gasongasoff

Somebody please help me. I've taken my '12 997S to the dealer 5 times since 2012 trying to fix this awful "clacking" engine noise. Each time they claim they fix it, but it's right back after a couple of days. The car has spent a total of 4.5 months sitting in the shop. The service manager, PCNA FTM, and PCNA "customer care" are already involved.

It doesn't take a master mechanic to figure out that the engine has some sort of mechanical problem. (Although if there are any master mechanics out there you and you know what it is, please share.)


They've replaced all sorts of parts:
water pump (twice), fuel pump, oil pump, power steering pump, alternator, belt tensioner, chain tensioner, AC compressor, plus more

During the last visit, they discovered that the factory never installed one of the oil pump chain rails. (Who knows what else Stuttgart "forgot" to install on my engine) That didn't fix the problem either.

Any advice for me? (other than "buy a Toyota...")

Linnm

You buy it new? Suggest you check "Lemon Law" requirements for CA

dbrostrain

The snapping or popping sound to me sounds like a short, but maybe it's the audio of the recording that's making it sound like that, but that something's arcing in there. Broken wire on one of the coil packs or something.

I'd take it and run the engine at night in as dark as an area as you can and see if there's any sparks or arcing anywhere in the engine area you can obviously see.

Just a guess

BIG smoke

Lady in my office had a problem with her new keyless jetta not starting. In nine months it was in the shop for a total of 63 days. i said to her, "why would they fix it, its a money maker for them".
Hours and hour of warranty billing back to head office. It's the golden goose.
I'm assuming you still have a new car warranty? I'd scoot over to another dealer. Perhaps fresh heads will find the problem. To me, its not a constant tick. I find that odd?

"PREMIUM CAR - PREMIUM EXPECTATIONS"

BIG smoke

Oh I like the arcing suggestion. Have them check the grounds and the coils.
this is what a bad coil looks like.

Byprodriver

It does sound like a big arc! Surely enough to cause a misfire with CEL & trouble code if from a coil lead though. Maybe a wire improperly routed?
Does it make the same sound while up in the air on a lift? If not maybe the drooping wheels fixes the wire problem??

CAVU

I do hope you can find the root cause. It might be worth a trip to an independent that comes highly recommended in your area.

If that snap/pop sound is an electrical arc...WOW! I can't say that I've ever heard one that loud over engine noise. When we tested jet engine igniters, that is exactly what one sounds like.

I would like to add to what LinnM has pinned. By informing yourself of CA lemon law, you will be better armed if you have to use it. It is probably like many lemon laws that contain very specific language. Just protect yourself for a worst case scenario.

I do hope it is something that can be dealt with locally. Good Luck!

KNS

It does sound like igniters...

Try looking under/all around the engine compartment in the dark.

Tcc1999

+1.

In California i think it is a total of 30 days in the shop. Sounds like you have a textbook case and in CA the Lemon Law is very consumer friendly.

997_rich

I'd say with 97% certainty something valve train related. Sloppy timing chain hitting the inside of engine case, faulty timing chain advance mechanism slopping fore and aft, timing chain tensioner assembled without a part, timing chain tensioner (that was supposedly not assembled but is still in the engine) cracked and the pieces are bouncing around and getting smacked against the inside of the case. Even though it has a somewhat electrical sound, it's too loud to be electrical.

These guys have tried everything under the sun outside the engine hoping they wouldn't have to pull and crack the engine. Depending upon what dealer you have they likely rarely do this.

Good luck and let us know how it turns out.

Hella-Buggin'

Do yourself a favor and take it to another dealer or Indy.

Spiffyjiff

yeah sounds elec/arc-ish to me but that may be simply due to the recording. in person does it sound like metal on metal? or does it in fact sound elec? if sounds like metal on metal try to narrow down area where it's coming from. And if needed, maybe take a stetho and - carefully as you can around a hot running engine - see if it's inside engine or on surface?

a total PITA i know but i've learned long ago that no one *really* cares about your car like you do. you have it 24/7 and (relatively) the time to track it down methodically.

good luck.

