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-   -   Under 2 years old BMW 330Li at Service Centre for over 30 days. EDIT: Engine replaced under warranty (https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/technical-stuff/291702-under-2-years-old-bmw-330li-service-centre-over-30-days-edit-engine-replaced-under-warranty.html)

Less than 2 year old 330Li in the Service Centre for over 30 days -- Engine Noise Issue Undiagnosed & Unresolved

I have been a BMW fanboy since school. I always dreamt of owning the E-60 5 series.When the time came for me to finally get my first BMW, the experience turned horrid.

Having read so much about the famous 30i variant from BMW on Team-bhp forum I was sure I didn't want any other powertrain except this.
I got my 330Li LCI in March 2023 along with 5 year Extended Warranty and 5 year BSI+ packages. Since this is was my first luxury vehicle purchase I didn't want to take a chance with any service related issue.

My car has done around 7000 kms and in November 2024 a strange ticking noise from the engine had started specially when idling. Although I had heard the noise but I dismissed it as the sound of engine cooling down.
My car went for some bodyshop work to the dealer Titanium Autos, Ranchi on 9th November 2024. The dealership didn't inform me or take any action for the engine noise issue during this time. A few days before the delivery they informed me of the engine noise issue and a job card was opened on 3rd December 2024.

In the meantime they were unable to diagnose the issue and stated that some special tools were required for further diagnosis. I got my car back on 19th December 2024 and waited for the dealer to procure the tools. I sent my car again on 27th January 2025 when the dealer got the diagnostic tool.

The heart-wrenching part started 2 days ago when the Service head informed me that they want to dismantle the engine for further inspection as the tool hasn't revealed the cause of the ticking noise from the engine.I have not come to terms that a less than 2 year old car with less than 10,000 kms on the odometer should have it's engine opened up. It does not seem acceptable at all.

The car has been at the Service Centre for almost a month now and if the further engine work is to be performed it might take another month for the issue to be resolved. The dealership keeps telling me that the plant team and the dealership have never come across an issue like this. What I fail to understand is that an engine which is used in so many models, the B48, and yet BMW India has not documented an issue like this? Even after insisting multiple times the dealership has not shared any communication they have had with the BMW technical team regarding my vehicle issue.

Any help from the forum members who might have had a similar issue on their vehicles, or how I should proceed to get the problem resolved would be highly appreciated!

At the outset, my sympathies with you. A <2 year old engine with <10k kms on the odo is barely a run-in period for a B48 engine. Issue as mentioned by you is totally unacceptable. If it were some electronics, it still would have been acceptable and could have been claimed under warranty; however, I would be very skeptical of an engine that has been opened so early in its life. I would surely place a claim for a replacement engine; if they refuse, they should provide it in writing and provide a guarantee for any cost incurred in the future (perhaps 8 years or so) as a result of any engine fault.

The experts/ senior members on this forum can surely guide you better and perhaps even connect with folks in the HQ for a more proactive resolution with some guarantee for peace of mind.

Having replaced my 8.5 year old F34 3GT 320d (in beautiful condition) with 330Li (LCI) MSport Pro a little over a month back, this news scares me a lot, particularly since my FNG had recommended the 20d over the 30i since the latter has faced some issues off late.

I have not received any mail from the BMW Technical team regarding their recommendation for dismantling the engine even after multiple requests. Only the dealership has mailed me for approval to dismantle the engine.
Screenshot below.





This has made me a bit skeptical as to what the BMW is hiding. I have lost a bit of confidence in the brand.

Attached video of the inspection process from the Dealer which was received earlier. The ticking noise can be heard in this.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0_ta7K59c-I

I hope this problem gets resolved soon and I can have my car back.

Update: 1 Month Later, still no explanation for engine noise, car still at Service centre with engine completely dismantled

It has been 1 month since I sent my car to the Ranchi Service Centre (Titanium Motors) on 27th January. I had given the approval for engine dismantling on 13th February, even after 14 days the Service team has no explanation for the engine noise.

Meanwhile, I have been given a Scorpio-N as a loaner car from the Dealership. Other than this, I do not have any positive update regarding my car. Neither have I been explained the process after engine dismantling, nor has the Service Team shared any report after opening up the engine.

I have been pushing the Service Team everyday to share daily updates and resolve this issue. I have sent a mail to the BMW Customer care and Dealership team to replace the engine in case they are unable to identify the issue as my car has already been in the Service Centre for over 50 days, including the time in December 2024 (waiting for some tool, which was hardly helpful in my case)

Every time I ask for an update the only reply I get from the service team is that they are working on it and they will "inform me accordingly". T

I understand that german luxury cars are complicated machines but what I can't fathom is how one of the highest selling models from BMW India, which is less than 2 years old, is sitting in the service centre for over 45 days without anyone having a clue about the issue.

