RJC

I began to notice two somewhat subdued but noticable sounds from time to time when the cabin is very quiet (no music, windows up & ac fan on low). I have narrowed it down to the following circumstances to help replicate the sounds: At relatively low speeds, say 30-40 and the car has already/previously shifted up into 5th, if you completely let off the accl then quickly tap it and let off again the diffy makes a dull thud (which I guess would be normal under the circumstances) but I also hear something that sounds like a subwoofer very briefly emiting a deep bass type noise which sounds like it could be an exhaust resonance due the car being in 5th @ low rpm's/low speeds etc. Never heard this before in my other V8 MB's but they did not have an AMG exhaust...anyone else ever hear this weird sound from time to time? Thanks

stevebez

Only thing I can think of is the tranny trying to change down but does not manage to do it in time ...

Is there only a noise or do you "feel" the thump ?

Can Drive 55

It's the flux capacitor building up its charge.

BMWEATR

RJC

Hi Steve. I think the one noise is the slight play in the diffy which gets accentuated during certain driving, but the second noise almost sounds like you're very quickly hearing another car's bass. The trans is not shifting at this point but has already gotten up to 4th or 5th from drving at higher speeds up to this point; so I'm thinking is the AMG exhaust emitting a deep resonace "bellow" for a moment due to the low rpm's, being in high gear and the throttle input @ the time

lkirchner

What he said!!!!

RJC

Geez...Just trying to understand some of the sounds/noises/experiences of this car and to see if they might possibly need service or not.

Aside from Steve, so much for getting some educated responses and or help.

saveur

RJC,

I know about the noise you're talking about, and I am more than sure that you're talking about the exhaust resonance. I've had my MY06 for 6 months now, and have heard the same thing. I'm pretty sure it's normal. In terms of the 'clunking' noise from the rear, it's definitely coming from the rear differential. I get the noise when I'm at WOT, and when I'm changing down gears. I'm pretty sure this is normal too.

For what it's worth, there are more unidentified squeaks, beeps, rattles, moans on this car than a Ford Taurus I'm in the middle of a battle with the service rep right now to resolve a squeal/whining noise coming from the driver side brakes, and it's a PITA. My sunroof groans when I try to open it, and I can't figure why the hell didn't they just program the features with 1 touch close/open. The rear seat passenger side leather trim on the door is squeaking, and they call it 'within spec'. The brake pads squeal, but it's also 'in spec'. Other than those gripes, it's a great car.

How is your Touareg btw? I'm looking at that truck, vs the Audi Q7 and the Toyota FJ. Staying the hell away from the Cayenne though.

CynCarvin32

Ill bite

Your car is brand new and its a great car. Anything with all these complex parts will make sounds and such when you drive. If the issue is so minor that you need confirmation over the net that its a serious issue likely is not a big deal.

From what you type it is just the sound of the exhaust changing from an engine braking situation to that of acceleration. The cars will make a blatting sound like that every time you lift off. Take the car and hold it in a gear and then lift of the gas and get back on it... the exhaust tone does make a deep sound of sorts each time you change the throttle position.

You seem very sensitive and I can relate but sometimes its best to turn of the HK logic 7 and just smile since you are drivign a E55.

Have fun

BMWEATR

YOU SHOULD HAVE ONE TOUCH OPEN AND CLOSE mine does

saveur

BMWeatr,

Do you know if this is a dealer-programmed feature, or can I do it myself? And, why are you yelling? Thanks!

vraa

Please stop, physics electricity and magnetism AP is OVER!

RJC

First off I truly did not realize the comments about the "flux capacitor" were from the back to the future film, I thought you guys were just being d!ck's...sorry .

I spent quite a bit of time testing the car today and the bass type thud sound is best heard when deaccelerating from 50 mph down to 40 mph while the car is in 5th, just when it hits 40mph the car downshifts and right after I hear one or two bass type sounding short thuds.

I took the car into the service dept right way and the team leader sent me out to drive the car with a great tech I recently had the pleasure of meeting when I first got the car last month...he heard the noise and suggested we take another E55 out, there was an 05 in for service and that car made the sound but it was barely perceptible. So the car is now going to get a thorough check up tomorrow a.m. for this problem. They are also going to address the shimmy between 50-60, apparently there is a DTB out of this for the W211's. The tech thinks it could either be exhaust back pressure related, the diffy and or its mounts or possibly the tranny. The first thing he will do is reset the adaptation of the tranny and see if it goes away. Great people and great service! Keeping my fingers crossed it's nothing major, as she's just a baby with only 560 miles

saveur

RJC,

Which Technical Bulletin are you referring to? I also have the shimmy at about the same speed that you mentioned, and would like some ammo to use against the service advisers...