Petza914

You might try investigating the source or area of the noise using an automotive stethescope - pretty much just like a medical one but has a metal rod instead of the plastic cup on the end. You touch the metal rod to different parts of the engine and you'll be amazed at all the neat sounds you'll hear, but aside from that, might help you narrow down the approximate location of the sound source.

Macster

AS others have suggested the car might be a lemon, that is qualify as a lemon. However, the car is 2 years old and it may be about to fall out of the lemon period. I am not current on CA lemon laws but as someone else correctly noted they are consumer friendly.

While others have guessed -- and it is a good guess -- sparking I would think one would smell this as electric sparking gives off a very distinct odor.

Because I do not believe the noise is electrical in nature I would offer the opinion the noise sounds like something is caught in the cavity behind the engine pulley. If the engine was missing an oil pump chain rail though I would think anything caught in the pulley would have come out when the engine was removed to address this missing rail. That is assuming the engine did have to be removed from the car and I think it would have had to be removed from the car. You might check the work invoice to see.

(I can't help but wonder if there is something else missing inside the engine that could account of this noise? Has anyone listened to determine if the noise is coming from inside the engine or outside? If this is coming from inside the engine I would have to believe -- though I could be wrong of course -- this means metal to metal contact is taking place and while this is wear it is not of the critical kind, at least yet, but this wear should or could at any rate have the filter element showing metal trash. What I'm leading up to is has anyone check the oil filter and oil filter housing oil for signs of excessive metal debris? I might not be that coarse of debris either, but very fine stuff, which in the filter oil dumped out in a clean pan would look like metal flake in the oil.)

You can turn up the heat on the dealer. Read up on lemon law. Know where you and the car stand in this regard.

Then speak to the dealer. Remind the dealer one reason you bought the car was because of the dealer's highly touted factory trained blah blah blah service capabilities.

Remind in a calm manner that you are owed a reasonable degree of skill, experience, and care in the servicing of your vehicle. Because this noise is still present now for 2 years, you have not received this.

What I'm leading up to is you could be a victim of consumer fraud. But you do not run shouting this at the dealer GM's face. You let it drop kind of casually when discussing the car and its ongoing problem with the GM.

Furthermore, because of this ongoing problem you have lost all enjoyment of the use of the car and will have to explore possible solutions that involve the consumer fraud agency in your county, and consulting with the BAR about this if the dealer can't get this sorted to your satisfaction. If your info about the lemon law backs this up mention you will begin the process of having the car declared a lemon.

If the buy back amount is prorated based on the miles the car has been driven be prepared to state that because of the ongoing noise issue you didn't' get any enjoyment from driving the car and do not believe you are obligated to accept any prorated amount for the car. Drop consumer fraud in there somewhere.

Now the GM will probably want you to leave the car, so when you go in you have to be prepared to leave the car and leave it as long as it takes. The factory will likely be consulted and believe it or not communication with the factory is not 21st century quick not even 20th century quick. No voice mail I'm told so it can take a week or two at least. (This was my experience when dealing with a replacement transmission question/issue with my Turbo.)

When it is time to pick up the car be sure you give the car every opportunity to manifest the noise again. Do not just get in a drive home. Drive around a bit until you are sure the noise is gone for good. If not then take it back.

If you take the car with the noise still present, when you take the car back with this noise still present you just signal to the dealer you for better or worse accept the car with this noise, which by doing this in the past has told the dealer you are not that serious about getting it resolved.

Now you have to get serious.

Tcc1999

^What he said! But really, it's just a car. Sue them under the Lemon Law. Once papers are filed PCNA, the dealership, etc. will be forced to respond and it won't be the B.S. some service manager gives you. He will be deposed and admit that several different things have been tried and the problem could not be resolved. Do youself a favor and cut the emotional cord, stop agonizing and accept that the car is not quite what it should be. I don't mean to be harsh but I've sued Audi under the Lemon Law - before filing papers got the run-around for 6 months, after filing they settled in four weeks (and it took that long b/c the field rep had to examine the car/records and he was booked)