It is never enjoyable to listen to an injector noise on your BMW X5. It is a noise that appears regularly, usually when you accelerate or your engine is idling. However, this symptom may be relating to several types of complications with your vehicle injectors. It may not be anything major, but when a persistent noise shows up, you have to be sure. Most importantly since replacing your BMW X5’s injectors can be expensive. That’s why our team decided to produce this content in order to support you see more clearly, learn about the different conceivable failures and identify your trouble. To do this, we will first look at the normal function and usefulness of the injectors in your BMW X5, then at the conceivable causes from which an injector noise may come.injector-noise-bmw-x5

Purposes of the injectors

Injectors are a very vital component of the operation of your engine. They were launched to the modern cars 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 opportunity, 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 objective 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 triggers of a clicking or knocking noise caused by the injectors of your BMW X5

Hearing injector noises on your BMW X5 may result from different locations, we will now look into 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 used to prevent them. If you listen to another clicking noise but it is not from your injectors, we recommend you to browse this content about clicking noise on BMW X5 to locate the trigger.

The explanations for injector clicking or knocking noise BMW X5

A clicking or knocking noise from your injectors can be explained for different explanations. Indeed, the injectors of your BMW X5 have three main tasks, to control the vaporisation of the fuel, i.e., to convert the liquid into “gas” during injection, to ease its combustion. Then, its goal is to control the air/fuel dosage and at last the homogeneity of the mixture, always with the aim of improving combustion. If one of these three functions is modified, the main role of the injectors will be disrupted and this will lead to poor combustion. This bad combustion will be a violent explosion in the cylinders because of bad timing, or a bad quantity of mixture or finally an inhomogeneous mixture and will trigger thoses knocking or clicking noises on your BMW X5. The main trigger of these situations usually originates from a particle that gets into the injectors. The accuracy of the injector being in the nanometer range, any possible obstruction will inevitably produce a malfunction of the injector. If after checking, this noise originates from another part of the engine of your BMW X5, read this content for more informations.

The consequences of injector noise on BMW X5

Now that we have examined the diverse reasons for injector noise on your BMW X5, we will end by stating the possible side effects of malfunctioning one or more of your injectors. Whether only one is blocked, or damaged, or your entire fuel rail is involved, you cannot escape these consequences which can almost instantly become critical….
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 known consequences experienced by drivers is a serious loss of power. Indeed, if your engine is running on 3 out of 4 cylinders for example, you will obviously have a loss of power
Finally, you risk deteriorating one of your pistons or your engine. Poor combustion will almost instantly harm your cylinders or pistons and your engine may tighten.
Here are three little recommendations 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 changing your diesel fuel filter regularly>