DIY *Interior Rattle Fix*

[swifty]

OK, so I finally went to the dealer yesterday, for the crackling noises coming from the rear windows. They are going to replace all 4 seals around the windows.

However, today, after I closed the exhaust valves, there's noises coming from steering wheel column but only above 60km/hr, and sound is there regardless of whether I'm traveling straight or turning at speed. Sounds like a creaking noise and only became noticeable now.

I tried to touch different panels around the steering area, while driving to see if the noise would subside but it's not a rattle. Clearly a creaking noise and feels like it's coming from deep inside the steering column.

Any ideas or help would be highly appreciated.

[smithf80]

My car is at the dealer right now having every single one of the door panels have felt tape applied to, I wedged cut up old plastic cards in the door panels to stop them from rattling in the mean time. Looking forward to getting the car back tomorrow hopefully rattle free.

[PhilH930]

Originally Posted by sycd

How did you take the brake light out? How did you remove the cover? Pull down, slide out toward the back? I think I have a rattle that might be coming from there as well, but don't want to mess it up.

Thanks

As mentioned, followed instructions in post 77. It took minimal force with one plastic pry bar. It popped out and was very simple. One cable disconnected power. Took the unit out of the car and took apart all moving parts that required minimal force.

[PhilH930]

Originally Posted by swifty

OK, so I finally went to the dealer yesterday, for the crackling noises coming from the rear windows. They are going to replace all 4 seals around the windows.

However, today, after I closed the exhaust valves, there's noises coming from steering wheel column but only above 60km/hr, and sound is there regardless of whether I'm traveling straight or turning at speed. Sounds like a creaking noise and only became noticeable now.

I tried to touch different panels around the steering area, while driving to see if the noise would subside but it's not a rattle. Clearly a creaking noise and feels like it's coming from deep inside the steering column.

Any ideas or help would be highly appreciated.

Did this resolve the door seals noises? Mine was rattle free until the warmer weather and the rear doors are quite irritating now. Gummy Pledge every 2 weeks is not the ideal solution!

[domino_z]

Originally Posted by swifty

OK, so I finally went to the dealer yesterday, for the crackling noises coming from the rear windows. They are going to replace all 4 seals around the windows.

However, today, after I closed the exhaust valves, there's noises coming from steering wheel column but only above 60km/hr, and sound is there regardless of whether I'm traveling straight or turning at speed. Sounds like a creaking noise and only became noticeable now.

I tried to touch different panels around the steering area, while driving to see if the noise would subside but it's not a rattle. Clearly a creaking noise and feels like it's coming from deep inside the steering column.

Any ideas or help would be highly appreciated.

I had same issue, thought it was something in the column, turned out to be my top mounts - search for my thread I posted a vid

[FlyingLow78]

+1 to the OP for this supremely helpful post!

I had various rattles and creaks from my '15 F80, so I attacked those over the past week.

I tried Gummi Pfledge for the door seals, but still had a bit of creaking, so I tried some silicone lubricant grease from Honda called Shin Etsu. It's thicker and should last longer.

My most noticeable rattle came from the centre console area, and pressing on the thin trim around the AC control pancake would make it stop. Per the instructions in the original post, I pried off the trim below the AC controls, then removed the two lower AC control panel mounting screws. After pulling off the large dash trim AC controls, I was able to remove the remaining two upper screws.

The AC control panel has a single connector that does not need to be disconnected. The panel was rubbing plastic-on-plastic where the screws mounted, as well as near the center within the two oval mouldings (where two cross-shaped projections engage). I put felt tape on each of these and reinstalled the AC controls.

The main dash trim piece rattled like crazy at the far right side from each of the brass prongs. These are loosely mounted in the trim to allow a little tolerance during installation. I wrapped a bit of felt tape around the base of the prongs to tighten them in their mounts, then reinstalled the rest of the dash trim pieces.

I also installed felt tape in the three LATCH anchors behind the rear seat, because the covers fit very loosely and all rattled when I rapped on the rear shelf.

Checking the trunk area, each of the two seat back release levers seemed a bit loose, so they got some felt tape. The toolkit screwdriver was also bouncing around and reinstalling that quieted things down nicely.

[swifty]

Originally Posted by domino_z

I had same issue, thought it was something in the column, turned out to be my top mounts - search for my thread I posted a vid

I don't hear the noise now that it's a back to cooler temps here. Going in for the window seals to be redone by the BMW dealership so hopefully they'll be able diagnose the steering column noise.

Originally Posted by FlyingLow78

+1 to the OP for this supremely helpful post!

I had various rattles and creaks from my '15 F80, so I attacked those over the past week.

I tried Gummi Pfledge for the door seals, but still had a bit of creaking, so I tried some silicone lubricant grease from Honda called Shin Etsu. It's thicker and should last longer.

My most noticeable rattle came from the centre console area, and pressing on the thin trim around the AC control pancake would make it stop. Per the instructions in the original post, I pried off the trim below the AC controls, then removed the two lower AC control panel mounting screws. After pulling off the large dash trim AC controls, I was able to remove the remaining two upper screws.

The AC control panel has a single connector that does not need to be disconnected. The panel was rubbing plastic-on-plastic where the screws mounted, as well as near the center within the two oval mouldings (where two cross-shaped projections engage). I put felt tape on each of these and reinstalled the AC controls.

The main dash trim piece rattled like crazy at the far right side from each of the brass prongs. These are loosely mounted in the trim to allow a little tolerance during installation. I wrapped a bit of felt tape around the base of the prongs to tighten them in their mounts, then reinstalled the rest of the dash trim pieces.

