Squeaks, creaks and rattles - The Total Guide

[ro881e]

Hi All,

I wish i had read this thread before buying my 120D is all i can say! Sounds like they are rattle lemons these 1-series. My old E46 320 never had so much as a mouse fart in 13 years.

Onto business - i had the classic A-pillar to dash squeak, easy to fix with some door jam seal foam tape. I have a horrendous rattle coming from the passenger window/door, sounds almost like stones in the door or glass-on-glass rubbing. It goes away if i open the window down fully and gets worse when its back up. I see somewhere that someone has had issues with the window seal, but i didnt quite understand the issue or the solution. I hope its not the regulator for the electric window, more time to dismantle.

I have rebuilt door regulators in the past so its no biggie, but i just wanted to see if anyone had the same issue and if its something simpler before i whip out the screwdrivers?

Thanks!
Robbie.

EDIT

So this was the guide i found: http://babybmw.net/viewtopic.php?f=29&t=26078

But i was dubious about the effect on the rubber; so i used the BMW leather care from my old E46. Worked instantly!! What a difference. Problem was, it came back after a day

Read elsewhere that this stuff is the holy grail of rubber care, so i got some on order to try and remove those god damn squeaks once and for all:

[Mark34bn]

My Satnav screen rattles and buzzes first thing in the morning, drives me mad!
Has anyone had this problem, and did you find a fix??

[Swirley1984]

Tried to resolve the passenger pillar squeak today, in the process both of the pastic clips/tensioners have fallend down the bloody side down a little gap, provibg quite hard to get out, do I really need them to hold the pillar trim back in place?


E82 123d

[ro881e]

Tried to resolve the passenger pillar squeak today, in the process both of the pastic clips/tensioners have fallend down the bloody side down a little gap, provibg quite hard to get out, do I really need them to hold the pillar trim back in place?


E82 123d

Answer: YES! The A-Pillars are wobbly as hell and wont stay in place if these are not connected.

One of mine fell off in the same way (you need to slide the a-pillar covers upwards, not outwards) and the plastic clip fell inside the dash. This resulted in an even more annoying rattle! If you take the plastic covers off the side of the dash (where the door meets the dash just to the side of the door air vents), you can fish them out easily enough.

[118ddk]

Tried to resolve the passenger pillar squeak today, in the process both of the pastic clips/tensioners have fallend down the bloody side down a little gap, provibg quite hard to get out, do I really need them to hold the pillar trim back in place?


E82 123d

Answer: YES! The A-Pillars are wobbly as hell and wont stay in place if these are not connected.

One of mine fell off in the same way (you need to slide the a-pillar covers upwards, not outwards) and the plastic clip fell inside the dash. This resulted in an even more annoying rattle! If you take the plastic covers off the side of the dash (where the door meets the dash just to the side of the door air vents), you can fish them out easily enough.

No, you just need to pull the a-pillar cover outwards. It's held with clips (they dont break)... the sliding is a biatch when you re-Mount.

[Swirley1984]

Thanks for the replies guys, to be honest its been fine without the clips lol, no squeaks since I used the velcro also! I may try fish the two clips out then, I plan on doing the drivers side so will try to be more careful! Does anyone tend to get noise from the two front pillars when they are demisting the windscreen, especially when just taking off/accelarating?


E82 123d

[Rojo Habe]

I had the infamous creaking/rattly noise from the driver's door from close to my right ear (RHD car). Last week while polishing the car I pushed gently on the back edge of the top of the closed front door from the outside and heard some small creaking noises.

Don't know why I never thought to try this but you're a genius anyway

I was a bit wary of using WD40 (oil on rubber is not a good idea, although I'm fairly sure these seals aren't rubber) so I used a bab of Gummi Pflege on just this corner and it's now totally silent. Until it needs reapplying of course. At least I don't have to keep applying it to the fill length of the seal now.

If only I could sort out why my gearstick has started buzzing in second...

[Rojo Habe]

So the buzzin' gearstick turned out to be the gaiter; as expected they gave me some guff about repositioning it and sent me on my way. Needless to say I could still hear it (albeit much quieter) on the drive home.

Anybody come across this before? I can silence it by sticking my finger between the folds in the leather behind the gearstick, and if I rearange said folds it goes away for a few seconds until they settle back to their original position. Damned thing sounds like a geiger counter once the engine and gearbox get hot.

Is this something that will improve with age, or get worse? The car's a year old with a couple of years' worth of mileage (27k) so I have a horrible feeling it's the latter.

[Míke]

I had the buzzing gear gaiter. Some leather cleaner and conditioner silenced it.

My guess is that some gaiters are tighter than others and when the leather dries out it gets stiffer and vibrates against itself. The conditioner will loosen it and keep it quiet. You may have to reapply the conditioner every now and then though to keep if quiet.

I had some autoglym leather conditioner laying around do used that. I also head good things about the Gliptone products.

[Rojo Habe]

Thanks. I had that same thought today and have some leather cleaner that the dealer gave me with the car (completely forgot I had it). I've given it a good old buffing with that and will see how it goes on the long drive to work tonight....

All else fails I might treat mysrlf to an upgrade and get the M Performance gearknob with alcantara gaiter. Trouble with that is, knowing me I'd want to upgrade the rest of the interior to match!

[DonalT]

I'm new round here dudes. And recently bought an 06 120d M Sport. Since getting her home there has been an annoying vibration from the middle of the dash, it only happens in say like 1500 rpm. Melting the life out of me tbh folks has anyone else encountered this problem?

[BradBmw118D sport]

Have some steering squeeky sounds when i'm parking and rotating heavily the steer.
i recorded it: (ignore the background sounds), start from 0.34 seconds

http://youtu.be/lbmKH1GKgO4" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

I've got a 2011 116D and a 2014 118D both make this sound when turning the wheel, the 116D is worse. It sounds like I'm strangling a swan. Took it into bmw who took the steering wheel off and lubricated but this made little difference.

I'm also getting a noise like a cam belt on a 20 yr old escort van when I turn after long journeys or when reversing and turning on un-even ground.

Anyone had similar issues? And more importantly a cure!!!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Octavius]

I'm new round here dudes. And recently bought an 06 120d M Sport. Since getting her home there has been an annoying vibration from the middle of the dash, it only happens in say like 1500 rpm. Melting the life out of me tbh folks has anyone else encountered this problem?

Check that the top engine cover is fitted into the rear fixings correctly. I will put money on thats what the problem is.

[David 8]

Ok so whats the rattle from the back shelf area on the E81.

Doesn't do it all the time.

I have skimmed the thread but can't see anything, I'll take a proper look later.

[adam-w]

I have a strange rattle as of last night, sounded like a spring sort of noise (if that makes any sense) coming from the rear view mirror area, I can reproduce it by tapping the black mirror surround. Any ideas??