DIY *Interior Rattle Fix*

[Aaaaaaaaa]

Originally Posted by Ferg

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

Yea I've noticed it a few times recently. The door seal creaking usually drowns it out.

[MFNATIK]

Originally Posted by Ferg

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

Yeah, I have this one too. Sounds like it's coming from the right side for me. Like dash or glove box area.

[mrfox]

Originally Posted by 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 have the same issue. Planning to hunt it down this weekend. Driving me insane.

[Ferg]

Originally Posted by pheerlx

Yea I've noticed it a few times recently. The door seal creaking usually drowns it out.

I don't know whether to laugh or cry on that comment!

[SMV_M4]

I used to notice the rattle behind the center console trim in the winter and it would gradually go away as the plastic heated and expanded to normal conditions. Now I'd b deaf to any rattle because of a poor choice in new tires. The drone is astonishing.

[ac419]

Thanks for the great thread everyone. I'm going to attempt to rip apart my door panels this weekend in an attempt to felt tape up some potential rattle areas. Any one have any suggestions on where I should tape up or dynomat?

Anyone attempt to remove the seat belt pillars? I've noticed some rattles coming from there as well.

Thanks in advance!

Alex

[drroc]

Originally Posted by Ferg

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

I have a noise that seems to come from the center of the dash closer to the windshield. I did remove the HUD bezel and put felt tape on the metal tabs, but that did not eliminate the issue. If I put pressure with my hand on the dash, then the noise stops.

[Ferg]

Originally Posted by drroc

I have a noise that seems to come from the center of the dash closer to the windshield. I did remove the HUD bezel and put felt tape on the metal tabs, but that did not eliminate the issue. If I put pressure with my hand on the dash, then the noise stops.

Just so you know, BMW finally replaced the HUD which was found to be separating. Must be a common problem as the part has a different part number and is on nation wide back order.

[ac419]

A little update, as one previous member mentioned, the rivits/clips holding the door panels are loose. I placed some VW/Audi felt tape between the clip and the door clip holder and it tightened up the loose clips. I can say that this has resolved about 95% of the rattles I've been witnessing. I hope this helps others as well.

[MNhv]

I had the "roof creaking" caused by the door seals rubbing against the Shadowline trim. Taped over the trim with some 3M squeak reduction tape from Amazon and it did the trick. It's a bit of a pain to apply flawlessly but it saves you a trip to the dealership and having to deal w/ the BS that comes with going there. I didn't do a great job but it's barely noticeable unless you're actively looking for it.

My car is a MY18 ZCP - Nov. 2017 build date.

Link to the tape: 3M 06356 Squeak Reduction Tape https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00HSCME6G?ref=yo_pop_ma_swf

I bought two rolls-one for each side.

[drroc]

Originally Posted by Ferg

Just so you know, BMW finally replaced the HUD which was found to be separating. Must be a common problem as the part has a different part number and is on nation wide back order.

What was separating in the HUD?

I think I narrowed down my creak. If I put a finger on the front window air vent (just by the glass), then the noise stops. However, I have no idea if its possible to remove that vent to apply felt tape while the windshield is on the car.

[Ferg]

Originally Posted by drroc

What was separating in the HUD?

I think I narrowed down my creak. If I put a finger on the front window air vent (just by the glass), then the noise stops. However, I have no idea if its possible to remove that vent to apply felt tape while the windshield is on the car.

Still under warranty? Let them worry about it.

[qskid28]

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.

Thank goodness for this forum and for somehow managing to find this post. This rattle I've been trying to address since getting the car (2 months ago; 2300 miles) has been driving me insane. After having a relative drive for 30 minutes yesterday while I was looking for the rattle in the backseat, it was all the clips in this brake light assembly that was causing the rattle.

Unfortunately, when I was removing the cover/assembly I broke 1 of the 5 clips holding the whole thing up ("pbar" in his post indicated 2 clips but I found 5 holding the thing together). Of course, I broke the one clip that looks different from the other 4. It's the one in the middle towards the glass that I broke which is the one that holds a significant amount of the cover up. Now my cover/assembly droops slightly and I can't seem to find where to purchase this unique clip. Anybody have any sites where I can look for a replacement?

[pbar]

Originally Posted by qskid28

Thank goodness for this forum and for somehow managing to find this post. This rattle I've been trying to address since getting the car (2 months ago; 2300 miles) has been driving me insane. After having a relative drive for 30 minutes yesterday while I was looking for the rattle in the backseat, it was all the clips in this brake light assembly that was causing the rattle.

