[billgti]

i've given up on trying to fix smaller rattles coming from the dash but this one is really bugging me. i get a cracking/popping noise that comes from the rear parcel shelf area while driving. it almost sounds as if something's gonna crack due to pressure.

it usually happens when i go over larger bumps and up driveways and is especially bad when i drive the car out at noon when it's hot (I assume it's due to the sudden temperature change since the car is cold when parked in the garage).

i took it in to the dealer a few weeks ago to no avail. i actually drove the service advisor around the block and sadly it only happened once when he was there. a few days later, lo and behold, they told me they could not duplicate the problem but it's still there, especially when i first drive off. does anyone know what i'm talking about and has anyone had this fixed successfully either by the dealer or themselves?

[BMW0]

I've heard a rattling sound, but only when I drive over potholes and uneven road or terrain. Maybe the sports package setup is too stiff for the E90 parts to be silent.

[rad21]

Originally Posted by billgti

i've given up on trying to fix smaller rattles coming from the dash but this one is really bugging me. i get a cracking/popping noise that comes from the rear parcel shelf area while driving. it almost sounds as if something's gonna crack due to pressure.

it usually happens when i go over larger bumps and up driveways and is especially bad when i drive the car out at noon when it's hot (I assume it's due to the sudden temperature change since the car is cold when parked in the garage).

i took it in to the dealer a few weeks ago to no avail. i actually drove the service advisor around the block and sadly it only happened once when he was there. a few days later, lo and behold, they told me they could not duplicate the problem but it's still there, especially when i first drive off. does anyone know what i'm talking about and has anyone had this fixed successfully either by the dealer or themselves?

I think I know what you are talking about. I hear the same sound occasionally and I think it is the power rear sunshade. Do you have the sunshade too? It seems that the popping and cracking noises along with other rattles are, as you said temperature related. Since there are so many different materials in the car(plastic, metal, rubber, leather, etc), each material has a different coefficient of thermal expansion, which mean they all expand and contract at a different rate, so the noises occur. I noticed that once the temperature in the car stabilizes(take car out of garage, drive around, park in the sun for a while)the noises pretty much go away since all the various materials expand and stabilize. Even though the popping noise still occurs, it is much less frequent and less noticable. Since I ordered the rear sunshade and it comes with the side window manual shades, I accept the fact that this extra plastic is gonna cause more ticking/cracking.

[MMVI]

I have heard it too.
It seems to happen a lot when the heated rear screen is used in the frost, though I imagine you guys have never heard of one of those.

I too believe it to be a material thermal coefficient thing.
Daft that their cold weather testing didnt show this up mind...

[billgti]

rad21, no i don't have the rear sunshade. i think in my case it comes from the rear parcel shelf since when i apply some pressure to the shelf, i get the same cracking noise that happens when i drove over bumps. it's certainly worst when there's a sudden change in temperature (e.g. driving car out of garage at noon) but just now i heard it a couple times at night after the car was parked on the street for a few hours in 50F temperatures..

[vivekk]

Originally Posted by MMVI

I have heard it too.
It seems to happen a lot when the heated rear screen is used in the frost, though I imagine you guys have never heard of one of those.

I too believe it to be a material thermal coefficient thing.
Daft that their cold weather testing didnt show this up mind...

The first time there was overnight frost on the rear screen, the sound of it melting was strange. It sounded like something was going to crack. At first I thought there was a whole load of white noise coming out of the rear speakers :mad:, but it continued after turning off the Logic7.
It stopped after about 10 minutes, once the rear screen was clear.

[Psycho3]

I got the same cracking/popping sound comming from the back as well. My car went in for the service, and I drove around with one of the mechanics and he sure heard it. Now my car is going in for service again to fix this problem again comming wednesday. I will post the result as soon as get the report from them. It seems like your problem is exactly same as mine, so please let me know if you get this problem fixed.

[tctic]

I think it's the climate control system which causes temperature changes and therefore, ticking sound. Yesterday, I completely shut off the climate control system and the ticking/rattling is gone. As soon as I turn it back on, the ticking came back, and on almost every bump that I went through.

