Cold start lifter tick common?

[SLC801]

I have a deposit on a 1M and had it to an Indy I trust for a pre purchase inspection today. The dealer drove it over and the mechanic took it for a drive and then did his inspection.

Called me later and said the car is fantastic shape overall and runs really well. The dealer had issues with TPMS lights and I asked him about it and he said they just had pressures too low and he corrected and reset and they stayed off.

I asked him to give it a bit and recheck TPMS since they had come back on for the dealer. He called me back after a 3-4 hours and said the TPMS was good but he was glad he drove it after it sat because it had a “lifter tick” that lasted for a few minutes the next time he drove it.

I asked him to repeat it again if he wouldn’t mind since the dealer wasn’t coming to pick up for another 2.5 hours. He put the hood up and put a fan in front of the car to cool it down as much as possible before restart. He started again after 2-2.5hrs but said the noise didn’t come back but wasn’t sure it was fully cooled down.

Wondering how common this is on N54’s (coming from an N55) as I’ve heard this was common (lifter issues) on 2008 and earlier N52’s.

One thing that could compound this is being on a dealer lot for awhile without being driven or started for maybe weeks at a time.

Thoughts? (Temp when hearing sound for a few mins was 62 degrees and parked in shade)

[nachob]

Originally Posted by SLC801

I have a deposit on a 1M and had it to an Indy I trust for a pre purchase inspection today. The dealer drove it over and the mechanic took it for a drive and then did his inspection.

Called me later and said the car is fantastic shape overall and runs really well. The dealer had issues with TPMS lights and I asked him about it and he said they just had pressures too low and he corrected and reset and they stayed off.

I asked him to give it a bit and recheck TPMS since they had come back on for the dealer. He called me back after a 3-4 hours and said the TPMS was good but he was glad he drove it after it sat because it had a “lifter tick” that lasted for a few minutes the next time he drove it.

I asked him to repeat it again if he wouldn’t mind since the dealer wasn’t coming to pick up for another 2.5 hours. He put the hood up and put a fan in front of the car to cool it down as much as possible before restart. He started again after 2-2.5hrs but said the noise didn’t come back but wasn’t sure it was fully cooled down.

Wondering how common this is on N54’s (coming from an N55) as I’ve heard this was common (lifter issues) on 2008 and earlier N52’s.

One thing that could compound this is being on a dealer lot for awhile without being driven or started for maybe weeks at a time.

Thoughts? (Temp when hearing sound for a few mins was 62 degrees and parked in shade)

My 1M has a slight faint tick that goes away after warm up and it also sits unused for several days or couple of weeks sometime. It seems normal to me now. I don't think it's lifters though. Some have had injectors that make a ticking sound sometimes and BMW replaced them in some case but I believe that didn't go away. I can't tell for sure but from your description, mine does have a faint tick that goes away after warm up. If you are worried just take to dealer and verify. Hate for you to miss out on a nice 1M because they will probably say it's normal. If not, they can advise you about the injector Warranty extensión if that is the case. The warranty on us cars was extends for 10 years/100k miles or something like that. It's good your shop noticed that but now it's time to chexk with those that are truly familiar with the car.

I'll let others chime but it sounds normal to me. Hope it works out!

[SLC801]

Originally Posted by nachob

My 1M has a slight faint tick that goes away after warm up and it also sits unused for several days or couple of weeks sometime. It seems normal to me now. I don't think it's lifters though. Some have had injectors that make a ticking sound sometimes and BMW replaced them in some case but I believe that didn't go away. I can't tell for sure but from your description, mine does have a faint tick that goes away after warm up. If you are worried just take to dealer and verify. Hate for you to miss out on a nice 1M because they will probably say it's normal. If not, they can advise you about the injector Warranty extensión if that is the case. The warranty on us cars was extends for 10 years/100k miles or something like that. It's good your shop noticed that but now it's time to chexk with those that are truly familiar with the car.

I'll let others chime but it sounds normal to me. Hope it works out!

Thank you, I’ll look into the warranty extension.

[stormchaser7]

My car did the same thing the other day on a cold start up. It had been below freezing the night before. Tick noise went away after warm up. I wouldn't worry about it. Normal for N54

[SLC801]

Thanks you two. I’ll be moving forward with the purchase.

[JP-1M]

Originally Posted by SLC801

Thanks you two. I’ll be moving forward with the purchase.

Similar experience here with Japan now venturing into freezing temps. I wouldn't consider it a deal stopper. Good luck. Hope you enjoy yours as much as I enjoy mine.

[519.E82]

Not necessarily my place being an N52 Owner (Just enjoy reading the 1M forums), but I do to suffer from the tick on cold starts, but find it happens more frequently and much louder when i'm on lower octane gas. For me using 94 makes it happen less often and not as loud as compared to 91.

Overall i've noticed it is normal but just thought this may help.