Unfortunately, when I was removing the cover/assembly I broke 1 of the 5 clips holding the whole thing up ("pbar" in his post indicated 2 clips but I found 5 holding the thing together). Of course, I broke the one clip that looks different from the other 4. It's the one in the middle towards the glass that I broke which is the one that holds a significant amount of the cover up. Now my cover/assembly droops slightly and I can't seem to find where to purchase this unique clip. Anybody have any sites where I can look for a replacement?

Not sure why you have more clips... my car looked just like the photos in these instructions for F82 M4: https://www.newtis.info/tisv2/a/en/f...hts/1VnXFjru2b Perhaps there's a difference for M3 or vert?

As for clips, if you can't find the part number on ETK or similar, then you can probably find something that matches here https://www.ecstuning.com/b-genuine-...ts/c-interior/ (BMW don't make all that many trim clips)

...or just drop in at your local dealership parts dept.

[qskid28]

Originally Posted by pbar

Not sure why you have more clips... my car looked just like the photos in these instructions for F82 M4: https://www.newtis.info/tisv2/a/en/f...hts/1VnXFjru2b Perhaps there's a difference for M3 or vert?

As for clips, if you can't find the part number on ETK or similar, then you can probably find something that matches here https://www.ecstuning.com/b-genuine-...ts/c-interior/ (BMW don't make all that many trim clips)

...or just drop in at your local dealership parts dept.

pbar! You're still tracking this thread - had no idea! My man, thank you so much narrowing this particular rattle. You brought some serious peace and quiet to the car - I can enjoy the sound of the car with barely any interference now.

In your figure, I have an extra clip right where the "2" is in that first figure. I know the figure is referencing 2 clips on the sides but i have one right dead smack in center on my F80 M3.

Good idea with heading to the parts department at a local BMW shop. I'm gonna have a try at that. Just went through 10-15 pages of the ECS link (thank you by the way) and can't find what matches there.

[jimmydick]

Originally Posted by qskid28

pbar! You're still tracking this thread - had no idea! My man, thank you so much narrowing this particular rattle. You brought some serious peace and quiet to the car - I can enjoy the sound of the car with barely any interference now.

In your figure, I have an extra clip right where the "2" is in that first figure. I know the figure is referencing 2 clips on the sides but i have one right dead smack in center on my F80 M3.

Good idea with heading to the parts department at a local BMW shop. I'm gonna have a try at that. Just went through 10-15 pages of the ECS link (thank you by the way) and can't find what matches there.

Spend some time on realoem.com, you will find the p/n.

[qskid28]

Originally Posted by jimmydick

Spend some time on realoem.com, you will find the p/n.

Spent about an hour on it last night before posting and couldn't find the part #. I found the part # for the 4 other clips, but not for the one I broke.

[marvinp]

If I complain to my dealer about rattling in the center console and air vents, what are they actually going to do about it? Is there a BMW bulletin for fixing this?

[The_One]

I have rattles from the control panels on the left, behind the instrument cluster and the center console.

So I put foam on the edge of each panel piece.

[The_One]

Originally Posted by parky1215

I noticed that my brand new M3 makes quite bit of noise inside the car.
Coming from e92 335is, this was quite unexpected as my previous car was very quiet inside.

Tools Needed
1mm Felt Tape <- Click link to purchase from Amazon
Gummi Pflege
Scissors


[SIZE="4"]1 - Rear Audio Speaker Area[/SIZE]
There was pretty bad plastic rattle noise coming from rear area.
After taking a look at the area, I noticed there are these plastic covers (total of 3 in M3) behind the rear seat where rear speakers are located.


Just tap the surrounding area with your finger while these covers are in closed position.
If you do hear some plastic rattle noise, then this simple fix will resolve your issue.

Just apply 1mm felt tape under the cover so that the plastic cover and bottom piece do not come in contact directly. Do the same thing to other two covers.



[SIZE="4"]2 - Front A/C Trim[/SIZE]
Roman@ESS posted great tips on how to fix some noises coming from front A/C area.
I followed his tips and added some twists to fix noise from AC trim.

1. Pull out A/C CF trim
This piece comes out easily without using any pry bar.
Just follow first 25 seconds from this video to take out the trim.
Make sure your car is off before pulling this out as you have to disconnect 2 connectors.

