Hey guys,

Hoping for some help to resolve a couple of minor issues with my 380 that have been bugging me.
Reversing out of my carport in the mornings, when the engine is cold, the transmission sort of jumps and jerks a bit. Sounds bizarre, but what it feels like is that sensation you get when the brake rotors need machining – it’s that sort of jump/jerk/un-even feeling.

It’s only reasonably minor, but it’s not an issue in other 380s I’ve driven with a cold engine. Worth noting, the transmission is fine once the engine warms up. Shifting between gears is also very smooth. I’m thinking it might be time for a transmission flush, but the fluid is nice and red with a sweet smell. The rotors were also machined about a month ago.

The second issue is also present only when the car is stone cold. Until the engine warms up, I get a definite clattering noise from the engine. The noise rises with the RPM but disappears as soon as the engine temperature rises. I thought the noise might have been caused by the emissions control valve, but that’s been replaced and the noise is still there. Could this potentially be solved with an oil change? Having said that, the car was only serviced a few weeks ago.

I’m not really mechanically mined, hence the mini essay. Any help would be appreciated.

With the chattering sound, if it occurs shut down the motor, wait 10 seconds and restart, if noise is gone the culprit is the timing belt pre tensioner

How'd you go with your problems? I've been having the same noise. Been there for well over a year now. I'll try Madmagna's suggestion and see what happens.

A solution hasn’t been found unfortunately.

I tried Mal’s trick of shutting the engine down, waiting and restarting but the noise was still present. Not too sure, sometimes the noise is quite noticeable and other times it makes no noise whatsoever. As soon as the engine warms up though, there’s no issue.

When you say clattering, do you mean more like a ticking noise? Or actually clattering?

When you say clattering, do you mean more like a ticking noise? Or actually clattering?

Ticking, yes. Quite a loud tick though.
Trouble is getting the dealership to hear it and consider it a problem worth fixing. All I ever get is "everything sounds normal".

I had a similar issue for quite a while. Spent so much time and effort trying to find a solution, but to no avail.
I took her to the dealership for her 115,000km service, and I was so sure that they wouldn't be able to fix the problem.
Well, after months, and months of wasted efforts, they managed to fix it.
My problem was the oil level was a little too low (not low enough for the oil light to show up, but still low) and that the grade of the oil was too thin. They added a much, much thicker grade of oil and I haven't hear the ticking since.
Your issue might be completely different, but hey, it's worth a try!
Good luck.

Heard*

That’s interesting.

When I had my 95,000k service done, I noticed the oil they used was quite thin. The level is also sitting at the lower end of the dip stick which sounds similar to what you’re describing – (the oil level isn’t too low, but it’s a bit low).

It’s definitely worth a shot. Much of my driving is in the city with a bit of motorway in between so I could probably do with an oil change sooner rather than later.

I finally got around to changing the oil a couple of weekends ago with some quality Penrite stuff. Cold engine tick is gone, idle seems smoother and my fuel consumption has even decreased slightly.

Pretty pleased overall.

I finally got around to changing the oil a couple of weekends ago with some quality Penrite stuff. Cold engine tick is gone, idle seems smoother and my fuel consumption has even decreased slightly.

Pretty pleased overall.


That seems to be the fix for this particular ticking at the moment. Worked for me, worked for you. Hopefully works for others too.

I plan on changing my oil every 7.5k between main services. Just had the 135km service done. Also will give the gearbox a birthday every yr with a change of oil.

It is silky smooth at the moment both engine and box and I plan n keeping it that way ��