[Pilarskica]

2009 328xi
N51
Auto
87k

I'm driving home and I start to hear a plastic grinding noise when decelerating and when I'm at a stop. it sounds like a baseball card in a bicycle spokes. Turn off HVAC blower and noise is still there.

I get home and shut the car off, let the dogs out, and check in the engine bay.

I notice this plastic cap that fell off on the passenger side. It looks like it goes to the back of the headlights.



Thinking that it was what it was, I turn the engine back on with the bonnet open and I hear this metal on metal grinding noise. I checked the belt and it's still on the tensioner. The fans were on when I first started, but shut off and the noise was still there.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NNBRg0J_p_Q

After a few minutes it got quieter so maybe that was the alternator clutch?

Car starts to sound normal. I'm not hearing the plastic grinding noise so I take it for a quick spin to see if it was the plastic headlight cap. I get to a light and it comes back, I pull into a parking lot and now it makes this loud exaust noise that sounds like it's a diesel tractor.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mraS6co-Xgc


There was no smoke. I didn't hear anything unusual before this. The E-dipstick was only down 1/4 quart. I haven't done anything to it this year except change the brakes and the oil in february.

I didn't get any errors on the dash. I have the bmw tools VM, so i'm going to plug that in when I get home.

Any ideas? I just inspected and registered this car on thursday and i've had it for 3 years. It's the first time something has happened to it.

Thanks