Can Drive 55

So, does this mean that you are finished with school and off to SA? Congrats. Oh no, off topic - my bad. Back on - Well, it could be the dilithium crystals preparing for the jump to hyperspace.

RJC

I will try to get the DTB# from the tech when I see him next, he mentioned something about different style lower control arm bushings, he also said he would tighten up the steering rack; both the bushings and tightening the steering have been mentioned previously as fixes that cured the shimmy.

RJC

Thanks for the response...see my update above as the sound emits soley on deacceleration under certain conditions, it does not sound like normal back pressure but thuds only once or maybe twice max.

RJC

I had a brake squeal on my 04 CLK500 even after MB changed the pads and rotors...know how I made it go away for good? I bought my own replacement Zimmerman rotor put it on myself and it was perfect. I've been told MB was getting slightly out of tolerence brakes from one of their vendors and no matter how many times they changed the pads and rotors there was a 33% chance you'd get one that vibrated causing the squeal.

With respect to leather, the leather on my driver's seat side bolster actually moved out of place far enough to create a flap which in turn created a nice crease about 6 inches long when the car only had 300 miles;the shop foreman ordered a new seat cover and I've been waiting for it to come in.

Even with these little naggles, I really like the car and can't wait to start increasing the R's after 1000 clicks. I just hope the noise turns out to me nothing major and something they can easily fix, I should know by tomorrow afternoon.

The touareg is great, tight as a drum and no problems since the first month of ownership. The only problem is I have two vehicles that love lot's and lot's of gasoline.

vuquach

RJC,

I can definitely relate to your concern about the exhaust noise. I actually posted something a couple of week back about this issue for me. For my car it makes this noise from 40-50mps and again from 70-80mphs. To best explain what noise its making is like when you happen to have someone in the back roll just one window down and it sounds like some crazy hollow in and out blowing noise. I had a couple people on forum tell me it’s just the exhaust droning.

Unfortunately this issue bugs the hell out of me and I had a tech go on a car ride with me to address the problem. The only thing he told me after hearing what I was trying to duplicate was it sounds normal and gave me technical terms….. So pretty much I got no where…

Please let me know if they find anything because I’m still waiting for my 2006 supercharger clutch pack to come for them to fix the all so famous chirp. That will be nice to have some ammo to bring to the techs.

JohnAMG

The subwoofer sound your are describing is coming from the exhaust. This is common in the W210 E55 also, speaking from experience. At around 2000 RPM you will hear it and once you pass that RPM everything is normal. It is a low humming and not too noticeable. The thug/clunk you heard isn't unusual during the situation you described.

John

RJC

Thanks guys. The weird part is the 05 we tested yesterday as a benchmark compared to my car did make the sound going from 50 -40mph right at 40 in 5th just like mine, but it was almost imperceptible; so the key is why is the 05 with 15,000 miles so much quieter than my new 06

ThemisN

I've heard this as well. Speed, up, let go of the gas, and you hear it blip. It;s been more pronounce in my car lately, but I've got enough other things to worry about than that lol.

Huachipato

Sounds like drivetrain slack. Just a little movement that the drivetrain has between acceleration and deceleration. The teeth in the diff move back and for just ever so slightly, but enough to cause a thud or clunk. Just a thought - as I have seen this in other cars and is typically perfectly normal.

RJC

If mine sounded like the 05 we tested I'd have no problems with it, but unfortunately my 06 sounds at least 5x's louder.

BTW mine sometime makes 2 consecutive thuds right at 40 with my foot completely off the gas not just one, is this possible from the diffy?

RJC

The dealer just called and said the noise is coming from the exhaust. They actually put the car up on the lift while they had someone "drive it" up to the speed and rpm's to replicate the sound and it was coming from the exhaust. They now want to find out why on my car it's so much louder than the 05 we drove. They will try to see if sales has a new 06 they can compare it to as well. The main Shop Foreman will be in tomorrow returning from a Foreman's conference and they would like his input (this guy really know his stuff). So I'll report back with the latest findings tomorrow. I'm hoping they will also tighten up my steering rack and hopefully get rid of the shimmy. So far they've been very helpful and very nice .