[Mooeeey]

Mine's still ok, 3 months later and still no rattle. Saying that it does make some strange noises over uneven roads and corning, coming from the boot area again, but it's pretty minor and I've put it down to plastic trim rather than metal on metal.

I do now however have a super annoying plastic rattle coming from the steering column and something coming from the passenger side door area. I also have the dreaded exhaust rattle on start up. I'll be changing the car as soon as possible, problem after problem and I've just had enough. Only 14 months through my 4 year PCP, so I guess I'll have to wait a while.

What I found was that two of the layers were spot welded but not well enough to prevent them from moving under torsion. Basically I used my panel beating skills (lol) to mildly deform part of the box section that was causing the ticking noise.

Does sound identical to mine and the cavity wax has certainly 'fixed' the issue. I hope it won't come back, but so far so good. I agree though, it's probably not ideal.

I noticed there was another person on here who had a similar problem and when the dealer investigated they confirmed it couldn't be fixed and the car was rejected. Clearly not an isolated incident.

 

[SOL111]

Glad to hear all's well with yours and hope it stays that way. I was seriously falling out with mine and it's not nice thinking that you want to ditch the car for something else.

Don't get me wrong. I wasn't knocking the fix from your dealer but having literally pulled the entire back end of my car apart, I don't want to have to again lol.

Regarding the commonality of faults I've no doubt there are more cars out there with this kind of issue. When I took my inspection camera up there I could see visible gaps between the welded skins and could see how they could rattle against each other or 'tick' if any of the spot welds were dodgy. Not being in the motor trade I don't know if these gaps are supposed to be like that but the one's I could reach, I could slide a 0.75mm thick steel rule between them.

Anyway, fingers crossed and thanks again to all for the info along the way

 

[Mad_Mac]

Hi folks,

Resurrecting one of the many squeak/creak threads, this seems to be most similar to my issue.

After months of annoying seal creaks on my 135i (eventually fixed under warranty by replacing the door seals and window guides) I've more recently noticed a creaking noise right by my right ear, seemed to be coming from the B pillar/roof lining area. It sounds almost like a packet of crisps, and is worst on acceleration and braking at 10-30 mph as the body lurches for want of a better word.

I whipped off the B pillar and think I've found the source, seems to be the curtain airbag rustling against the roof lining. There's a band around the airbag presumably holding it wound up and out of the way which rustles a lot.

I wondered if anyone had anything similar or any suggestions on how to fix it!? I'm thinking of trying to line the areas that rub with tape to stop it rustling. I'm wary of doing too much in case I ever need to airbags to deploy! I'm also weary about mucking about with it too much and it exploding and taking my head off I'll remove the negative terminal off the battery before messing about with it much more to avoid this one!

Would appreciate any suggestions.

Unfortunately I have this creak/clicking from B pillar right next to my ear. You can only hear it when you drive slow in town but it is annoying! I'm going to BMW with my noisy steering rack next week and will tell them to fix this noise as well.

 

[olda47]

Glad to hear all's well with yours and hope it stays that way. I was seriously falling out with mine and it's not nice thinking that you want to ditch the car for something else.

Don't get me wrong. I wasn't knocking the fix from your dealer but having literally pulled the entire back end of my car apart, I don't want to have to again lol.

Regarding the commonality of faults I've no doubt there are more cars out there with this kind of issue. When I took my inspection camera up there I could see visible gaps between the welded skins and could see how they could rattle against each other or 'tick' if any of the spot welds were dodgy. Not being in the motor trade I don't know if these gaps are supposed to be like that but the one's I could reach, I could slide a 0.75mm thick steel rule between them.

Anyway, fingers crossed and thanks again to all for the info along the way

On the subject of spot welds. Number and position of spot welds is given by the weld schedule. The next thing is the weld integrity. This used to be physically checked by the hammer and chisel check. Don´t know, how´s this check done nowdays. The weld integrity is heavily dependant on the spot gun maintenance and frequency of the quality checks on line and off line. Only hope that BMW is not trying to save money on these aktivities. It certainly would bite them back, if it´s not biting them already.

 

[RobM]

I'm wondering if this is the same as on my March 2017 built M140i. I've also already posted this in another thread, but as this sounds quite similar I figured to ask here as well.
Last week I bought a M140i and during this test ride I noticed that at low speeds on roads that weren't exactly flat, but far from really bad, a metal clunk/click would be heard occasionaly. It appeared to be heard when the bodywork flexed. It almost sounded a little as if it was the tailgate moving? I don't have an audio recording of it yet, but I wonder if it is the same as in this thread.
Makes me feel nervous thinking I may have bought a car with bad welds.

 

[Mooeeey]

I'm wondering if this is the same as on my March 2017 built M140i. I've also already posted this in another thread, but as this sounds quite similar I figured to ask here as well.
Last week I bought a M140i and during this test ride I noticed that at low speeds on roads that weren't exactly flat, but far from really bad, a metal clunk/click would be heard occasionaly. It appeared to be heard when the bodywork flexed. It almost sounded a little as if it was the tailgate moving? I don't have an audio recording of it yet, but I wonder if it is the same as in this thread.
Makes me feel nervous thinking I may have bought a car with bad welds.

