Bay Area User

I can hear a chirp sound when i accelerate. It seems to be coming from the supercharger. Is this normal? i took the car to the dealership for service today, they replaced the ic pump but said the chirping sound was normal. It seems a little weird though....
It only comes at low speeds when i sort of hit the gas.
What do you guys think?
Should i go back and continue complaining or is this really normal?

tthoang1

Mine does exactly the same thing. Not sure if it's bad. Can someone chime in?

Jakpro1

Unless I am way off, it's supercharger chirp. It's just a quick chirp and not sustained right?

Classic E55 problem and bout the only fix for it is new supercharger clutch from a newer design. Seems to help the chirp on some but others say it came back.

If you really really work your tech you can get them to replace it but it's really not any type of problem. Just annoyance more than anything.

Hope that at least puts your mind at ease. No worries.

Hammer Down

Ahhhhh, the old bird is back. The chirp happens when the clutch engages. I've heard of some guys getting it replaced under warranty. I believe they replace it with an updated clutch from the 2006 superchargers. Do a search on chirps and you will find old threads on this topic.

BenzoBoi

ahh...so the bird in yer engine is finally awake!!! JK JK

it's normal so no need to worry. Like the others have said, I hear there is a fix and that fix is updating the s/c clutch to a +06. I actually don't mind mine because it lets me know that the blower still werks...

Bay Area User

ok, good to know guys..
guess i'll live with it for a while and try to get the clutches replace next time i'm in for service.

Blacksport350

All of my blown AMG's have had the chirp, it's part of what makes them special!

jangy

LOL, even the '06 one will start to chirp once you put a pulley on it (much less all your mods). I'd take it in, IF I had a connection. the last thing you need is to get your car flagged for a sound.

Jrocket

It will be more noticable in colder weather.Nothing to worry about,most BMW's and some P-cars are scared of this sound though.

JKK

I believe some of the tuners’ software will engage the clutch all of the time eliminating the chirp. Worked on a ’05 E55 K4.

Jrocket

I've never seen that or even heard of that being done.Some have tried to do it on their own but the ECU did not like it.

MB_Forever

I had that same "famous" chirp on my C32 when it was stock, when it was stage 1, and when it went to stage 2

Don't worry, you're beast is fine

AMGfan

Just get a louder exhaust system and you won't even hear it...with my Kleeman headers, VRP airbox, primary cat delete and a "little" modification to the muffler setup on my car I can't even hear the chirp anymore !

On a serious tip...like everyone said...your Beast is OK!

Blacksport350

One interesting thing I have noticed is that the chirp is higher pitched and a little more annoying on the 55K clutch then the 32K clutch which just sounds mean.

Maybe it is because the 55's are so much quieter that it seems louder?

Rommel

I guess I've been pretty lucky with my C32. It has over 60K miles and no chirping. I have had 2 IC pumps replaced though.

Now, we did have the chirp on our 2004 E55. Our normal dealership did the grinding paste trick, which lasted about 50 miles. Fortunately another MB dealership opened closer to the house and I took a chance and brought it there. No questions asked, they replaced the clutch pack under warranty and got it back to me in 24 hrs. Guess which dealership I'll be doing business with.

Honestly, if the chirp is normal, then it would be there when the car was new. Highly unlikely people would buy a 100K car which chirps. But to each his own. If people like to hear a chirp, then that's cool and groovy with me. I myself find it unacceptable for the amount of money you spend for these cars.

I Like Soup

Nice...LOL!

At first, I felt the way Rommel did and if you are paying a considerable amount of money for a car such as the Mercedes (read: solid engineering history), then you shouldn't have a chirping sound. But, I left my analness at the door and now don't mind the sound at all. Like BenzoBoi, said, you know the S/C is working!

Suprfknman

My S55 has a wicked loud chirp its down right embarrassing. I have been battling with MB for months. One dealer tried to adjust some shims in the clutch assembly but it didnt do anything. I gave them an ultimatum a few days ago either replace the whole thing or I will lemon law the car. Federal law states that an auto manufacturer must honor their warranty 100 percent and there are several lawyers around here that deal with these types of issues. I have no idea why they would give me a hard time about it to begin with. If it was a BMW it would have been fixed without question.
Will

Hazy1

I had the S/C replaced quite awile ago with the '06+ S/C and just in the last 1-2 weeks I can hear the car trying to hatch a new chick.

MikTrebla09

Hmmm...i don't recall hearing a chirp from mine. I don't even feel an abrupt supercharger engagement.

skooby

I have the chirp as well, performance seems unaffected. If this covered under the CPO warranty or just straight factory?

Suprfknman

The sound comes from the moving magnetic clutch plate engaging against the plate connected to the supercharger. I would imagine it takes some power to turn the supercharger so there is a slight slip of the clutch during initial engagement. Unfortunately everytime I slow down to go around a corner or stop at a light it disengages and then engages and then emits an obnoxious chirp. I have heard other 55's make the noise just none as loud as mine. I would think some type of spring pressure on one side of the clutch plates would absorb the vibration sound or coating one of the plates with teflon might work. Several MB techs have said they heard MB is working on a solution to the chirp noise. I believe this is why they dont use the 55 motor anymore. I cant imagine it could be that hard to engineer out the chirp though I mean come on look at some of the stuff they come up with.
Will

Rommel

As I stated from my earlier post, I guess we've been pretty lucky with the chirping superchargers.
The C32 is an 02 with 63K miles and the E55 is an 04 with 53K miles. The C32 so far has been immune and the E55 had the clutch pack replaced. The chirp did not start until around 50K. If the new clutch last another 50K, then all is groovy. By that time it'll be time for a new car anyway. All in all we've been happy with both cars. They do have electrical gremlins now and then. But that's another story.

Esleeper

I bet the best fix for "the chirp" is an E63.

Then of course you have to deal with the "hesitation" out of 1st gear problem.

Dilema as I want an 06 low mileage E55 or 07 low mileage E63 and am torn.

Chirp or stumble. Damn.

MikTrebla09

I did some research as to why ours is not chirping, nor has the abrupt clutch engagement from the sc...it seems this problem isn't as prominent on 06 models than it is with earlier MYs.
I say get the 55K!!

jangy

Most earlier models could have their SCs replaced under warranty to the '06 one. Honestly, after some time, I can't tell much difference between my '05 and '06. The '05 chirpped a bunch more, but the drive was the same.