Constant engine clicking/ticking (Video)

[Ladooo]

Got my 2015 M5 F10 LCI a few weeks ago & its had this clicking sound ever since

Is this normal or a potential issue?
Its constant & speeds up with the revs, theres also sometimes a short metallic rattle when switch off engine, but no codes or any other issues & car drives well.

I got it from a dealer with a warranty, thank God. Great condition, full service history & only 60k miles.
They said it was bought from a auction where it was sitting for a long time. It had a oil service, coils were replaced & a few other things then passed MOT & was back on the road.

I asked them to book it in for a check up but just wanted to get a heads up.
Thanks for any help

Video:
https://1drv.ms/v/c/df7ac7f807c42931...75gHDlwEHt-HP4

[M5Rick]

What oil is in it and who was it done by if you know.

[Ladooo]

I don't know unfortunately, but have requested the service info.

Driven for a few hundred miles now & oil is still at max but the sound is still there.
I have bought some new high quality oil & a filter, should I wait till its checked or just put in now?

[M5Rick]

I'd wait until checked out by dealer.

[kdill00]

My 2015 m5 does this as well when cold and on short trips. Pretty sure its just fuel injectors. It bothers the crap out of me and i took mine in a few times to have it looked over and was basically told its normal and or nothing wrong. For me, this happens when the cars cold or if Ive only taken a short trip. If I drive it 40+ miles and get it fully warmed up, it mostly goes away. Main thing is check for dirty oil, if the oil is good and you have no CEL, i wouldnt worry about it. Its traumatizing but when my engine went bad in this car, it was very obvious. Here is my bad s63 engine that i just got replaced in my M5.
https://streamable.com/6tyggn

[Ladooo]

Thanks for the advice guys.

I will wait till its checked over but got feeling they will say its just normal, got feeling they used wrong grade oil in the service.

Woah! That sounded bad "kdill00", rod bearings?

[M5Rick]

Originally Posted by Ladooo

Thanks for the advice guys.

I will wait till its checked over but got feeling they will say its just normal, got feeling they used wrong grade oil in the service.

Woah! That sounded bad "kdill00", rod bearings?

Don't even mention rod bearings

[kdill00]

Originally Posted by Ladooo

Woah! That sounded bad "kdill00", rod bearings?

I dont know. That engine had only been in the car a week before that happened. I had just got an engine replacement but thankfully had a 6 month warranty so got another engine and that one was returned.

[kdill00]

Originally Posted by Ladooo

Thanks for the advice guys.
got feeling they used wrong grade oil in the service.

Anytime wrong oil has been put in a bmw I have owned, a lot more seemed to go wrong. Sensors fail/vanos solenoids lock up ect. Weird that this came up for you after an oil change just as it did for me. I think my shop used that new Luqi moly 5w-30 that just came out recently. This car can take a range of oils, let us know if you find out what brand/viscosity they used.

[KurtsM5]

Originally Posted by kdill00

My 2015 m5 does this as well when cold and on short trips. Pretty sure its just fuel injectors. It bothers the crap out of me and i took mine in a few times to have it looked over and was basically told its normal and or nothing wrong. For me, this happens when the cars cold or if Ive only taken a short trip. If I drive it 40+ miles and get it fully warmed up, it mostly goes away. Main thing is check for dirty oil, if the oil is good and you have no CEL, i wouldnt worry about it. Its traumatizing but when my engine went bad in this car, it was very obvious. Here is my bad s63 engine that i just got replaced in my M5.
https://streamable.com/6tyggn

OMG 😪

[Ladooo]

Quick update;

I took my car back to the garage, they had it for an hour for a inspection & said everything was fine, the ticking sound is normal. They also stated when it was serviced they used the recommended oil, the battery & coils were also replaced, but they are yet to give me all the documents, invoices etc...

For peace of mind I will do my own oil change now & see if it is any different, will report back.

[Ladooo]

I changed the oil to Castrol Edge-M 5W30 full synthetic & the ticking noise has slightly decreased, the car now also gets up to temp quicker than before.

Before:
https://1drv.ms/v/c/df7ac7f807c42931...75gHDlwEHt-HP4

After:
https://1drv.ms/v/c/df7ac7f807c42931...NutQO3GS-_s1Po

Glad to say the old oil was clean & there was no metal shavings/debris, however there was a strong smell of fuel in the oil! So the injectors may need replacing & could be the cause of the ticking noise

[kdill00]

Originally Posted by Ladooo

I changed the oil to Castrol-M 5W30 & the ticking noise has slightly decreased, the car now also gets up to temp quicker than before.

Before:
https://1drv.ms/v/c/df7ac7f807c42931...75gHDlwEHt-HP4

After:
https://1drv.ms/v/c/df7ac7f807c42931...NutQO3GS-_s1Po

Glad to say the old oil was clean & there was no metal shavings/debris, however there was a strong smell of fuel in the oil! So the injectors may need replacing & could be the cause of the ticking noise

Beginning to think I spoke to soon lol. My car started surging and lurching a day after I responded to you. Out of curiosity, how are your fuel trims?

[M5Rick]

Originally Posted by Ladooo

I changed the oil to Castrol-M 5W30 & the ticking noise has slightly decreased, the car now also gets up to temp quicker than before.

