strugglinauthor
Member
I recently visited my dealer for a routine oil change and immediately afterwards there was a loud tapping noise in the engine. Prior to this, for the three weeks I'd owned the vehicle, the engine was completely smooth. The sound was exactly like the rattly tappets I'd experienced on one of my first cars - a high mileage Audi 80. My car, however, has only covered 14k.
The technician at the garage listened to it and identified the hydraulic lifters as being the culprits and the solution (after replacement of the lifters was rejected) was to update the engine mgmt software. The engine was smooth when I collected the car but 48 hours later the tapping was back.
Having looked on the net it seems it's quite a common problem on some BMW engines - to the point where BMW has told customers that it's normal. I can't imagine it is though as it sounds like you're in a tractor when you're waiting at the lights
It appears that a common cause is the oil not reaching the lifters for a few seconds on start-up, which kinda makes sense. On mine, though, it's usually quiet on start-up and makes the noise after the engine has warmed and then stood for 30-60 mins. Sometimes it taps for a few seconds, sometimes for quite a while. Weird. :? I'm aware that there's a tappet bleeding procedure on the N52 engine, which apparently brings temporary relief, but it seems like a lot of kerfuffle just for a simple oil change.
I'm taking the car to an independent this week for an assessment prior to going back to the dealer for - hopefully - a solution. Before I do this though, I wanted to ask whether anyone else out there has had the same or a similar problem?
The technician at the garage listened to it and identified the hydraulic lifters as being the culprits and the solution (after replacement of the lifters was rejected) was to update the engine mgmt software. The engine was smooth when I collected the car but 48 hours later the tapping was back.
Having looked on the net it seems it's quite a common problem on some BMW engines - to the point where BMW has told customers that it's normal. I can't imagine it is though as it sounds like you're in a tractor when you're waiting at the lights
It appears that a common cause is the oil not reaching the lifters for a few seconds on start-up, which kinda makes sense. On mine, though, it's usually quiet on start-up and makes the noise after the engine has warmed and then stood for 30-60 mins. Sometimes it taps for a few seconds, sometimes for quite a while. Weird. :? I'm aware that there's a tappet bleeding procedure on the N52 engine, which apparently brings temporary relief, but it seems like a lot of kerfuffle just for a simple oil change.
I'm taking the car to an independent this week for an assessment prior to going back to the dealer for - hopefully - a solution. Before I do this though, I wanted to ask whether anyone else out there has had the same or a similar problem?
, it's the sort of thing that will make long-term ownership less attractive