Front end popping (includes video)
 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u5CEH...e_gdata_player

You'll hear the pop at 27 seconds. This typically happens when turning in and out of parking spaces at slow speed. I suspect one of the bushings but I'm curious what others think. It's a 2008 with 109,000 miles so I'd expect normal wear and tear to be the culprit. Any comments are greatly appreciated.

Cheers,
monto

Do you have Adaptive Drive?

No adaptive drive.

Does the sound happen about the same time you release your foot off the brake pedal?

Not necessarily. Sometimes it will happen after coming to a complete stop and being in park for a few minutes. As if something happens when "it" cools down.

I've seen that the sound occurs when you turn the wheel in the opposite direction.
Have a mechanic look at your stabilizer links, you may have a problem with one.
Could also be a broken front coil spring.
It's definitively linked (:rolleyes:) to the suspension.
I don't recall, but if the links are connected in the front, it'd be the left link.
If connected in the back, the right link.

Thanks!

Let us know !

Wheel bearing....My left front went out and it had a but if a pop every now and then. Any excessive road noise?

No excessive road noise. Aside from the pop every once and a while there really are no other symptoms.

i've got this almost IDENTICAL issue on my e53 and it is driving me crazy. it stops once the car warms up generally. started after CV axle replacement.

same issue. no other symptoms really. i have been waiting until i do a complete front end suspension overhaul, but never assumed it might be the wheel bearing. mine goes away when it warms up. to me, that means the grease is warmer and is so it stops popping.

i REALLY hope i don't have to take off those wheel bearings again. what a PITA. all the beating i did while changing those CV's probably broke it.

The more I think about it I think I experience the same thing once it warms up, ie it tends to go away. What I have noticed is that after stopping and sitting in the car for 5+ minutes with the engine off there is more popping. Makes me think whatever expanded is in the process of contracting again causing the noise. Like you said there are really no other symptoms so I'm ok with it quite frankly. I'm curious what is entailed when you say "front end suspension overhaul?" what parts would you be replacing? I have 110,000 miles and love looking at and driving the X5 every day but it has definitely lost some of its "feel" if that makes sense.

you will have to forgive the e28 lingo, but it's essentially the same, except there's a helluva lot more room to work underneath the X!!

overhaul to me means new struts - Bilstein HD, new upper and lower control arms, new tie rods, new swaybar endlinks, new swaybar bushings, new strut mounts. oh, and if it has one....new center drag link and possibly pittman arms...but i gotta check to see if i have those.

it's probably $1500 worth of parts depending on some of the brand choices you make. i'll take Meyle HD for value, Lemfoerder for ultimate piece of mind, and wallet.

some of it probably doesn't need replacing. however, it's a one time deal. this truck (SAV rather) is at 125k and new suspension components would make it like new for as long as i plan to own the car.

just so happens that i need front brakes as well, so i'm going to pull everything off and just get it done. also means my chances at a nice, true alignment are better as well!

i waited until 100k to change the struts/shocks on the e36 i had. i could not BELIEVE what i had been missing. i knew they were bad, i just didn't know HOW bad. Boge shocks are typically said to last about 50k to 80k. so i figure with these X5 versions i certainly must be missing out.

so far, the level of difficulty in replacing stuff on the X pales in comparison to the e36 and e28. it's awesome. it's like everything is in 'large print edition', LOL!

what i DON'T want do is replace all this and it STILL be popping!!!

Hi monto,
I had this issue since my car was brand new. Issue was on front right suspension. Matches your description - only happens when the car is a bit cool and when moving from a parking spot. Doesn't happen under normal driving. While under warrenty, Took it to dealer so many times and returned back saying nothing found. After three long years and so many written complaints to BMW, they fixed it. What they told me was, they just removed the tie rod link, thrust arm link and stabilizer links, inspected, greased and put them pack. It's been another year and touchwood haven't heard that evil noise. I doubt they just greased them as these links are not serviceable, must have replaced something. It was fixed under warranty (method of fix was my instructions)
Recently I started hearing something strange on the left side since last week :( I don't wanna go thru this again BMtroubleU

as i get older, gone are my twenties and shortly my thirties, i am becoming increasingly less tolerant of these little 'issues'. on my 3rd BMW now and am wondering if these things are somewhat unavoidable regardless which marque is selected. i literally keep an envelope in my driver door pocket with a list of things to be addressed. i probably have a dozen items on it right now.

