would've known what we are hearing on start-up.
Bought the car used so don't know the complete history. Only had 14K miles on it when I got it and supposedly was serviced within BMW suggested intervals by the dealer. The oil was changed when I picked it up. Only have 15K miles now. The noise I hear is more like a lifter noise, and in proportion to the RPM....nothing abnormal when I turn the key to start. Starts out mild, then fades after it warms up.
Ticking Just had my 2006 Z4 in for the ticking noise. Dealership performed service per SIB 11.09.07 Bleeding HVA elements (5th cycle and repeating). This was listed under cause. So far, so good......no ticking and engine seems smoother and more powerful (might just be my imagination). Service tech comments......performed bleeding procedure 5 times plus additional 15 minutes....All OK now. We'll see....
Mine did a little bit of ticking when cranked for the first time after winter storage. But it went away after driving it on a regular basis. Mark
Z 4 ticking engine Zee4 Mike, I own a 2007 335i that made a ticking sound as you've described & as you noted, it's more noticeable in the cold weather. The ticking does fade away as the engine warms. The car would only make this sound with a cold engine. After it had reached operating temp, it wouldn't tick. I took the car to dealer, RoadShow BMW in Memphis, Tn. one afternoon & was there the next morning to crank the car. It clealy ticked for them. The service tech. & I took the car into the shop. First thing he did was to change the oil filter. He said it appeared to be oil system related & changing the filter may the the answer. That wasn't it. 2 weeks later the car was ready to be picked up. The car had a pulley on the front of the engine come apart in Jan 09. It threw the belt & I had no power steering. What Road Show found with the ticking issue was indeed oil system related. Nobody can / could explain what they found. Large sections of a belt were in the oil pan & ovedhead valve train. There were wads of this belt in the oil pickup, so lubrication was suffering. The service manager (20+ years of BMW experience) said he'd never seen anything like this in his life. I'd suggest, next time you start the cold engine up, have the hood up. Put your hand on top of the oil filter housing. In my case you could feel the tikcing. Hopefully you will not have the experience I've had. If you can identiy that the ticking is coming from the oil filter housing, seek professional help & it's probably oil system related. Good luck. Gene Odum
Engine Ticking Solution I have this same problem on my '06 3.0i Z4...sounds like the solid lifter noise on my '72 2002 when they needed to be adjusted. BMW is aware of this problem (check out the bulletin link below) and the solution involves a bleeding procedure. If the "bleeding" procedure doesn't work, they are supposed to do it again, and then if that doesn't work, BMW has developed a new head for the engine which solves the "air in the oil" problem...they replace the head. The bleeding helped mine for a short time, but then the "ticking" sound came back. Now mine is supposed to go in soon to have the head replaced (new one is being ordered). http://www.bmwtis.com/tsb/bulletins/bulletin_graphic_temp/B110907g.htm There have been several lengthy threads (with a LOT of speculation) on various BMW/Z4 forums about this issue (E90's use the same N52B30 engine); here's one from the ZPost forum: http://www.zpost.com/forums/showthread.php?t=271500&highlight=z4 engine noise Fruede am Fahren...
Thanks for the additional posts on the ticking problem. Since the first bleeding procedure, the noise comes and goes. I will bring it in a second time to see if BMW can fix it. I've still got a year complete warranty so will make sure I get this resolved before $'s have to come out of my pocket for serious repair. I'll keep posting my progress. Thanks again.
Engine Ticking Solution Update on ticking......just got my '06 3.0i Z back with new cylinder head. I had the bleeding procedure done only once but when I informed them of the problem persisting even after long road trips, they took the initiative and convinced BMW to replace the head under warranty. It probably didn't hurt that the Z is my third car purchase from them. Polite persistence helped along with following the initial bleeding procedure. References to threads on the BMW CCA message board about the problem probably didn't hurt either. Car's back, no ticking, feels solid, sounds smooth like my 2004 330xi. More updates as I get more mileage on the odometer. Great dealer initiative!!!! Only a few months left of top down motoring in Chicago. Everyone on the message board has been very helpful. Thank you. Looks like I may have avoided a very expensive after warranty repair.
Sounds like it could just be ticking since oil is a lot less viscous when it is cold and especially in winter. Also oil could leave the lifters when the car is sitting for a while. This might also explain why the ticking stops when the car warms up. My friends Miata did the same thing (also with hydraulic lifters) and it went away when he warmed it up too. He just lived with it, a ticking sound at first start up doesn't seem like a huge inconvenience....
Engine Ticking Had the same problem on my 06 Z4 and ended up having the entire head assembly replaced under warranty. This is a known issue with the 06 engine. Your dealer should know this. Hope this helps.
