Hello Everyone, I thought I might get on here and share my expirience with the S55 ticking noise. To me, I didn’t really notice it at first until winter came and the temperatures were in the 50’s. I searched the forums to find I wasn’t the only one with the issue. I found many things on either side of the story. Some people got it fixed, some people didn’t and some claimed it’s how the engine is supposed to sound. Most of what I found was the issue was with the torque specs on the exhaust camshaft from factory. I didn’t accept it as fact but still took it into BMW for what would be my first of many headaches with the dealer. The foreman and the M performance mechanic both told me they couldn’t hear a noise, telling me that if anything it was the injectors (It isn’t). So they tried to send me on my way after paying my diagnostic fee of course. I wasn’t satisfied with this so I pushed and got the foreman to come on a little ride along with me and he finally acknowledged the metallic flutter when I let off the gas and said it was faint and a non concern, he even acknowledged the tick at idle. I asked him to look it over for another day and he did. I then got a call saying they were going to attempt to solve the issue (why haven’t they been from the beginning?) they kept the car for a total of 3 weeks and I heard very little. The only thing they were able to come up with as possible issues was that it could have been the lifters but they told me they didn’t need to fix it because “It’s a noise problem and not a mechanical problem” (yes, they said this) and the car runs fine. Under my warranty the dealer would not fix the car unless it was a “mechanical issue.” They told me it’s fine now but sometime down the line the car is going to need a new engine, not in the next year though. I then collected my car, and took it to 2 independent euro shops that both told me they could hear the noise but have never heard of it causing catastrophic damage to the engine. I got some quotes and a 4th specialist 5 hours away told me he’s heard of the issue and I might as well get the crank hub done since retorquing the bolts on the exhaust cam would be part of the process. I got some quotes for this all ranging from 3-6k. Broken out it looks like labor for the camshaft fix is more or less $1,000 and parts are about $200 in the southeastern USA. It took me 3.5 months 4,200 miles on my odometer and 4 shops to get this information. (Ask your local BMW Facebook pages for help earlier on.) literally one day later, I saw a post on M2 Owners Facebook page that layed out the cause and the fix. (Will link at the end). I sent the post to the owner of an independent shop nearby and he said he’s fixed that before. (now all of a sudden everyone knows about this?) I took the car in today. He heard it IMMEDIATELY when I started the vehicle and knew the issue, and already began repairs. This expirience has taught me 3 things; 1. Im relentless and annoying. 2. Go to a mechanic you trust the first time or ask other people in the community for one. 3. This game isn’t about the issue at all. It’s about what questions you ask and how you ask them.
During this whole endeavor I did change the oil and no shavings or debris were found. If you have this issue, yes it’s annoying and yes it’s going to suck but wait until you find the right person to fix it properly. It deserves to be well sorted. Your car shouldn’t spontaneously combust. Heck, if it were up to my local techs at BMW I’d still be driving around with the tick after they had 3 weeks to rectify it.
I will update accordingly if anything changes in the process but if I don’t, assume everything went as planned.
Let me know your expirience.
Here’s the link to the Facebook post:
https://www.facebook.com/share/JqsPk...ibextid=WC7FNe
YouTube Vid I found helpful:
https://youtu.be/D8KQnMTMQMc?si=PZYuml7is5-hKzi9
A final word to my out of warranty friends:
It’s not the end of the world, you can afford the fix and there are good people out there that want to help you fix it. Your job is just to find them. Smile, you drive an M car. Good luck!