Could be it's something just as simple as adjusting the 'D' ring where the tailgate latch attaches. That's the first issue I had with mine and adjusting the D ring so it holds the tailgate a little tighter fixed the issue. It's a little fiddley and I found you didn't need to move it much at all. I marked it's current position with some tape, so if I moved it too much in one direction I could easily start again.

 

[RobM]

I'm wondering if this is the same as on my March 2017 built M140i. I've also already posted this in another thread, but as this sounds quite similar I figured to ask here as well.
Last week I bought a M140i and during this test ride I noticed that at low speeds on roads that weren't exactly flat, but far from really bad, a metal clunk/click would be heard occasionaly. It appeared to be heard when the bodywork flexed. It almost sounded a little as if it was the tailgate moving? I don't have an audio recording of it yet, but I wonder if it is the same as in this thread.
Makes me feel nervous thinking I may have bought a car with bad welds.

Could be it's something just as simple as adjusting the 'D' ring where the tailgate latch attaches. That's the first issue I had with mine and adjusting the D ring so it holds the tailgate a little tighter fixed the issue. It's a little fiddley and I found you didn't need to move it much at all. I marked it's current position with some tape, so if I moved it too much in one direction I could easily start again.

Could you maybe describe the sound it made? If I'm not mistaken it sounds a little as this:

https://youtu.be/NVNDBvEvhqM

However, big difference being that it is not a rattle like; its frequency is much lower and it usually only is just one "click".

 

[stringstrong]

I'm wondering if this is the same as on my March 2017 built M140i. I've also already posted this in another thread, but as this sounds quite similar I figured to ask here as well.
Last week I bought a M140i and during this test ride I noticed that at low speeds on roads that weren't exactly flat, but far from really bad, a metal clunk/click would be heard occasionaly. It appeared to be heard when the bodywork flexed. It almost sounded a little as if it was the tailgate moving? I don't have an audio recording of it yet, but I wonder if it is the same as in this thread.
Makes me feel nervous thinking I may have bought a car with bad welds.

Could be it's something just as simple as adjusting the 'D' ring where the tailgate latch attaches. That's the first issue I had with mine and adjusting the D ring so it holds the tailgate a little tighter fixed the issue. It's a little fiddley and I found you didn't need to move it much at all. I marked it's current position with some tape, so if I moved it too much in one direction I could easily start again.

How do you adjust the d ring? Only heard of the tape and grease but would like to fully rule out as I also have am annoying rattle which appears to be from the rear of the car !

 

[Mooeeey]

I'm wondering if this is the same as on my March 2017 built M140i. I've also already posted this in another thread, but as this sounds quite similar I figured to ask here as well.
Last week I bought a M140i and during this test ride I noticed that at low speeds on roads that weren't exactly flat, but far from really bad, a metal clunk/click would be heard occasionaly. It appeared to be heard when the bodywork flexed. It almost sounded a little as if it was the tailgate moving? I don't have an audio recording of it yet, but I wonder if it is the same as in this thread.
Makes me feel nervous thinking I may have bought a car with bad welds.

Could be it's something just as simple as adjusting the 'D' ring where the tailgate latch attaches. That's the first issue I had with mine and adjusting the D ring so it holds the tailgate a little tighter fixed the issue. It's a little fiddley and I found you didn't need to move it much at all. I marked it's current position with some tape, so if I moved it too much in one direction I could easily start again.

Could you maybe describe the sound it made? If I'm not mistaken it sounds a little as this:

https://youtu.be/NVNDBvEvhqM

However, big difference being that it is not a rattle like; its frequency is much lower and it usually only is just one "click".

Yes this is what it sounded like on mine, completely different from the rattle I had in the roof area.

 

[Mooeeey]

I'm wondering if this is the same as on my March 2017 built M140i. I've also already posted this in another thread, but as this sounds quite similar I figured to ask here as well.
Last week I bought a M140i and during this test ride I noticed that at low speeds on roads that weren't exactly flat, but far from really bad, a metal clunk/click would be heard occasionaly. It appeared to be heard when the bodywork flexed. It almost sounded a little as if it was the tailgate moving? I don't have an audio recording of it yet, but I wonder if it is the same as in this thread.
Makes me feel nervous thinking I may have bought a car with bad welds.

Could be it's something just as simple as adjusting the 'D' ring where the tailgate latch attaches. That's the first issue I had with mine and adjusting the D ring so it holds the tailgate a little tighter fixed the issue. It's a little fiddley and I found you didn't need to move it much at all. I marked it's current position with some tape, so if I moved it too much in one direction I could easily start again.

How do you adjust the d ring? Only heard of the tape and grease but would like to fully rule out as I also have am annoying rattle which appears to be from the rear of the car !

