2 noises from my new M3

[geoff2010]

Just took delivery of my baby monday... the car is F'ing sweet!!! Now onto my OCD about noises from my cars

Not sure if these are normal, but they have attracted my attention.

1 - I have a slight clunking sound coming from behind the driver seat... pretty much center of the car. It is directly related to the gear box and shifting. It is most noticeable when going into second. If the car is in second and I engage the clutch I can sometimes hear it as well.

2 - When i am pulling into my garage I have to make a low speed 90 degree turn from almost a complete stop. When I do this I get a 'squeel' from the front end of the car... It only happens when the wheel is turned past a certain point.

anyone else experience either of these?

thanks.

[lando]

Yes, it seems that BMW carried over the infamous clunk from the E46 M3 to the E92--it is normal and has to do with the transmission. (Search the internet for the E46 clunk). Although, the clunk is not as loud on my E92 M3 as on my E46 M3.

As for the squeal with the wheel turned--my car does not make the sound, but it seems like it is a belt or power-steering issue. On some other cars, I have heard the same sound when the wheel is turned to lock.

Hope this helps.

[PortoM3]

I also hear the clunk on mine. I can hear it going into first, but specially into second gear too. I am glad I am not the only one. does it ever get better with time?

[g55amg]

Yeah! I also hear that noise. I can hear it going into first and reverse. Can it be fixed?

[Hans Delbruck]

Like Lando said, the clunk is a "feature" of a BMW M-car with manual transmission. My Z4 M Coupe also did this.

Here's how I look at it:

When I get a brand new car, I listen closely to all the sounds it makes and deem them "normal" noises. That way, when something really IS wrong, I know to take it in.

Congrats... Just relax and enjoy your new car. It's not broken, it's not a Camry, it's an M-car, and it has character.

[asaulo1]

this is really good to know... at least I won't wig out when I hear those noises thinking that there's something wrong.... ahhh.. those bmw aficionados come to the rescue again

[geoff2010]

Originally Posted by Laszlo

The clunk on the e46 M3 was completely normal...

As for the steering squeel, does it sound like a belt, power steering "groan" which is in all e92's, or something else?

I would say it sounds like a 'groan' from the power steering. I had an e92 335 and I can't recall hearing this noise, but I could be mistaken. I was more concerned with the clunk, but it sounds like that is totally normal.

My buddy just got an M roadster, I'll have to go drive it and see if his makes a clunking noise.

thanks for the info.
G

[skierman64]

Geoff, I don't want to insult anyone, but it's possible the squeal you hear is from the tires on the asphalt. If it's concrete then disregard, however some asphalt sealers make the tires squeak bad.

One example is the parking lot of my local REI. The sealed the parking lot like a year ago and every car making a turn in the parking lot squeals going around corners.

[lucid]

I have the clunk in my E46 325 as well. I was surprised by this too when I bought the car new, and took it back to dealer. The tech rode along to hear to noise, and when he heard it, he smiled and said all BMW manual transmissions sound like that when changing from 1st to 2nd.

[apw2607]

Hahaha. Yep, I had both those sounds on my old E46 M3. Be glad to have them back when I get the new car .... :-)

[edlms]

correct me if i'm wrong, but i've been told that this sound is caused by the twin-plate clutch trying to mesh a low speed. i get this sound only at lower speeds (less than 30km/h) but none at the higher speeds.

i also have another sound. the roof seems to emit a short "creak" at the A and C pillars when the car is flexing, eg going over a hump at an angle. but this only appears to happen when the car has been under the sun for a while, so i suppose it's due to expansion. but is it ok and safe?


cheers

[malter2.0]

E36 M3 had the same clunk. I had it on both M3s.

It's part of the personality haha

[geoff2010]

Originally Posted by skierman64

Geoff, I don't want to insult anyone, but it's possible the squeal you hear is from the tires on the asphalt. If it's concrete then disregard, however some asphalt sealers make the tires squeak bad.

One example is the parking lot of my local REI. The sealed the parking lot like a year ago and every car making a turn in the parking lot squeals going around corners.

Nope, I have a poured concrete driveway... it's definitely coming from the steering system.