Before:
https://1drv.ms/v/c/df7ac7f807c42931...75gHDlwEHt-HP4

After:
https://1drv.ms/v/c/df7ac7f807c42931...NutQO3GS-_s1Po

Glad to say the old oil was clean & there was no metal shavings/debris, however there was a strong smell of fuel in the oil! So the injectors may need replacing & could be the cause of the ticking noise

It sounds slightly less clicky with the other oil, personally I would use Edge 0-40 or Mobil 1 0-40 with the wider viscosity. 5W30 is a cheaper oil and I don't know why people go for this, it's ok for fords and toyotas but not M5's.

[KurtsM5]

I use mobile one euro 10/40 here in florida and my engine damn sure doesn't sound like that...

[Ladooo]

Originally Posted by kdill00

Beginning to think I spoke to soon lol. My car started surging and lurching a day after I responded to you. Out of curiosity, how are your fuel trims?

Damn lol, did you figure out what was wrong?


I'll get it looked at by a specialist for 2nd opinion, have kept the old oil + filter, so will report back. It's a weekend car so theres no huge rush but want to get it sorted asap!
I had a good listen at the clicking sound again to try isolate, its Not the high pressure fuel pumps, I can hear them when up close & they sound quieter/different in comparison, they could however be leaking fuel into the block, possibly failed gasket?

The sound also does not seem to come from directly above any of the injectors, but given the mileage & fuel issue its likely they are the originals so probably worth replacing?

It seems to be coming from the top central area... possibly turbos?
It had a tune & catless down pipes but was restored to stock before I bought... as I have noticed the heat shield cups are missing & the o2 sensor on the right is up against the heat shield, the sensor cable/insulation also seems to be twisted... is it possible the cat or heat shield were re-installed incorrect &/or something here could be causing or contirbuting to the clicking?

Picture Attached:
https://1drv.ms/i/c/df7ac7f807c42931...i-JDGD2FPqgw9Y

[Spacecpe]

Funny enough I think I have the same noise as well. I was so stumped, car ran great, no issues whatsoever. The noise bothered me so much that I had the rod bearings replaced, but they were just fine with little to no wear. After the bearings replacement, the noise seemed to get a bit quieter but I’m not too sure lol.
Since then, I’ve probably done 10k kms with no issues.
I also suspected and still suspect the injectors to be the culprit as I’ve had an N54 back in the day that had a wild tick (sounded like a stuck lifter) that sounded similar, and it was an injector causing it. I bought a full set of injectors 2 years ago and have yet to have them replaced hahaha. I barely drive the car so it kinda stayed in the back burner.
Would love to see someone figure this noise out tbh as it’s very rare on these engine, they run very quiet and smooth.

[Ladooo]

Originally Posted by Spacecpe

Funny enough I think I have the same noise as well. I was so stumped, car ran great, no issues whatsoever. The noise bothered me so much that I had the rod bearings replaced, but they were just fine with little to no wear. After the bearings replacement, the noise seemed to get a bit quieter but I’m not too sure lol.
Since then, I’ve probably done 10k kms with no issues.
I also suspected and still suspect the injectors to be the culprit as I’ve had an N54 back in the day that had a wild tick (sounded like a stuck lifter) that sounded similar, and it was an injector causing it. I bought a full set of injectors 2 years ago and have yet to have them replaced hahaha. I barely drive the car so it kinda stayed in the back burner.
Would love to see someone figure this noise out tbh as it’s very rare on these engine, they run very quiet and smooth.

Thanks for your feedback
What year & mileage was your M5?

I had a E92 335i which had a slight tick, but my M5 is a lot more noticeable & speeds up with the revs!
I hope it is just the fuel injectors & not the turbos or valve lifters! Had it 2 months & only driven 500 miles as its a weekend car but still drives fine.
Tried liquo moli valve lifter additive & it made no difference, oil level is also still at max.

Booking it in to be looked at by a specialist soon & will do a oil analysis then report back, if the fuel contamination is high then looks like it is the injectors and/or the fuel pumps.

[Ladooo]

Update:

A BMW Specialist took a look at my car.

- The oil was analysed & is fine.
- Oil consumption is fine at under a litre per 1000 miles.
- Multiple cylinder miss-fire codes in the DME memory.
- Confirmed the ticking engine noise is not normal, it is top end only & from both banks but could not be pin pointed... possibly injectors, possibly the valvetronic system & that the best course of action would be further investigation via top end strip down, at 6 hours labour!

I felt that they knew what the issue likely was but instead insisted on further investigation.
So thinking to just replace all the coils, spark plugs, fuel pumps & injectors myself & go from there, anything else to consider?

[Sundayjumper]

It certainly seems sensible to do whatever you can do yourself first to rule it out. Plugs, coils & HP fuel pumps are fairly easy to do. Injectors may or may not be easy... depending on how stuck they are. You obviously won't know until you try it.

I'm on a similar adventure replacing stuff but my biggest issue is valve stem seals.

[KurtsM5]

Originally Posted by Sundayjumper

It certainly seems sensible to do whatever you can do yourself first to rule it out. Plugs, coils & HP fuel pumps are fairly easy to do. Injectors may or may not be easy... depending on how stuck they are. You obviously won't know until you try it.

I'm on a similar adventure replacing stuff but my biggest issue is valve stem seals.

You should try Liqui Moly Motor Oil Saver first.