[Hawkeye3]

Is the rattle you hear coming from your B piller where the seat belt exits? If so, there is a warranty fix that involves the replacement of a washer. My 330 has the same problem and I am waiting for backorder of part to be filled.

[Gazman70]

I have the same problem with popping sounds from the back dash. I also get the seat belt clinking and more cracking sounds from the dash... I look forward to hearing about fixes for these from other forum members. I'm waiting on a back-order on the seat belt repair... I just can't believe it takes so long.

[billgti]

Originally Posted by Hawkeye3

Is the rattle you hear coming from your B piller where the seat belt exits? If so, there is a warranty fix that involves the replacement of a washer. My 330 has the same problem and I am waiting for backorder of part to be filled.

i have the seatbelt rattle/clicking too and yes i'm waiting on the washer part as well, but this is a separate noise coming from the rear.

[Psycho3]

Got it fixed today!
Here is the report from BMW.
Now it's rattle / crack / pop noise free!

[tctic]

Psycho3, did they tell you what they did to the rear parcel shelf to make it 'rattleless'?

[Psycho3]

Not exactly because I could not speak to the mechanic.
However, service adviser told me that they removed rear shelf and adjusted and tighten some stuff~

[billgti]

Originally Posted by Psycho3

Not exactly because I could not speak to the mechanic.
However, service adviser told me that they removed rear shelf and adjusted and tighten some stuff~

thanks psycho3, i'm going to try get my dealer to look at it next time. the cracking sound has been driving me nuts lately altho i do feel a bit better knowing that i'm not the only one having this.

[mkinley]

I experienced this early on. The problem is the rear glass is too tight onto the back shelf and causes creaking sounds. Fix is to ask dealer to move shelf away from rear window and then put some padding/felt down to prevent the rubbing.

This worked for me anyway.

[billgti]

Originally Posted by mkinley

I experienced this early on. The problem is the rear glass is too tight onto the back shelf and causes creaking sounds. Fix is to ask dealer to move shelf away from rear window and then put some padding/felt down to prevent the rubbing.

This worked for me anyway.

thanks, that makes a lot of sense. will mention it to the service advisor next time.

[Reactor]

I have a 335xi and I am experiencing noise in the door panel speakers and front dash...It is more noticeable when placing a call using the bluetooth phone...At times it sound like a high pitched vibrating noise...I tried turning the surround sound off which didn't help...Now I have it in theatre mode which is somewhat better. Anyways, I didn't expect this for such an upgrade...Does anyone have any suggestions? Thanks in advance.

[RyBMW]

I got the same cracking/popping noise. It just started this past couple of weeks. It's probably the weather here getting warmer.

[molecule4162]

I had the same problem on my brand new 335i in the rear parcel. It did get worse in warmer temps.
I was able to pinpoint it to the plastic vent where the rear parcel meets the window. If you push down on the vent it should duplicate the cracking/popping noise.
Instead of taking it to the dealer, I fixed it myself. I ended up removing the rear seat, rear air bag covers and lastly the rear shelf panel. That plastic vent screws in to the parcel with 4 screws. I removed the vent and used spray adhesive and 2" x 2" pieces of felt and glued them to the underside of the vent. Reassembled everything and the noise is gone. It took me about 1.5 hours which is how long it would take to drive to your dealer and hope they can confirm the defect.

If anyone wants more info, let me know.

[new2u]

I have the exactly same issue, and dealer won't fix it under warranty
because I have a subwoofer in the trunk.

[achien]

Originally Posted by billgti

i've given up on trying to fix smaller rattles coming from the dash but this one is really bugging me. i get a cracking/popping noise that comes from the rear parcel shelf area while driving. it almost sounds as if something's gonna crack due to pressure.

...

My friend's '01 330xi has the same problem. He took it to the dealer several times but they were not able to help him. I think he finally gave up and decided to live with the "problem".

FYI, he is still keeping his '01 330xi, apparently, he decided the "problem" is not significant enough for him to sell his car.