[poiney]

After I just had my car serviced for Navi problems I've noticed a rear rattle (can't see why there would be a correlation, BTW).

It's sporadic, seems to happen more under acceleration and or turns, speed bumps, but never makes a peep under deceleration, no matter how rapid.

I believe rattle is coming from the rear plastic cover that resides behind the rear seat and around the base of the rear window. I fear that since rattle is sporadic it is not worth having it serviced, and I might get a new rattle in the process. Presumably, the plastic cover can move against the window or rear seat, causing the rattle that is actually more of a clicking sound. Anyway....

For any other E92 owners with similar symptoms, has anyone successfully fixed this problem? The plastic cover has a metal cover underneath which prevents easy access. Based on similar discussions It seemed like putting a thin adhesive layer or felt between rubbing parts might work, but I can't think of a good way to do this w/o trying to remove the cover, which I would like not to do since it might lead to more than I bargained for... Suggestions?

[De90man]

My e90 335s rear shelf (between the seat and window) creaks on turns and acceleration too. It will get worse.

I believe it doesn't creak while stopping because all the weight shifts the front of the car. Accelerating sends weight and stress to the rear. Hence the creak.

Went by the dealer and they are going to tighten it up when I go in for my servicing in a few thousand miles.

If that doesn't do the trick, I'll go nuts for sure.

Note: I love love this car, but my seat-of-the-pants gauge tells me the e9Xs structural integrity is not as high as it could be. Another thread for that rant.

[poiney]

I hope they are willing to do it w/o having to confirm the problem because otherwise it might take a while. Please report back with whether a) it works and b) how they did it and/or how much effort it is.

[E90Fleet]

Have someone drive with you

make them sit in the back and try and hear where the rattle is comming from.

then have them press on the area and see if it stops the rattle

if it does, then you know where its comming from, and ideas how to fix it can then be gotten.

[tctic]

I believe rattling/popping sound from the rear shelf is fairly common. There's been quite a few posts here about this complaint and I myself have it in my E90 since first week.

I took it to the dealer and they fixed it for 2 days. Then it came back. However, it was much improved even when it came back. So I'll probably have them fix it again when I visit them.

[jinkazama0619]

Its coming from the rear shelf i agree tctic its so damn annoying, i had a friend sit back there to test where its coming from and for sure the rear shelf rubs against the car. i used a Qtip and gave it some lub and bye bye crack crack crackling

[poiney]

does anyone know how BMW attempts to fix this problem? Seems like even there method is fallable, so whatever I try I would like to have some staying power.

[bufasion]

My E90 328 has the same rattle, usually when the car is "twisted". It could come from either side of the car. It's from the rear cabin exhaust grill (between the parcel shelf and the glass). You can push the grill and it creaks. Murphy's law dictates that it will not happen if I take it to the dealer so I fixed it myself with duct tape. If you take it out you will easily see where tape should be applied to prevent it from rubbing the metal.

Strangely, all of the cabin is made of very quiet material but the grill is made of very loud plastic.

[poiney]

Thanks Bufasion!

Can you tell me how you got the rear grill off. Also, what is the red arrow pointing to?

[De90man]

Thanks for that Bufasion...

Looks like you stripped the whole back of your car man. You took out the seat and everything. That might be a little out of my skill set, but I will def take that pic to the dealer and tell them to fix that vent thingamabob!!

Cheerio.

[montreal_bimmer]

it could be the rear seats....

a common problem on the E90... i had the problem, sprayed a little jig-a-loo and it went away...

[douglas751]

http://www.e90post.com/forums/showthread.php?t=62801

[bufasion]

Originally Posted by poiney

Thanks Bufasion!

Can you tell me how you got the rear grill off. Also, what is the red arrow pointing to?

The red arrow points to the offending grill. I knew the rattle came from the grill but I did a step-by-step elimination process to rule out other possibilities, which is the same sequence to remove the grill:

1) Rear seat cushion (lift the front lip, then pull forward).
2) Rear seat back (remove hex bolts, unlatch the seat back from inside the trunk).
3) C-pillar trim panels (pop out the "AIRBAG" trim piece, remove hex bolt inside, then slide the panel toward the roof).
4) Rear shelf (remove expanding rivets, disconnect speaker wires, then slide forward).
5) Seat belt retractors (not necessary for grill access, just want to make sure it's not the source of the rattle).
6) BMW Assist antenna (the beige box on the right-hand side of the pic).
7) Sound insulation pad (the molded foam pad in the pic).
8) The offending grill (remove hex screws, then pull grill forward).

I'm 8000 miles away from my car at this moment, so the above is from my memory and there could be some things missing. I was impressed by the design and build quality (except the material choice of the grill, obviously). Everything pops right into place when reassembled and I did not see any single-use-only fasteners.

[bufasion]

Originally Posted by De90man

Thanks for that Bufasion...

Looks like you stripped the whole back of your car man. You took out the seat and everything. That might be a little out of my skill set, but I will def take that pic to the dealer and tell them to fix that vent thingamabob!!

Cheerio.

You're welcome. Please post back how the dealer fix it.

[achien]

I heard from my friend's E46 it is a common problem in the 3-series. This is the first time I am hearing it in a E90.