I also installed felt tape in the three LATCH anchors behind the rear seat, because the covers fit very loosely and all rattled when I rapped on the rear shelf.

Checking the trunk area, each of the two seat back release levers seemed a bit loose, so they got some felt tape. The toolkit screwdriver was also bouncing around and reinstalling that quieted things down nicely.

Honestly this is crazy but congrats for tackling all of it at once.

I hope I don't start hearing more noises in the coming years because I've never had this type of issue with any of the previous 7 Bimmers.

[iatacs19]

Passenger door side rattle/ticking is driving me nuts... I think it's from the LED strip but haven't been able to pinpoint it just yet. I did have some success with the noises from the center console around the vents and media/AC controls.

I also went ahead and did the dome light area as a preventative measure. I will keep investigating. Thank you for this great thread!

[iatacs19]

The LED strip does pull out without much effort. After examining the strip I think I can get some 3M high temp clear double sided tape (gummy-like) and apply it to the top before inserting it back in.

One thing to note is that whatever you apply must be clear or it will block/diminish the flow of light from the source.

Here are some pics for reference:

[Uma1r]

Thank you so much for this. I got some Gummi Pflege, applied to the door seal 1 and especially to the trim attached to the car itself and presto all rattles eliminated!

Going to do the tape trick soon to make sure they don't come back!

[KRUZNM3]

Thank you so much for the DIY! The noise was driving me crazy! None of my other BMW's made as much noise as my F80. Very frustrating.

[sleeprequired]

how do you bookmark a thread. i have to keep this for future reference

[Ben Overlake]

Rattles don’t bother me so long has there’s no mechanical issue going on.

Don’t like other people touching my car.

Nevertheless what an awesome thread. Thanks.

[FirstF80InSpace]

I Gummi Pfledged my door seals. I was noise free for about 3 days before it came back.

[sycd]

Originally Posted by pbar

No, sorry - all I have is a printout of the repair instructions from BMW TIS.

The cover for the rear stoplight is held to the roof by two clips - #1 in the middle image below. You remove it by pulling down on the edge nearest the rear window, as shown by the arrow in the first image.

Once the stoplight cover is removed you can see the headliner clips an inch or two either side of the stoplight. The clips which were squeaking/rattling are labeled #4 in this picture:
http://www.realoem.com/bmw/showparts...67&hg=51&fg=40
i.e. the two central ones which hold the headliner to the roof.

I was lazy and just sprayed a bit of WD40 on the clip and pushed them in tighter.

Finally got around to do this. The cover was easy to pull down, thanks for the tips.

I found that the small electronic black box which attaches to the light was rattling against the roof, so I added a bit of tape between them and that helped.

I'm wondering if I still have rattling coming from the brake light itself, it seems very loose, some felt tape might help further.

There are still some other buzzing throughout the car, but every bit helps.

[drroc]

Has anybody had issues with non-LED door rattles? I am not talking about the door seal issues. The dealer installed teflon tape along the seals to eliminate that annoying noise. The issue I am facing is that there is some noise around shoulder height that it occurring behind me. It sounds like something is loose and making noises when going over rough roads.

[drroc]

Originally Posted by drroc

Has anybody had issues with non-LED door rattles? I am not talking about the door seal issues. The dealer installed teflon tape along the seals to eliminate that annoying noise. The issue I am facing is that there is some noise around shoulder height that it occurring behind me. It sounds like something is loose and making noises when going over rough roads.

So the noise turned out to be front door seals again. Even though the dealer has installed teflon tape on the top, the seals still rubbed on the bottom and made it seem like the rear doors were making a noise. Some gumi Pflege fixed it.

[Aaaaaaaaa]

I tired Teflon tape and didn't work. Strangely my door creaking issues go away if I open my windows.

[Aaaaaaaaa]

I don't have Gummi so I tried something else. Wolfgang Liquid Seal. It's a paint sealant (I think it's just rebranded Optimum Opti-Seal be to honest) but it's super slippery and leaves behind a very slick finish. I rubbed some on the door seals and actually underneath the window seal on the inside of the door as well. I noticed that if I wiggle that piece I can reproduce the squeaking noise. Results: this morning's commute was super quiet! We'll see if it holds up but so far so good.

[aboulfad]

Originally Posted by iatacs19

The LED strip does pull out without much effort. After examining the strip I think I can get some 3M high temp clear double sided tape (gummy-like) and apply it to the top before inserting it back in.

One thing to note is that whatever you apply must be clear or it will block/diminish the flow of light from the source. ...

Of all the noises and creaks, this one after 2 years still bugs me, how did you remove the strip? Thanks for the pics.

[iatacs19]

Originally Posted by aboulfad

Of all the noises and creaks, this one after 2 years still bugs me, how did you remove the strip? Thanks for the pics.

The light-bar is held in loosely inside a U-shaped chamber.
Take something non-marring and wedge it in between the light-bar and the door. Then push up and turn, the light-bar will come out a bit, then lightly start to pull it out. It's hard to explain, but it should be pretty clear once you examine it and play with it a little bit. Always take your time and use ample amounts of tape around the area you are working on.

Personally, for me even after applying clear rubber silicone sealant, it did not reduce the rattle. I believe it must be something else on the other side of the door panel making the noise...

[Ferg]

Anyone hear a rattle coming from inside the dash (below the HUD or behind the instrument panel)?