Business CD bezel is rattling - driving me NUTS and cannot seem to fix
Radio display has a line through it
Driver window buttons rattling suddenly while on non-smooth pavement.
tailgate latch rattling (i know how to fix, but getting sick of revisiting)
airbag light is on ($600 replacement 30k mi ago)
front brake wear warning came on 4000 miles ago and still on. Pads still have a quarter inch of material. Rotors look fine. probably have 3-4k additional miles left on my pads and rotors.
left rear window reg is toast, front L and R have already been replaced.
I've lost 2 of 4 door carriers and anticipating loss of other 2 soon.


i will NEVER be a dealer-service person for non-warranty items. i simply refuse to throw away money like that. nonetheless, my time is becoming more valuable and my patience wearing thin. not to mention, it takes a solid hour of the day to get to the dealer and back.

i guess the question is, do all brands have these same types of issues? just seems like with the BMWs i can't ever get ahead. incidentally, this car was dealer maintained until 100k miles by the former owner. i cannot IMAGINE how much time he spent at the dealership either. i KNOW how much money. it was insane.

is this the price you pay for the driving experience? i drove my dad's new lexus GX470 the other day. that thing is AWESOME...but drives like the Love Boat.

It's a BMW thing, my wife's Nissan is rock solid but plain boring. I just have this love hate relationship with my E70. It's painful owning it and to me it's also painful to see someone else driving an X5 while I'm driving my wife's Nissan. I also owned a Toyota prado before, it was boring but I never expected body flex and plastic trim popping out like it did in my x5 (d pillar trims)

I'd never buy another BMW after all these quality issues. I spent 5 years of hardship paying the finance on the car sacrificing and postponing issues due to the finance owing. Spent way too long at the dealership trying to fix things under warranty, I'm not planning to sell it either, since I have paid so much. Just need to find a good mechanic and learn to fix these little things in the meantime.

Hi Monto,

I have a 2008 4.8i and have the same exact issues. Metallic popping noise through a slow departure from park while turning, as well from idle after several minutes.

I brought my vehicle in to inspect at my local BMW dealership, and they have diagnosed thus far a faulty wheel bearing. We'll see what else they find after full service is completed, expected sometime tomorrow.

So far, my SA has mentioned this will most likely be covered under CPO warranty... hope this helps, and will post if new developments arise on causes of this issue.

Thanks

FYI, mine turned out to be the skid plate. the bolts were loose. don't ask me how an M10 bolt or whatever just works it's way loose. but it did. lucky for me, a 5 minute fix after driving me CRAZY for 6 months.

i had a list of 10 things in my map door pocket that were wrong with the X. i recently got caught up on them and am in love again for a short while. i just KNOW the storm is coming again!!

Have you hit the curb or something before this happened? I had a similar sound after i slightly hit the curb. It happened only when the steering wheel turned either direction in low speed, i brought it to my dealer and they re-tighten something from the front suspension, cost me $140 minimum 1 hour labor. I will post name of the part that they did after i get home from work tonight.

key on, engine off.

turn the steering one way then the other, multiple times. if you hear it then it might be the joint on the steering shaft.

left front wheel bearing replaced today... issue still exists... back to the drawing board.

With my car, it usually happens when I'm in reverse and turning the wheel in either ends makes the noise. It doesn't seem to do it when it's in drive, or at least not as much as in reverse.

exact same thing here. anyone find any solutions?

I had the exact same problem , only when turning the wheel and reversing after a brief stop. It doesn't happen if you drive forward and immediately reverse. But also happens going over shopping mall ramps very slowly at an angle when the body flexes.
Fixed it after 3 years of intense troubleshooting. I believe they replaced caster arm and thruster arm ball joints.

The popping noise went away for me after the dealer replaced the steering shaft, identified the popping noise to be from a failed joint...

It's been about a month since replacement, and fingers crossed - not further noises.

do you guys know if it is covered under the CPO warranty?

don't know when this car will just stop giving me something to fix. Just noticed the fan in the second row seating squeaking a bit too. timing covers and valve covers gaskets replaced two weeks ago..bet you the gasket behind the alternator and the coolant valley is coming up really soon. i can just smell it a mile a way...

Yes, my repair was covered by CPO.

Sweet baby Jesus! Thank u