n55 335i - shaking on idle normal?

SR20_Guy

New member
Hi guys.

Want to find out if this is normal. N55 has a slight uneven idle. Nothing on the rev counter but the car kinda shakes a little as if an engine mount is not quite right, or as if it's a very faint miss. Is this normal?

Last service at Zambesi Auto BMW had them try all sorts of diagnostics, new injectors, removed intake to check for carbon etc. In the end they couldn't find a fault and told me it's normal, or that I have a bad batch of fuel.

But it's always there. Also, engine sounds rather noisy to me on cold starts. Kind of like a minor bearing knock or piston slap, but the ticking goes away once the car warms up to operating temp. Again, is that normal? BMW says it's just the cold start causing the exhaust valve to open early to let the car warm up, and what I'm hearing is the combustion noise being audible through the open exhaust valve. (Wouldn't the turbo dampen any such sounds anyway?)

Car is going out of plan next year April. I want to keep it, but I don't want it to run bearings or something ridiculous the minute it's out of plan. Performance is "okay". Definitely not mind blowing.

Who can I take the car to to check it out and see if everything is "normal". I probably have one major service left under plan, and would like any and all faults repaired if possible before I start owning it out of plan. Especially since I plan to then add some mods to it.
 

@ri

///Member
Same on my 435i. Not quite to the extent you mention it but it does noticeably vibrate a bit on cold start. Always wondered myself.
 

SR20_Guy

New member
@ri said:
Same on my 435i. Not quite to the extent you mention it but it does noticeably vibrate a bit on cold start. Always wondered myself.

Not sure if I'm exaggerating. Maybe I'm just overly cautious, bit I'd sure like to find out if it's normal.

I'll ask them to do the "vanos recall" at the next service. They did have a BMW SA technician out apparently the last time when I asked about this. He couldn't find anything and recommended new inejctors. Which didn't do anything.
 

@ri

///Member
Maybe just get in one of their cars and do a cold start and compare to see if it's normal or not. That's what I was planning on doing
 

SR20_Guy

New member
Problem is these motors are so noisy with the direct injection it's very hard to really isolate any specific noise...


sometimes I think I hear it more inside the car. When i stick my head under the bonnet I hear different sounds. vs inside vs standing next to the car.
 

akash

Well-known member
That ticking noise you hear sounds similar to sticky hydraulic lifters.

Some new fresh oil should sort that out.
 
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