I request BMW owners of other models to share if this downtime is usual or my dealer is just delaying the job. Any other B48 engine owners who might have faced this noise issue, who can share any insight.
Any help from the forum moderators would be much appreciated as it is just painful to see my car opened up like a can of tuna!

Some pictures of the engine opened up. :Frustrati






Whatsapp Group communication, mostly one-way.

I really feel your pain and frustration. Have you tried reaching out to the CEO?

I was hoping that it doesn't come to that. Writing to the the CEO of such a large organisation to get things done. The way BMW India and the dealer have handled things in my case has just left a sour taste.
I shall be sending out the mail on Monday.

I'm surprised you only got a Scorpio-N from BMW. Usually at a decent dealership or service centre they provide their own cars as a replacement. When my family's 3 Series went for an engine swap( don't ask), they provided us with a G30 520d. An upgrade for 3 weeks if you ask me :p .

I don't mind the Scorpio as a loaner.

My main issue is that the entire technical team is unable to identify my noise issue. It has been over 15 days since they opened up the engine.

BMW India should take a call and replace the engine as the car in under warranty and has done less than 8000 kms. A customer has been kept hanging for this long without any clue of what is going on?

The service centre is 180 kms away from my home. I can't just drop in weekly to check on the car. The dealer partner is least bothered and the owners just avoid my calls. I just want this ordeal to be over.

My experience with premium brand like this has been totally ruined.

I am trying to feel your pain but cannot imagine the same, especially when you say that this being your first German luxury vehicle and that too after being a BMW fanboy all these years, I feel being owner of such vehicles we deserve better treatment.

In this entire situation I would also like to add BMW needs to treat their customers in a better manner as being a proud Audi A6 C8 2023 owner I feel not going for a BMW 520I was a very safe decision.

Imagine seeing and driving your Sleek and Sexy BMW daily and then all of a sudden getting it replaced by a Scorpio N as a loaner for an indefinite period.
I would urge you to take this entire situation to as high as possible and you should not hesitate to take this thing actively on social media and portals such as LinkedIn either.

Why are you not pushing for a new box pack engine? They can keep analysing whatever they want with your old engine while they give you a new engine and put you on your way.

I understand your displeasure since I myself had encountered a similar situation with them.

The engine in our 320i had a coolant issue. We serviced it, yet the issue still wasn't resolved. When we raised the issue a second time, they kept the car for a month and finally it seemed like the car was fixed. Dad decided to take it on a solo trip to his native. Needless to say, the engine imploded on the expressway in Tamil Nadu 😔. Then we find out that the engine in the first place was faulty, which was a shock to us. They had the gall to charge us 10 lakhs for an engine after they admitted the old one was faulty. So, we took them to consumer court. They agreed to drop the price to 3 lakhs, but it tarnished our image of the brand.

So in retrospect, I feel like the only way for you to get relief in such cases is to take them to court and solve it there if you're feeling dissatisfied with the quality of service.

My sympathy is with you my friend. Sorry, but that engine and car are done. There is almost no chance that the service center is going to diagnose the problem and refit everything back to factory standard. I know this is not what you want to hear, but either fight for a new engine or have them reassemble it and sell the car off.

Look at the state of that workshop! I can't believe that the engine has been kept on a tire for repair work!! Have they never seen an engine hoist? Bravo BMW!!

I am sorry but this doesn't look good. In fact it sounds and looks really bad.

It just baffles me they seem to taking an engine apart without having a clue what the noise could be? It looks they have taken everything apart? Why? How will you find a simple noise like this? Unless they get very lucky and find some visual clues as to what was wrong, which I doubt with a noise like this.

The fact that they had no diagnostic analyser is a bad omen too. You need a lot of experience and knowledge to make use of them. Its rarely as simple as just reading a code.

They way they have taken your engine apart and it sits on a tire in their workshop with parts everywhere is beyond believe! BMW can't do this. It is beyond amateurism.

I'm very sorry but the whole approach screams:
We have no clue
We don't know what we are doing.

Demand a brand new crated factory engine and a competent team of technicians to instal it back into your car.

Good luck!

Jeroen

I googled “BMW engine ticking sound” and found videos of BMWs and other models where the engine seems to sound similar to the how it sounded in the video you uploaded.

Can you please check such videos on YouTube or something and see if it sounded similar to your car? The keyword you’re looking for is “valve lifter noise”. That may (or may not be!) your problem.

Also just a general piece of advice for everyone reading this: don’t let anybody – including authorized service centers – take apart your engine unless they have an very precise plan on exactly what they’re going to do. They should be able to tell you beforehand that “So-and-so part has this specific problem. This is how we determined that the said part has this problem. We’re going to repair/replace it. It will take X days, and will (depending on warranty situation) cost you approximately this much.”

These things are complicated and built with tight tolerances. Doing exploratory search on a BMW engine by opening it up is a strict NO. It’s akin to throwing things at a wall to see what sticks.

Also, this particular engine is very popular across the world. Whatever problem you face with it has probably already been faced by somebody before you.