[poiney]

Originally Posted by bufasion

The red arrow points to the offending grill. I knew the rattle came from the grill but I did a step-by-step elimination process to rule out other possibilities, which is the same sequence to remove the grill:

1) Rear seat cushion (lift the front lip, then pull forward).
2) Rear seat back (remove hex bolts, unlatch the seat back from inside the trunk).
3) C-pillar trim panels (pop out the "AIRBAG" trim piece, remove hex bolt inside, then slide the panel toward the roof).
4) Rear shelf (remove expanding rivets, disconnect speaker wires, then slide forward).
5) Seat belt retractors (not necessary for grill access, just want to make sure it's not the source of the rattle).
6) BMW Assist antenna (the beige box on the right-hand side of the pic).
7) Sound insulation pad (the molded foam pad in the pic).
8) The offending grill (remove hex screws, then pull grill forward).

I'm 8000 miles away from my car at this moment, so the above is from my memory and there could be some things missing. I was impressed by the design and build quality (except the material choice of the grill, obviously). Everything pops right into place when reassembled and I did not see any single-use-only fasteners.

Bufasion,
Can you tell me where is the rattle actually created? Is it one of several tabs with the red-pointer shown, jiggling against the glass itself or is it the rear-deck cover (not shown) that is jiggling against the tabs?

The reason I'm asking is because I'm wondering whether a strategically placed piece of felt (or equivalent) wedged down in there might solve the problem. Based on my last two DIYs, I'm a bit nervous about the results. thanks again.

[bufasion]

The front of the grill is secured to the body by 4 (?, forgot to take pictures when I did it) hex screws. The rear of the grill has 6 protrusions, they latch onto holes in the body, below the glass (see red circle). They seem to be the culprit. The rattle hasn't happend again since I put duct tape on all these plastic-metal contacts.

The rear deck cover is made of very quiet material so I doubt this plastic-plastic interface could make noise.

[poiney]

I'm guessing that when you removed the grill you simply covered the 6 prongs all over so they fit in snugly.

Note: I can create the noise by either pushing the rear deck cover towards the glass and/or by pushing the grill towards the glass. However, the grill is mounted fairly securely and its much tougher to make the noise by pushingthe grill alone.

Accordingly, I may wedge something between cover and grill to start with to ensure that my noise is due to the prong-glass interface -- before I kick it up a notch.

[david330]

Here comes an updated list on how to fix the pop/click in the rear shelf (originally posted by bufasion). All screws/bolts are of the star/torx kind, not Hex.

1) Rear seat cushion (lift the front lip, then pull forward).
2) Rear seat back (remove star/torx bolts, unlatch the seat back from inside the trunk). It is kind of tricky to know how the mechanism in the trunk works. If you have problems releasing it, you can always remove the 4 bolts holding the mecahnism in place. Once the seat back is removed the mechanisms are easily bolted back. Once the seatback is release just need to lift it slightly to unhook it from the lower attachment.
3) C-pillar trim panels (pop out the "AIRBAG" trim piece, remove star/torx bolt inside, then slide the panel toward the roof).
4) Rear shelf (remove expanding rivets, disconnect speaker wires, then slide forward). Also, do not forget to unbolt the three "flip up" fasteners. Flip up the "flip" thing and unscrew the star/torx bolt. For the expanding rivets you first pull out the "expander piece" from inside the trunk. Once that is done you can press out the rivets.
5) Seat belt retractors (not necessary for grill access, just want to make sure it's not the source of the rattle). Can be skipped.
6) BMW Assist antenna (the beige box on the right-hand side of the pic). Remove two screws.
7) Sound insulation pad (the molded foam pad in the pic). Does not need to be removed but needs to be moved around a bit to get to the grill.
8) The offending grill (remove hex screws, then pull grill forward). The screws are attached right under the molded foam pad (not accessible from the trunk).

After you have the grill piece loose, tape (I used rubber tape, but I think pretty much any tape will do) the protrusions that latch onto holes in the body as well as put some felt tape on suitable spots under it.

Also, it seems that the grill is touching the glass when screwing it back in, which I believe could cause some rattle. Either make sure that the grill does not touch the class (not sure how to do this) or wedge in some felt or similar between the glass and the grill (which is what I did).

The crack/pop should hopefully have gone away now!

As a previous poster stated, it is pretty easy to put everything back together, just follow the list backwards.

[Fraggy]

Yea, Ive been hearing that clicking noise too, but its not that bad, I kinda ignore it. Thats too much for me to do, but at my next servicing I will have them fix that.

[pikkashoe]

Has anyone tried doing david's DIY on this.
I couldnt even figure out how to take the seat cushion off, I have an e92 coupe, and when pulling up, it almost felt to the point that the plastic underneath the cushion would break. Also, whats the best way to get the C pillar trim off? I couldnt even get my fingers underneath it, but I would assume, once you have taken the seats out it would be easier. HELP> my rattle is getting worse and worse.

[douglas751]

Please, before you all freak and tear your car apart, look for the simple things. In my case, the dealer installed my Sirius box without plastic or rubber washers and the metal frame squeked and rattled.

Please see my previous posting:

http://www.e90post.com/forums/showthread.php?t=62801

This is a 10 minute fix and much less risk than tearing the rear shelf apart.