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      12-07-2016, 05:29 PM   #243
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Originally Posted by Watsey View Post
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Mine has just had the damper software patch applied and the dealer called yesterday to advise that the clonking noise has gone. I won't know for sure until I take it around my local speed bumps test route.
Interested to know if SW patch has cured yr clonk, esp as you have modded suspension.
I haven't got the car back from the dealer yet, but will post an update when I can.

Would be very happy if the noise is gone for good.
Watsey - any update on the suspension now you have the car back? Think I might try to get my car updated next time it's in, if this fox seems to be working for all. Not sure how much it will cost but would hope an update won't be crazy money - say £100?!
I've not got the car back yet. It went in for a replacement rear bumper (I got hit by a bike on the M25), adaptive damper software patch, and gearbox diagnostics relating to temporary loss of drive and drivetrain snatch at slow speeds.

The gearbox diagnostic isn't finished yet and BMW's ZF guru, having looked at the uploaded data, has requested that the dealer do a full recalibration. Apparently this involves a reset of the gearbox software and carrying out a specific road test to a scripted set of process steps over a 50-60 mile route. I'm told that the problem could be caused by the gearbox not knowing the correct and precise position of the clutches, and the recalibration could help.

Hoping to have the car back this Friday. Will update regarding the dampers as soon as I can.
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      12-07-2016, 05:46 PM   #244
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Watesy

No separate clutchpacks on the version of ZF 8sp AT fitted to n55 AFAIK. Lock up is an integral feature of torque converter.

BP
There are some ZF videos on YouTube for the 8HP70 which state that the 'box contains three clutches. This is what I first thought : separate clutch(es).
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      12-08-2016, 10:07 AM   #245
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My car is in with the dealer today, I have the latest software according to them and this should cover the PUMA noted earlier, so I have another problem (steering rack?)

I assume this is not a 'software patch' per se, as mentioned, but a part of the EMC/EMU car software release, does anyone know?
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      12-08-2016, 10:22 AM   #246
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unless your car has been upgraded after or before Sep 2016 you cannot possible have the software fix as it was not released when your car was made
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      12-08-2016, 10:28 AM   #247
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unless your car has been upgraded after or before Sep 2016 you cannot possible have the software fix as it was not released when your car was made
It was updated in August this year for a frozen iDrive .
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      12-08-2016, 10:43 AM   #248
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could be a new steering rack for you then.
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      12-09-2016, 02:59 PM   #249
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Update :

I collected the car from the dealer's this afternoon and part from a quick blast in the Service Manager's M240i Vert (sounded nice; didn't feel that quick; broke traction at 50mph mid-overtake - shitty Bridgestone RFTs again - that got a chuckle from him in the passenger seat) I thought you'd like to know my first impressions of the adaptive damper software patch.

In short, the front-end clonking appears to have gone. There are some backroads near me which have softish speed bumps (tarmac, say 3' wide, around 9" high) which have always been the telltale for the clonking on my car as it rolls off the far side. I made a couple of passes on my way home, typically around 10-15mph, and the suspension was all but silent. There's still the faintest sensation of a jolt somewhere in the suspension, but I'd say it's 90% better. Time will tell, but for now it's a big improvement.

The low speed hesitancy and drivetrain snatch has improved but not by much, despite BMW following the ZF 'guru' instructions to slightly over-fill transmission fluid, reset the gearbox software, and to follow a scripted recalibration process. The shift action is a little smoother, so I'll see if it beds-in further at slow speeds. The dealer did say that the final stage of the recalibration process takes a long time and to just drive the car normally. If it doesn't improve the dealer is happy to push for a new gearbox.

A couple of things were quite noticeable :

- The steering is lighter, in Comfort and in Sport. It feels less damped.
- There's less of a difference in the damping between Comfort and Sport : Sport now feel s a little softer, but still controlled. It seems that the damping has been backed-off a little, which isn't a bad thing as Sport often felt over-damped which led to a sensation that the springs and dampers were not working together.

The only downside - I went under a variable speed camera gantry on the M25 and what I think was around 53mph in a 50, and got double-flashed. If that comes through as an NIP I'll be pissed. I'm sure it was <55 rather than >55.

For anyone else wanting to get the adaptive damper software patch applied, its an Advisory not a QE. Talk to your dealer; the patchy does exist and it is an official 'fix'.
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      12-18-2016, 11:28 AM   #250
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Gents,

This is what mine sounds like now. BMW says this is normal for this steering rack. Because of the crappy cellphone video, it almost sounds like wind buffeting, but that undulating noise is the rack knocking. This is on a bumpy paved road, I do a pass at about 25mph and then turn around and come back at 10mph.



