228i whining noise from engine

[Ferozk1981]

Good Morning Everyone, 

I trust that you are well.

I own a 2015 228i with 74000km and there seems to be a "whining" noise coming from the engine. Bmw seems to think this is normal for a 228i / 328i. I don't know anyone that has a car that I could test it against, if anyone on forum could assist I would be grateful. I basically just need to confirm if the noise is normal or not.

I know that the injector noise and the turbo noise is normal its just the whining noise thats concerning me. The noise becomes more noticeable at 36 second of the sound clip and at 46 seconds its louder.

I'm trying to upload the sound clip, error keeps popping up indicating the format is not supported. I will keep trying.

Please feel free to share your opinions. 

Thank you

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Hi Guys, I have tried m4a, mp3 and Wav. Does anyone know what format should be used to upload the sound clip?

 

[M135i]

Is it not one of the bearings on the pulleys? Maybe try listen closer to where the alternator sits and see if it comes from there


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[Ferozk1981]

Is it not one of the bearings on the pulleys? Maybe try listen closer to where the alternator sits and see if it comes from there


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Hi M135i, 

Thats exactly what I thought, It sounds like its close to wear the alternator is, I listened to the alternator and it seems to be ok. Do you know how I could go about uploading the sound clip to make it easier to hear?

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Is it not one of the bearings on the pulleys? Maybe try listen closer to where the alternator sits and see if it comes from there


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Hi M135i, 

Thats exactly what I thought, It sounds like its close to wear the alternator is, I listened to the alternator and it seems to be ok. Do you know how I could go about uploading the sound clip to make it easier to hear?

 

[M135i]

I usually upload via tapatalk on my phone. Think it's easiest. Or upload to YouTube and post the link here.
If the sound is in that area it could very well be a bearing on one of the pulleys. I'm not sure how the engine looks but are you able to place a long screwdriver to touch the pulley while it is running and put your ear to the handle of the screwdriver to have a listen?
That's how I usually diagnose which pulley is whining


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[Zero14]

Could possibly be a loose or breaking pipe causing the noise

 

[Ferozk1981]

Thank you for the feedback guys. Thanks m135i for the youtube suggestion. Please view video below noise becomes clear at 00:36 and it gets louder at 00:46.

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Could possibly be a loose or breaking pipe causing the noise

@"Zero14" the pipes all seem to be connected and no leaks that I  can pick up.

 

[Solo Man]

I have read that it could be the noise is coming from an inferior or damaged oil filter. When last was the engine serviced? Just as a matter of interest: on my E60 530d and my E87 120d the oil filter length differs with about 3mm. The rest of the filter is just about exactly the same, circumference, inner and outer diameter, etc., it is just the length that is different. What i am trying to say is that one could easily put the shorter filter in the wrong car which could lead to noises and bad filtering. Not sure if this could happen to your car but a wrong or cheap or damaged/torn filter could perhaps be the cause of the noise. Just my 2c's. seeing that filters are relatively cheap, i would replace that and see if the noise is still there.

 

[AshG108]

Your car is 2015 model, motorplan still active? If not, it must have lapsed due to time very recent. Try take it back to BMW perhaps to have a check and diagnose? Maybe they will be good enough to do a fix out of goodwill

 

[Ferozk1981]

I have read that it could be the noise is coming from an inferior or damaged oil filter. When last was the engine serviced? Just as a matter of interest: on my E60 530d and my E87 120d the oil filter length differs with about 3mm. The rest of the filter is just about exactly the same, circumference, inner and outer diameter, etc., it is just the length that is different. What i am trying to say is that one could easily put the shorter filter in the wrong car which could lead to noises and bad filtering. Not sure if this could happen to your car but a wrong or cheap or damaged/torn filter could perhaps be the cause of the noise. Just my 2c's. seeing that filters are relatively cheap, i would replace that and see if the noise is still there.

Hi Solo man,

Thank you for sharing. I picked up the noise before I took the car in for the 5 year service in August and after they did the service. I assume they would have changed the oil filter at the service as the car was under plan. To be safe I will look into changing the filter just to eliminate that from the equation.

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Your car is 2015 model, motorplan still active? If not, it must have lapsed due to time very recent. Try take it back to BMW perhaps to have a check and diagnose? Maybe they will be good enough to do a fix out of goodwill

Hi AshG,

The car was under motorplan until last Sunday the 25-10-2020 and the issue was reported to bmw. The Dealer confirmed that the noise is normal and they will source another vehicle with the same type of engine to show me that it is consistent. 