2. Pull out AC vent from CF trim
This piece is actually quite hard to take out.
Contact points that are holding AC vent is somewhat fragile and can break if you apply too much force.
If you are not confident in your skill, you can skip this and go to step 4.

3. Apply felt tape around AC vent area
Once you take AC vent off, it will look like picture* below (sans green tape).
*This picture is borrowed from Roman@ESS.


Apply felt tape around the area that is marked red. This is area where AC vent makes contact with CF trim area.


It is not necessary to show felt strips on the outside area like shown below. If you want, you can cut the tape so that it only covers inner area where AC vent piece meets the CF trim area.


4. Secure two connector housings
I also noticed that two places that connectors go in can move a lot and make some rattle noise.
I applied felt tape around these so that they cannot move.


5. Apply Gummi Pflege to AC vent contact points
Gummi Pflege works great to get rid of creaking noise coming from the trim.
<Updated on Feb 7, 2015>
You can also use synthetic grease from Super Lube or any similar product. I think this product will last longer than gummi.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000XBH9HI/



Apply Gummi Pflege to area highlighted in red below.






Wipe excess Gummi Pflege using microfiber.
Put the entire trim back after letting it dry for 10 minutes.
Test both door lock/unlock and emergency signal light buttons.

Tip: When you put the trim back, it may not want to snap in to place.
If you are having this problem, you may have cables stuck between ac vent and duck. Position both cables so that they do not get in the way.
I taped both cables with electrical tape so that it is easier to position them when putting the trim piece back.


[SIZE="4"]3 - Dome Light Unit[/SIZE]
There is piece of plastic covering dome light area.
Lightly pull down plastic cover using your fingers (red arrows indicate points where you need to pull down).


Remove entire dome light unit that is held by 2 retaining clips.
Working one side at a time, insert pry bar into the gap and push the clip to the direction of the red arrow.
While holding the pushed clip, use another pry bar to slowly pull down the unit.


There is white plastic plastic piece that goes across left/right side of the hole. It is attached to metal frame by 2 plastic screws.
I noticed that there were some gap in the middle section (between 2 plastic screws) causing it to rattle against metal frame. You can test it by lightly tapping that section upward.

Good fix would be to take those plastic screws off then apply some felt tapes between metal frame and plastic. However, I couldn't figure out how to take those screws off.

Instead, I just insert felt tape (marked in red in picture) to eliminate the noise. I had to stack 4x 1mm felt tape to fill the gap between these 2 parts.



Install everything back.


[SIZE="4"]4 - Door Seal[/SIZE]
I was also getting some noise from door/roof area.
After searching for this issue on Google, I found out that similar problem appeared on previous generations of BMWs.

When you open the door, you will find 2 door seals.


Apply Gummi Pflege on the door seal 1.
There is no need to apply Gummi on door seal 2.
Do the same things to passenger door seal(s).

Let it dry for approximately 10-15 minutes before closing the door.
Re-apply Gummi Pflege to same area whenever the noise comes back.


[SIZE="4"]5 - Rear Center Console Trim[/SIZE]
Pull rear center console trim using pry bar.
It comes out fairly easily.

There is cable connected to this trim.
You do not have to disconnect the cable.
Just pull the trim out slight and leave it there.


There are 3 plastic pieces that sticks out (one at top and two at bottom).
These pieces will hit and rattle against the plastic pieces on the other side.
Wrap felt tape to these plastic pieces that stick out.


Do the same thing to right side.
Install rear trim back by pushing it in.


Door panel rattle fix tip from Oakleyguy

Additional tips from dd1981

Enjoy significantly quieter interior

nice job done!!

I have rattles from behind the instrument cluster, left two control panels and center console.  
I put the sponge foam around the edge of each panel piece to dampen the vibration so they don't rattle anymore. 

However I recently found out that the door lock stick of my passenger door is rattling... And it's a moving parts so I cannot use anything to block it or glue. 

Any idea how am i supposed to fix that? 

Any idea will be appreciated!

[GoodtoGo]

I wrapped by door lock knob in clear Teflon tape which is the same that are used for door seal squeaks and that helped significantly with that rattle and allows the knob to move freely still.

[The_One]

Originally Posted by GoodtoGo

I wrapped by door lock knob in clear Teflon tape which is the same that are used for door seal squeaks and that helped significantly with that rattle and allows the knob to move freely still.

Good idea, I'll see what I can do about that