Is this what yours sounded like? It's in my every thought and is driving me mad.
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      12-18-2016, 01:14 PM   #251
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Originally Posted by SeanSkiVT View Post
Gents,

This is what mine sounds like now. BMW says this is normal for this steering rack. Because of the crappy cellphone video, it almost sounds like wind buffeting, but that undulating noise is the rack knocking. This is on a bumpy paved road, I do a pass at about 25mph and then turn around and come back at 10mph.



Is this what yours sounded like? It's in my every thought and is driving me mad.
Listening out for what you describe as being akin to wind buffeting, that knocking is waaaay worse that mine was.

The suspension knocking on my car (hasn't returned since the adaptive damper software patch ) was a definite clonk-clonk as the car came down the far side of wide radius speed bumps.
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      12-18-2016, 01:24 PM   #252
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Listening out for what you describe as being akin to wind buffeting, that knocking is waaaay worse that mine was.

The suspension knocking on my car (hasn't returned since the adaptive damper software patch ) was a definite clonk-clonk as the car came down the far side of wide radius speed bumps.
That's great that the patch worked for you! I suspect that mine is a bit different than the issue you guys are (or were) experiencing and mine is caused by a worn bushing or defective part.

I go in to have it inspected (again) on Friday so I'll add my result as an additional data point. Last time I was at the dealer the foreman heard the noise during our test ride, and he actually knew my car because he worked on it previously for this issue. I purchased as a CPO, but apparently they ripped the entire front end apart for the previous owner chasing this noise, and replaced the rack, tie rods, control arms, etc. and say that as a result of that work, BMW won't warranty another job to resolve it. Sounds fishy to me; if that's the case they never should have certified the car. He did admit that it sounded worse than ever at the last visit, and it's significantly worse now.
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      12-19-2016, 04:49 AM   #253
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Quote:
Originally Posted by SeanSkiVT View Post
Gents,

This is what mine sounds like now. BMW says this is normal for this steering rack. Because of the crappy cellphone video, it almost sounds like wind buffeting, but that undulating noise is the rack knocking. This is on a bumpy paved road, I do a pass at about 25mph and then turn around and come back at 10mph.



Is this what yours sounded like? It's in my every thought and is driving me mad.
I feel that looseness in the car's suspension, but the noise is not as apparent.

The 'clonk'/wobble comes when going over rough surfaces, like cats-eyes or small bumps when turning.

I'm still working on the issue with the dealer.
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      12-19-2016, 08:14 AM   #254
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Quote:
Originally Posted by SeanSkiVT View Post
Gents,

This is what mine sounds like now. BMW says this is normal for this steering rack. Because of the crappy cellphone video, it almost sounds like wind buffeting, but that undulating noise is the rack knocking. This is on a bumpy paved road, I do a pass at about 25mph and then turn around and come back at 10mph.



Is this what yours sounded like? It's in my every thought and is driving me mad.
This is what mine sounds like. It is most noticeable at low speed over uneven surfaces such as monobloc paving. Thankfully it is less apparent once up to speed.
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      12-19-2016, 02:21 PM   #255
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This is what mine sounds like. It is most noticeable at low speed over uneven surfaces such as monobloc paving. Thankfully it is less apparent once up to speed.
Thanks, good to know. Mine is audible up to 40mph, but yes is worst at low speed. Have you attempted to have the dealership repair yours?
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      12-20-2016, 07:41 AM   #256
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Thanks, good to know. Mine is audible up to 40mph, but yes is worst at low speed. Have you attempted to have the dealership repair yours?
Not yet, planning to get in touch with them in the new year. Do you have a standard rack or VSS ? Mine is VSS
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      12-20-2016, 01:20 PM   #257
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I took another one when I went to grab lunch today, this time with my GoPro mounted to my sunroof. The quality of the audio is only marginally better, but you can hear the clunking more clearly. You can see that the road surface is pretty smooth in most of the video, I'm going up to 40 mph, and the noise is still clearly audible.

The car has VSS and the M-Adaptive SUspension. BMW identified it as the rack previously, let's see if the diagnosis changes after this visit.


