[meruyailir]

I've finally decided to take on the creaky rattle emanating from the dash wood trim (where the two central air vents and front passenger air vent are) myself, asking the dealer to take things off and driving it around myself. This is the e90. It's amazing how tight the wood trim and air vents pieces are snapped together and I just couldn't see how they can make noises. I'll be driving the car around for a few days without the trim on to see if the rattle is still there. I'll keep you guys updated.

[BMsk]

Man, I have this same annoying problem in my instrument cluster as well and my car is only weeks old. Has ANYONE ever had creaks or rattles in the dash board fixed by the dealer?

For the record its only my e90 w/ the problem but I have a e91 and e46 that doesn't have rattles like my new car....

[andrewh]

The creaks come from the driver-side B-pillar on my E90. Not too loud, but in a car that's relatively silent (and supposedly very solid) I find it very irritating.

[e90driver]

I used to be obsessed with rattles and creaks and I would take apart many things to get rid of them. Over the past year I have outgrown it, and you know, I listened today and didn't hear any. Wierd. I'm sure when my new e92 gets here I'll have a few to get rid of but I have posted before about the B-pillar rattle (if it is the same as mine). It's an easy fix and doesn't take long.

[BMWI6]

can someone guide me to getting rid of the b-pillar rattle please. is there a diy? thanks

[andrewh]

I found e90driver's fix here:
http://www.e90post.com/forums/showthread.php?t=124214
I will give it a try next weekend!

[meruyailir]

Update: I drove around with the trim off. There were a few one-off noises coming from inside the dash. But definitely not the one I'm looking for. This is gonna be tough...

[meruyailir]

Finally, we solved it. The creak came from the air cond. housing. It's all hard plastic there and the dealer padded the joints with some felt tape/foam tape (didn't see it, that's what they said they did). Now the car is quiet (very faint sound of something exists, but tolerable).

I'm a happy man with 2 quiet bimmers

[KL2DC]

Originally Posted by meruyailir

Finally, we solved it. The creak came from the air cond. housing. It's all hard plastic there and the dealer padded the joints with some felt tape/foam tape (didn't see it, that's what they said they did). Now the car is quiet (very faint sound of something exists, but tolerable).

I'm a happy man with 2 quiet bimmers

That sounds great

I too have been plagued with this central creaking sound which makes itself obvious on uneven surface streets. I'll be sure to point my SA in that direction in the next maintenance stop. Thanks for sharing

[noonystock]

Originally Posted by meruyailir

Finally, we solved it. The creak came from the air cond. housing. It's all hard plastic there and the dealer padded the joints with some felt tape/foam tape (didn't see it, that's what they said they did). Now the car is quiet (very faint sound of something exists, but tolerable).

I'm a happy man with 2 quiet bimmers

I like your novel approach of working in partnership with the dealer to identify the source of your creak. I'm going to try that approach. Thanks.

Considering that my E92 was thankfully dead silent upon delivery, I'm surprised by the annoying number of creaks that had developed in its first 500 miles. Now at 2000 miles, I've successfully addressed many of the creaks with Lexol, GummiPfledge, and lots of strategically placed felt tape thanks to helpful tips from this forum. I still have what seems to be the well-documented "rear shelf/rear air vent" creak when driving over sharp road flaws, and I haven't had the balls to dismantle that area of the car. Oh yes, and the passenger-side cup holder rattles constantly when in use, so a dealer visit is in my future. I've just been trying to put it off as long as possible.

I love the car, and I know these are minor annoyances, but these creak/rattle issues have definitely have tempered my full enjoyment of it.

[iatacs19]

Originally Posted by noonystock

I like your novel approach of working in partnership with the dealer to identify the source of your creak. I'm going to try that approach. Thanks.

Considering that my E92 was thankfully dead silent upon delivery, I'm surprised by the annoying number of creaks that had developed in its first 500 miles. Now at 2000 miles, I've successfully addressed many of the creaks with Lexol, GummiPfledge, and lots of strategically placed felt tape thanks to helpful tips from this forum. I still have what seems to be the well-documented "rear shelf/rear air vent" creak when driving over sharp road flaws, and I haven't had the balls to dismantle that area of the car. Oh yes, and the passenger-side cup holder rattles constantly when in use, so a dealer visit is in my future. I've just been trying to put it off as long as possible.

I love the car, and I know these are minor annoyances, but these creak/rattle issues have definitely have tempered my full enjoyment of it.