I just thought maybe I could get an unbiased opinion from other N20 28i owners to see if the noise is infact normal.

Thanks for your input

 

[AshG108]

I have read that it could be the noise is coming from an inferior or damaged oil filter. When last was the engine serviced? Just as a matter of interest: on my E60 530d and my E87 120d the oil filter length differs with about 3mm. The rest of the filter is just about exactly the same, circumference, inner and outer diameter, etc., it is just the length that is different. What i am trying to say is that one could easily put the shorter filter in the wrong car which could lead to noises and bad filtering. Not sure if this could happen to your car but a wrong or cheap or damaged/torn filter could perhaps be the cause of the noise. Just my 2c's. seeing that filters are relatively cheap, i would replace that and see if the noise is still there.

Hi Solo man,

Thank you for sharing. I picked up the noise before I took the car in for the 5 year service in August and after they did the service. I assume they would have changed the oil filter at the service as the car was under plan. To be safe I will look into changing the filter just to eliminate that from the equation.

---

Your car is 2015 model, motorplan still active? If not, it must have lapsed due to time very recent. Try take it back to BMW perhaps to have a check and diagnose? Maybe they will be good enough to do a fix out of goodwill

Hi AshG,

The car was under motorplan until last Sunday the 25-10-2020 and the issue was reported to bmw. The Dealer confirmed that the noise is normal and they will source another vehicle with the same type of engine to show me that it is consistent. 

I just thought maybe I could get an unbiased opinion from other N20 28i owners to see if the noise is infact normal.

Thanks for your input

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Hey bud, ok cool man. Any weird noise is always a concern. hopefully you can get someone info. actually, got a buddy with an F30 328i, I am sure he can help you check it out.

 

[KR_19]

I owned a 228i for almost 5 years doing 92000kms and can't relate to the sound so would be good to have it checked out. Especially since I assume you only began noticing the sound recently, and have owned the vehicle for some time now?

Sent from my SM-G965F using Tapatalk

 

[Ferozk1981]

I have read that it could be the noise is coming from an inferior or damaged oil filter. When last was the engine serviced? Just as a matter of interest: on my E60 530d and my E87 120d the oil filter length differs with about 3mm. The rest of the filter is just about exactly the same, circumference, inner and outer diameter, etc., it is just the length that is different. What i am trying to say is that one could easily put the shorter filter in the wrong car which could lead to noises and bad filtering. Not sure if this could happen to your car but a wrong or cheap or damaged/torn filter could perhaps be the cause of the noise. Just my 2c's. seeing that filters are relatively cheap, i would replace that and see if the noise is still there.

Hi Solo man,

Thank you for sharing. I picked up the noise before I took the car in for the 5 year service in August and after they did the service. I assume they would have changed the oil filter at the service as the car was under plan. To be safe I will look into changing the filter just to eliminate that from the equation.

---

Your car is 2015 model, motorplan still active? If not, it must have lapsed due to time very recent. Try take it back to BMW perhaps to have a check and diagnose? Maybe they will be good enough to do a fix out of goodwill

Hi AshG,

The car was under motorplan until last Sunday the 25-10-2020 and the issue was reported to bmw. The Dealer confirmed that the noise is normal and they will source another vehicle with the same type of engine to show me that it is consistent. 

I just thought maybe I could get an unbiased opinion from other N20 28i owners to see if the noise is infact normal.

Thanks for your input

---

Hey bud, ok cool man. Any weird noise is always a concern. hopefully you can get someone info. actually, got a buddy with an F30 328i, I am sure he can help you check it out.

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Thank you Ash for the information

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I owned a 228i for almost 5 years doing 92000kms and can't relate to the sound so would be good to have it checked out. Especially since I assume you only began noticing the sound recently, and have owned the vehicle for some time now?

Sent from my SM-G965F using Tapatalk

Hi Keeshal, 

I owned the vehicle since the end of March and I picked up the noise during lockdown, I then raised it with bmw when the car went in for service in August and again in October. Yeah would really prefer to resolve the issue, bmw seems to think is normal for the vehicle to sound like that, to be honest I am not sure it should.

 

[M135i]

BMW say it is normal when they themselves don't know how to fix it. Same thing happened to me with a worn upper shock mount they failed to diagnose...ended up replacing steering rack, tie rod end and finally telling me it is the characteristic of the car. I called bull, took it home went underneath and diagnosed myself and told them what to do...heavens opened up and it was fixed. They still didnt admit they were wrong to say it was a characteristic of the car.

Since it was reported during motorplan its a valid claim - i say take it to a different dealership and explain the situation