[geoff2010]

Originally Posted by edlms

i also have another sound. the roof seems to emit a short "creak" at the A and C pillars when the car is flexing, eg going over a hump at an angle. but this only appears to happen when the car has been under the sun for a while, so i suppose it's due to expansion. but is it ok and safe?

I have heard this one as well. I haven't noticed it had anything to do with sun, but I have noticed that if you put enough lateral force on the frame there are some creaks that come out. I figure it's just settling... like my house

[umwolverine]

I have the same clunking noise on mine. Thank God some one else mentioned this because I was wondering if it was normal.

[kbk_75]

My M3 makes a funny sound when I make a full "U" turn on full steering lock. It's hard to describe the sound. It's almost like a low pitch "Whoo whoo whoo whoo" sort of sound until I unwind some steering lock.

At first I though maybe my tyre was touching the wheel-well or something so I took the car to the dealership and had them put it up on a lift and took a good look underneath, but there was absolutely no sign of any contact between the tyre and any part of the car's body work.

The dealership could not explain the sound and since mine's the only M3 around here they have no point of reference either.

I wonder if this is the same sound you're referring to?

[Simracerworld]

If you're on full lock, it just may be that the steering system is at full lock--my Grand Marquis(albeit not as sporty or engineered as an M3 or any BMW) makes strange noises at full lock. I believe it's something to do with the power steering pump not being able to turn the wheels farther. Anybody who knows better may correct me if I'm wrong

[m3tor]

Originally Posted by geoff2010

1 - I have a slight clunking sound coming from behind the driver seat... pretty much center of the car. It is directly related to the gear box and shifting. It is most noticeable when going into second. If the car is in second and I engage the clutch I can sometimes hear it as well.

I have also noticed this on my E92 M3 occasionally, although its not nearly as loud and doesn't happen as often as on my E46 M3. I haven't asked my dealer but assume its just a carryover of the infamous E46 M3 "clunk" like the other guys have said. I'll ask at the 2,000km run-in service.

Originally Posted by kbk_75

My M3 makes a funny sound when I make a full "U" turn on full steering lock. It's hard to describe the sound. It's almost like a low pitch "Whoo whoo whoo whoo" sort of sound until I unwind some steering lock.

At first I though maybe my tyre was touching the wheel-well or something so I took the car to the dealership and had them put it up on a lift and took a good look underneath, but there was absolutely no sign of any contact between the tyre and any part of the car's body work.

The dealership could not explain the sound and since mine's the only M3 around here they have no point of reference either.

I wonder if this is the same sound you're referring to?

I had a similar sound coming from the rear of my E46 M3 when I did full lock, slow speed turns - my dealer said it was normal and just the rear diff locking up. I haven't noticed is on my E92 M3.

[Jinxter]

You know I havent noticed the clunking sound.....I will check for it later when I drive my car. Might have gotten so use to it from my past e46 ande e36 that I didnt bother to pay attention to it on this one..

[335TT]

I don't know about in the States, but when I picked mine up a couple weeks back, it had a little pamphlet stating, that it will indeed make drivetrain noise and it is normal and doesn't have anyy adverse affects on performance, driveability etc. It also says the brakes because they are of the high performance type, will make noise as well. This info is on the little pamphlet called 2008 M3 quick guide or something along those lines.

[e46e92love]

Originally Posted by Laszlo

All the e92 335i's do this groan... kinda like that 70's car, Caddy sound. Think back to Dad's old beasts. Very "American" car kind of sound. I'm assuming BMW value engineered the pump, so it's not as quiet as they used to be. My e46 M3 never made those noises and I always prided the fact it was engineered well and didn't sound like an American car when doing an U-turn.

+1

[GregW / Oregon]

Originally Posted by Laszlo

The drive train clunk is normal.

The steering rack groan is as well. I was disappointed in that "groan" because it reminded me of u-turning a Caddy. Very "american" sounding groan... the type you heard when you were in Dad's car in the 70's.

As others have said, the clunk is normal and much less on mine than with my E46. It emminates from the diff, and can be controlled with careful engagement at low speeds. No groan in my steering; I'd have it checked out.