Hi all,

I have been hearing a faint noise that may be described as a faint rattling, popping, grinding noise while accelerating in my 2007 BMW X5 4.8i.

Items of note:

  • Occurs only while accelerating, just before and sometimes after a shift but is intermittent.
  • Does not occur in Park or Neutral.
  • Occurs in any gear.
  • Will occur under normal acceleration but more so when vehicle is under load such as tackling an incline.
  • Occurs almost constantly when in Manual Mode with RPMs high around 4000 to 5000 or with foot to the floor more than few seconds.
  • Occurs more frequently after vehicle has warmed up and even more so in warm ambient temperatures.
  • Started hearing the noise about 8 months ago in January and has gradually become more frequent.
  • Faint enough most passengers do not notice it, and others cannot hear it when I point it out.


Other items of note that may or may not be related:

  • Whine in Park, Neutral, Drive, and Reverse – fluctuates with RPM and dissipates with engine and road noise. I have been told this is normal.
  • Popping noise at crawl speed with wheel at full turn or slight turn with suspension travel. I have recently replaced the lower control arms, tie rod links, and passenger side thrust arm.
  • Clunk when shutting off the engine.
  • Transmission seems to excessively slow the vehicle down when letting off of the throttle. This is intermittent and depends on gear and speed.
  • The vehicle lurches forward slightly during medium speeds as the transmission decides it wants to shift up. Very intermittent, otherwise transmission shifts are smooth to unnoticeable.


Thank you!