It is hardly ever pleasant to notice an injector noise on your BMW i3. It is a noise that arises continually, usually when you accelerate or your engine is idling. However, this warning sign may be related to several types of trouble with your vehicle injectors. It may not be anything severe, but when a continuing noise happens, you have to be sure. Especially since repairing your BMW i3’s injectors can be expensive. That’s why our team chose to produce this article in order to help you see more clearly, learn about the different possible failures and distinguish your problem. To do this, we will first look at the normal functioning and usefulness of the injectors in your BMW i3, then at the possible triggers from which an injector noise may come.injector-noise-bmw-i3

Purposes of the injectors

Injectors are a very vital element of the operation of your engine motor. They were introduced to the modern vehicles about 20 years ago. Before their arrival, more conventional carburettor-type intake systems were used, which handled the intake of air and fuel into the engine cylinders. With the injectors, manufacturers now have the possibility, thanks to the injectors pump, to control electronically each stage of the intake process very precisely (quantity of fuel injected, air/fuel mixture) via the analysis of the data compiled from the various sensors equipping the vehicle (engine temperature, acceleration level, engine speed, etc.). Their goal is therefore to inject under high pressure a precise quantity of an air/fuel mixture at a perfect timing to obtain the best possible combustion in the cylinders.

The different causes of a clicking or knocking noise coming from the injectors of your BMW i3

Hearing injector noises on your BMW i3 may originate from different sources, we will now center on the potential causes of these. Generally, the typical noise of a faulty injector is of the snap type. Here are the several origins of these noises and the solutions to be put into practice to stop them. If you notice another clicking noise but it is not from your injectors, we advise you to browse this article about clicking noise on BMW i3 to discover the cause.

The causes for injector clicking or knocking noise BMW i3

A clicking or knocking noise from your injectors can be justified by different causes. In fact, the injectors of your BMW i3 have three main missions, to control the vaporisation of the fuel, i.e., to convert the liquid into “gas” during injection, to ease its combustion. Then, its task is to manage the air/fuel dosage and at last the homogeneity of the mixture, always with the objective of improving combustion. If one of these three attributes is altered, the main role of the injectors will be disturbed and this will lead to poor combustion. This bad combustion will be a violent explosion in the cylinders due to bad timing, or a bad quantity of mixture or finally an inhomogeneous mixture and will induce thoses knocking or clicking noises on your BMW i3. The main cause of these concerns generally originates from a particle that gets into the injectors. The precision of the injector being in the nanometer range, any possible blockage will inevitably produce a malfunction of the injector. If after verifying, this noise originates from another component of the engine of your BMW i3, read this article for more infos.

The effects of injector noise on BMW i3

Now that we have examined the diverse causes for injector noise on your BMW i3, we will end by stating the possible effects of malfunctioning one or more of your injectors. Whether only one is obstructed, or damaged, or your entire fuel rail is involved, you cannot escape these side effects which can fairly quickly become serious….
First, you risk destroying your exhaust system in the long run, because the unburned fuel residues that will end up in your exhaust system can corrode the metal in it.
One of the most basic effects felt by drivers is a severe loss of power. In fact, if your engine is running on 3 out of 4 cylinders for example, you will surely have a loss of power
Finally, you risk deteriorating one of your pistons or your engine. Poor combustion will fairly quickly harm your cylinders or pistons and your engine may tighten.
Here are three little suggestions to limit the risks connected to your injectors and protect you from engine failure:

  • Do not drive at the bottom of the tank, as you may absorb impurities
  • Use quality fuel
  • Think of swapping your diesel fuel filter regularly>