I used the grease as well to stop any minor noises in the latch mechanism itself. The tape fix does work, but I was told by a technician it wasn't ideal and it was better to adjust the D shaped plastic/metal ring attached to the boot. Mine's plastic, but in older models it's metal, which maybe where the tape will help reduce minor noises from the latch.

What I did was close the tailgate, then gently see how much play there by pressing down on the boot lid. On mine there was a decent amount of travel.

Really before you start messing around with the D ring position it might be worth looking at adjusting the two rubber 'bump stops' on either side. Unscrewing them a little should force the latch to hold the tailgate a little tighter on the D ring. I'd measure/mark where they are at the moment, so you can return them to their original position if needed. If you move them too much it will look a bit strange with panels and the lights not lining up, plus the tailgate won't close properly, so just do a couple of turns at a time, shut the tailgate and re-test.

I'll take some pictures of the D ring adjustment, but essentially you remove the bit of trim covering the load-lip and loosen the two bolts either side of the D ring so it can be moved. I only had to move mine by 5mm further inwards. I moved it a couple mm at a time, taking care not to move it horizontally, then tightened it up and closed the boot to test for excessive movement. Moving it too much in either direction will just result in too much movement when the tailgate is closed.

You'll find it will move a little. I'm not sure but if it's too tight it may cause something else to rattle? Not sure what anyone else's thoughts are on this?

 

[stringstrong]

Could be it's something just as simple as adjusting the 'D' ring where the tailgate latch attaches. That's the first issue I had with mine and adjusting the D ring so it holds the tailgate a little tighter fixed the issue. It's a little fiddley and I found you didn't need to move it much at all. I marked it's current position with some tape, so if I moved it too much in one direction I could easily start again.

How do you adjust the d ring? Only heard of the tape and grease but would like to fully rule out as I also have am annoying rattle which appears to be from the rear of the car !

I used the grease as well to stop any minor noises in the latch mechanism itself. The tape fix does work, but I was told by a technician it wasn't ideal and it was better to adjust the D shaped plastic/metal ring attached to the boot. Mine's plastic, but in older models it's metal, which maybe where the tape will help reduce minor noises from the latch.

What I did was close the tailgate, then gently see how much play there by pressing down on the boot lid. On mine there was a decent amount of travel.

Really before you start messing around with the D ring position it might be worth looking at adjusting the two rubber 'bump stops' on either side. Unscrewing them a little should force the latch to hold the tailgate a little tighter on the D ring. I'd measure/mark where they are at the moment, so you can return them to their original position if needed. If you move them too much it will look a bit strange with panels and the lights not lining up, plus the tailgate won't close properly, so just do a couple of turns at a time, shut the tailgate and re-test.

I'll take some pictures of the D ring adjustment, but essentially you remove the bit of trim covering the load-lip and loosen the two bolts either side of the D ring so it can be moved. I only had to move mine by 5mm further inwards. I moved it a couple mm at a time, taking care not to move it horizontally, then tightened it up and closed the boot to test for excessive movement. Moving it too much in either direction will just result in too much movement when the tailgate is closed.

You'll find it will move a little. I'm not sure but if it's too tight it may cause something else to rattle? Not sure what anyone else's thoughts are on this?

Brilliant, thanks for your help will give this a go just hoping it's not any spot welds now

 

[RobM]

Managed to massively improve it without messing with the airbag thankfully.

Threw everything at it I'd read on here - Gummi Pfledged ever seal I could find, window frame, silicone to every door catch and then took off the B pillar trim and put cavity wax just about everywhere, then added anti rattle tape to every joint when I refitted the trim. I think it's done the trick and I'm back to loving the car!

How do you remove the B pillar trim? And are the gaps visible from there or do you need to remove some more parts?

 

[TN89A]

I think if you scroll though this thread somebody has posted the instructions, can't remember where I found them now but I do have this picture I took of the print out.

Fairly straight forward, I got some replacement clips off eBay just in case any snapped but was all fine in the end.

Once it's off peel back the headliner a bit and you'll see some welds. Get a light in the cut outs in the pillar and you'll see some more. Then go to town with your can of cavity wax. Let it dry and then squirt another load in for good measure. Careful not to get any on anything else it's horrible stuff to clean!

My rattle is still gone so it definitely worked for me, door seals still squeak about two weeks after washing, I find the best way to manage that is by making sure the last thing I do when I wash the car is thoroughly clean all seals with something like Autofinesse Citrus Power.

I think BMW are right - they told me it's caused by anything whatsoever silicon based going anywhere near the seals and that they should be totally clean. Seems ok when it's cleaned and then comes back a couple weeks later, maybe when rain has washed some of the detailing products into the seals? Or maybe not! But clean seals are quiet, I know that much!

 

[him]

Bringing something else to this thread, My car seems to be ratting from the rear passenger window, sound like it's coming from behind the C-Pillar, so will be getting the car of to BMW. in the meantime I found this little Gem online Have a browse around seems to be videos and repairs for F20 etc:

https://www.newtis.info/tisv2/a/en/...ned/03-body/01-noise/noise-from-rear-area/repair-instructions-f20f21/1VnZCCgD19