I took apart the rear shelf and did the DIY that was posted and it worked, but now I have some sort of plastic on plastic rattle / creak / squeak coming from the dash. I am trying to isolate it as we speak.

[smallseafishie]

i had a slight creak that appeared as if it was coming from the center of the dash. It turned out to be that the little plastic covers under the rear view mirror was not fully snapped in together.

[japac1]

My center console rattle was 99% fixed by shoving foam under the console where it sits on the wood trim in front of the ashtray. I could shove my hand into the space, so I filled it with foam. There is a SIB that discussed this and the use of felt tape. Dealer did this, but the tape is too thin, so I tried the foam and so far so good.

[undecided]

Originally Posted by meruyailir

Finally, we solved it. The creak came from the air cond. housing. It's all hard plastic there and the dealer padded the joints with some felt tape/foam tape (didn't see it, that's what they said they did). Now the car is quiet (very faint sound of something exists, but tolerable).

I'm a happy man with 2 quiet bimmers

I have something that occasionaly ticks from passenger side of the dash/windshield but I can't tell where its coming from. Sounds like raindrops hitting the windshield. On 2 occasions I got the same thing from the center of the dash only louder (sounded like small hail hitting the windshield). Only does it while moving over uneven pavement. I also have the creaks from the rear of the car. I completely disassembled the rear center console, padded it with felt and put it back but it still creaks. Although, If I put something heavy on it the creak goes away.

[iatacs19]

Originally Posted by meruyailir

Finally, we solved it. The creak came from the air cond. housing. It's all hard plastic there and the dealer padded the joints with some felt tape/foam tape (didn't see it, that's what they said they did). Now the car is quiet (very faint sound of something exists, but tolerable).

I'm a happy man with 2 quiet bimmers

Were the center vents padded? or the sides?

I know the vent tubes when removed have a thin strip of foam around the at the very end.

Any more info is appreciated.

Thx.

[Enjoiyourlife]

I had rattles that seemed like they were coming from the guage cluster... so annoying I kept hitting the area above the tach and speedo....

Turns out I tilted the wheel up a little and relocked it in place.. rattles gone...

[FastLane]

You sure its not the seatbelt retractor (b-pillar S&R noise)????

[500]

We had a creaking slight popping sound coming from the dash/instrument cluster area...it turned out to be the gauge cluster needed some felt tape applied to the bottom of it. A way to see if this stops your noise is to simply slip a credit card right under the gauge cluster housing and see if the noise goes away...it stopped completely on ours.

[Haywire]

I have a tiny rattle, almost sounds like the glass it vibrating a bit...it really comes to life when i go over a bump... it pisses me off, i would pay money to get rid of it. its right above and slightly behind my left ear, i wanna kick the shi@t out of it LoL.

anyone here have a fix for that?

[mack82097]

Originally Posted by japac1

My center console rattle was 99% fixed by shoving foam under the console where it sits on the wood trim in front of the ashtray. I could shove my hand into the space, so I filled it with foam. There is a SIB that discussed this and the use of felt tape. Dealer did this, but the tape is too thin, so I tried the foam and so far so good.

I think I had the same rattles as yours, and the foam worked for awhile. However, I noticed that if I pushed on the left side of the center console I would hear the same noise regardless of the foam.

So.....after pulling out all the center console components, I found the problem. There's a metal bracket at the bottom of the console (behind and under the area where the heated seats buttons are) that is supposed to hold the bottom of the center console in place. Where the bracket touches the console is metal on plastic and it was causing the intermittent rattle that was driving me crazy. I removed the bracket, wrapped it with electrical tape, reinstalled and rattle is completely gone.

Hope this helps someone else.

[MrTiger]

I have another one. Rattle that nobody mention here yet.... When my sunroof is open I hear rattle somewhere in the back.
What i did to fix it, you ask??? nothing I just play music loud.
Seriously I will be taking my car to dealer to fix it soon.

[undecided]

Originally Posted by MrTiger

I have another one. Rattle that nobody mention here yet.... When my sunroof is open I hear rattle somewhere in the back.
What i did to fix it, you ask??? nothing I just play music loud.
Seriously I will be taking my car to dealer to fix it soon.

Dealer reproduced and tried to fix it to no avail. Now they have to replace the whole sunroof cassette according to the diagnosis.

3 rattles left:
1) rare tick noise from right front
2) rare rattle from left b-pillar/door lock??
3) creak from rear seats