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      12-20-2016, 03:23 PM   #258
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Quote:
Originally Posted by SeanSkiVT View Post
I took another one when I went to grab lunch today, this time with my GoPro mounted to my sunroof. The quality of the audio is only marginally better, but you can hear the clunking more clearly. You can see that the road surface is pretty smooth in most of the video, I'm going up to 40 mph, and the noise is still clearly audible.

The car has VSS and the M-Adaptive SUspension. BMW identified it as the rack previously, let's see if the diagnosis changes after this visit.

Going through the exact same in my '13 335i with VSS and M-Sport, dealership has zero clue what is going on. Probably just going to take the car back until after the holiday madness is over and drop it back off then.
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      12-27-2016, 11:26 AM   #259
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As these vids, the sound and description is the same in my car. Have you guys had the dealer resolve it yet?
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      12-27-2016, 12:37 PM   #260
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As these vids, the sound and description is the same in my car. Have you guys had the dealer resolve it yet?
The clonk-clonk noise from my car's front suspension has completely disappeared since I had the software patch applied.

For my car the patch has been a 100% cure.
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      12-27-2016, 02:27 PM   #261
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As these vids, the sound and description is the same in my car. Have you guys had the dealer resolve it yet?
Mine is at the dealership as we speak waiting for parts. They agreed that the noise has gotten worse and said that they identified the source as some linkage in the steering rack. I'm not sure if it is getting a whole new rack or not, but I will update this thread with the parts replaced as well as whether or not the noise in the videos was resolved.

It's likely that there are a couple of different issues at play here that manifest themselves similarly, i.e. some of us may have adaptive strut issues, others steering rack issues, and others still may have both.
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      12-27-2016, 03:43 PM   #262
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Hello guys. I'm new to the forum and signed up to discuss an similar issue I have had that has been a nightmare to say the least. I have a 2013 335i. It has roughly 25k miles on it. I purchased this car CPO with about 19k miles on it. Around 23k miles, i started noticing the knocking at slow speeds coming from the front left side. My car is equipped with vss and adaptive suspension. Initially, they reprogrammed and did the software update. That didn't do anything. After visiting the dealer various times and them ordering and replacing parts that did nothing, they replaced the steering rack. That got rid of the issue, but caused another problem. After replacing the rack, once the car reached operating temperature, a rattle would come from the front end of the car during acceleration. It almost sounded like a diesel engine. I thought it was exhaust related since it seemed to only occur when hot. I took it in to the dealer, they removed a rock from the rear of the car, that wasn't it. The somehow decided, against my wishes, that it was a fuel pump issue. They ended up replacing both the fuel pump and vacuum system. This did not solve anything. What's strange is that not only does it only occur when the car is hot, but only when the transmission is engaged. When in neutral and revving, no noise both in the garage, and at speed. Of course, my dealer now says they have done all they can do and a BMW field tech needs to look at it. Of course, the knocking issue is now slowing returning as well making this first BMW purchase a nightmare. I've been to this dealer so many times and the steering rack issue had my car in the shop for 3 weeks straight. Any ideas about what could be going on here. Thanks guys.
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      12-27-2016, 04:36 PM   #263
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Quote:
Originally Posted by SeanSkiVT View Post
Mine is at the dealership as we speak waiting for parts. They agreed that the noise has gotten worse and said that they identified the source as some linkage in the steering rack. I'm not sure if it is getting a whole new rack or not, but I will update this thread with the parts replaced as well as whether or not the noise in the videos was resolved.

It's likely that there are a couple of different issues at play here that manifest themselves similarly, i.e. some of us may have adaptive strut issues, others steering rack issues, and others still may have both.
Interesting. I went by the dealer today to talk to them and the SA said he will talk to the foreman again. Previously the foreman said because I have an aftermarket cp they could not look at it, but it is not the cp. It is not loose at all and if it was I would be getting boost leaks
I'm hoping you get a good result. I've spent hours trying to figure this out.
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      12-27-2016, 05:38 PM   #264
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If it is of any help to you, I had the steering rack replaced in November, only weeks before the warranty ran out.
I have adaptive suspension and kept telling the SA about the software update mentioned on here, but they took no (apparent) notice.
The car is now absolutely fine and no longer rattles on broken surfaces - it really feels like a new car again.

However, one other change I notice is that the front suspension no longer bottoms out coming off of speed humps.
It feels better damped and more able to resist the weight of the heavy diesel up front.
I reckon that has nothing to do with the new rack and everything to do with how the adaptive dampers/shocks are performing.
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