skhan91

I've noticed a clicking noise coming from inside the cabin only when:

-The car is under low acceleration (0-20km/h)
-the cabin is quiet with no AC/radio etc
-When i have the car in drive or reverse only. no noise when in Neutral or park
-almost sounds like its coming from under the car in some way

There is no noise if i open the hood and listen to any sort of unusual noises. just the regular fuel injectors ticking.

Had it checked out a local indi shop and they say its fine. nothing unusual with the noise but i wanted to be sure. They also said the lifters are fine and there arent any issues with them yet. Cold starts, theres nothing. no loud lifter banging noise.

I think it might just be in my head but im not sure, its not a metal on metal sound, its kind of a bit subtle and not pronounced.

Car is a 2011 C63 Affaltarbach edition and the engine has the revised head studs.


anyone know what this could be? am i just too sensitive with this?

its impossible to catch on video but here it is. You may need headphones for this. Please turn up the volume:

AMG3.2

Kind of a crappy situation to be in -- but it's impossible for anyone to try to diagnose a noise over the internet without video.

skhan91

yea makes sense. i just wondered if there are common issues on these cars that could relate to any clicking noise other than the lifters

HBC350

Does it sound like a baseball card in the spokes of a bicycle?

D3-AMG

This may be a long shot but I had a similar issue recently. Just behind the driver side headlight is a round, black "canister" with a vacuum hose attached. It should be clipped to a bracket via a rubber bit that slides onto the bracket. In my case, the dealership had missed getting the hose clamp back on after some diagnostics. It had popped off and the solenoid it connects to would go into a constant "click" mode. The only reason you can hear it at low speed is because the engine/road noise at higher speeds is much louder. With the hood open it sounds very much like the lifter 'tick'.

The other thing I'd check if I were you is along the driveshaft. Since it sounds like under the car to you and only when moving it would be good to check something isn't stuck to it and tapping during rotation.

skhan91

yes kind of! except like a like a really thick baseball card almost. thoughts??

skhan91

I will check this out today! so this for you was still present while you had it in park and had the hood opened? because for me, there is nothing if i rev the engine in neutral or park.

Driveshaft is a good idea too, i did look last time it was up on a hoist but the car is going in for service next week so maybe i can have them check the driveshaft. are there any common issues with the driveshaft on these?

m a x i m u s

I've posted this suggestion in the past and it sounds dumb, but for me it was my passenger seatbelt metal tab hitting against the plastic side of the passenger seat. It only happened when driving bc the car was moving around and only at low speeds and quiet cabin bc otherwise the tapping would get drowned out by engine sounds. Check it out.

skhan91

will check this out but its definitely not coming from in the cabin, its somewhere from the engine bay or under the car but i can only hear it from the cabin for some reason... so annoyed

m a x i m u s

Does the noise change with driving speed, or is it constant?

skhan91

It changes while I pick up speed and gets more consistent but goes away after 15kmh

m a x i m u s

This started all of a sudden, or is this car new to you?

skhan91

Just got the car. It's still warrantied for another 2 months

NotABaller

I actually started hearing this too. Only in drive or in reverse. In first three gears, but mainly in 1 and 2. Small noise coming from under the car that sounds like metal rattling and small grinding. Only happens around 1-1.5k, probably centered around 1.2k rpm. Hard to film since it's so quiet. Interested to see if anyone else experienced this or if I should even bother to look into it since it sounds so harmless.

skhan91

Exactly this!!

NotABaller

Glad to hear that we're on the same wavelength. To me, it almost sounds like metal scratching the floor or another stationary part.

skhan91

Yea it's almost as if there's a bendy metal peice that is hitting a plasticy peice as the car drives.

m a x i m u s

Maybe put the car up on a lift and see if the noise can be replicated.

NotABaller

OP, was the shop able to do this? Or was it a purely visual inspection?

skhan91

The indy shop i took it to had it up on a hoist and said everything sounded fine on the engine but they didnt put it in drive on the hoist.

I have it booked into MB under warranty to get the upper oil pan and diff seal leak looked at so i will have them look at the clicking noise too and ask to have it up on the hoist and have them put it into drive

skhan91

Here's a video I made. You 'll need headphones for this. Was really hard to film. But you can hear it slightly

JimmyR

Very hard to hear anything in the video.
The way you describe it I would check out each tyre tread for a stone/screw lodged in there

D3-AMG

Oh, yeah. Every time after someone rides in my car I have to pull the belt over the seat bolster.

skhan91

Already checked all tires :s it's just so strange.

sventastic82

Check your tire pressure sensors,
I had the same issue driving at low speeds. It drove me nuts! I took one tire at the time off to check the threads by rolling it around I notices something was inside the tire.


The tire pressure sensor came off and was tumbling around at low speeds as the car went faster the centrifugal force picked up and the sensor stopped tumbling.