Will the rattles never cease?!

[DinanX5]

Originally Posted by phil47

I'm also getting an annoying rattle (only over bumps...but even small bumps) on my '05 X5 4.4 Sport.

I was convinced it was coming from the cargo cover assembly and was going to remove it to test it, but now you all have me thinking it's the seatbelt assembly. Has anybody actually removed the cargo cover to rule it out??

Welcome to the growing support group!
And yes, I removed the cargo cover - that's not it...

[Toledo Blue]

This is just one of those problems which does suck but, you know what there really isn't anything that you could do...
So like my dealer says if the car drives good and nothing is broken, and there is a noise that bothers you (which will be in every car) crank up the radio...

(Some people tell me that they ride in other people cars and don't notice those noises... But the thing is that most of the time the noises are noticible to the person who owns the car and drives it all the time...)

[TahoeM3]

I have a rattle in the back of my '05 4.4i which I narrowed down to the license plate frame. It is only held by 2 screws and I think air gets up underneath it and causes it to vibrate.

Interestingly, my dealer was obviously aware of this as a problem, because the first time I went to fiddle with the license plate frame a STACK OF BUSINESS CARDS fell out onto the ground. Apparently my salesman had stuffed them under there to keep the thing from rattling. Once they were displaced, the rattle was worse.

I still havent figured out a good solution for this, but I havent put too much effort into it. Probably a sturdier metal license plate frame would help, but it seems that the design is poor because there is no support for the frame on the bottom.

[broknlgs24]

Originally Posted by TahoeM3

I have a rattle in the back of my '05 4.4i which I narrowed down to the license plate frame. It is only held by 2 screws and I think air gets up underneath it and causes it to vibrate.

Interestingly, my dealer was obviously aware of this as a problem, because the first time I went to fiddle with the license plate frame a STACK OF BUSINESS CARDS fell out onto the ground. Apparently my salesman had stuffed them under there to keep the thing from rattling. Once they were displaced, the rattle was worse.

I still havent figured out a good solution for this, but I havent put too much effort into it. Probably a sturdier metal license plate frame would help, but it seems that the design is poor because there is no support for the frame on the bottom.

get some heavy duty double sided tape or weatherstripping and stick it to the back of the plate.

[DinanX5]

Originally Posted by TahoeM3

I have a rattle in the back of my '05 4.4i which I narrowed down to the license plate frame. It is only held by 2 screws and I think air gets up underneath it and causes it to vibrate.

Interestingly, my dealer was obviously aware of this as a problem, because the first time I went to fiddle with the license plate frame a STACK OF BUSINESS CARDS fell out onto the ground. Apparently my salesman had stuffed them under there to keep the thing from rattling. Once they were displaced, the rattle was worse.

I still havent figured out a good solution for this, but I havent put too much effort into it. Probably a sturdier metal license plate frame would help, but it seems that the design is poor because there is no support for the frame on the bottom.

My plate mount has holes for four screws, so my metal frame is mounted pretty solidly.

[dkl]

Originally Posted by broknlgs24

i know you all are convinced that it's coming from the rear seat area, but have any of u considered sticking the felt pads on the hatch bump stops? when i first bought my '03, i had an annoying rattle which i swore sounded like it was coming from inside. i couldn't find it; so, i started looking elsewhere. then, it seemed to be coming from outside; so, i put weather stripping on the back of the rear license plate. still, the rattle was there. it wasn't until someone on here mentioned the rear hatch bump stops and putting the felt stickers on them that the rattle went away. as for now, i'm rattle free (knock on wood).

I'm 99.999% convinced that it is the rear seat area because the noises went away as soon as I pull out the rear armrest.

[DinanX5]

Originally Posted by dkl

I'm 99.999% convinced that it is the rear seat area because the noises went away as soon as I pull out the rear armrest.

Yes, we are def. talking about the same noise

Originally Posted by Toledo Blue

This is just one of those problems which does suck but, you know what there really isn't anything that you could do...
So like my dealer says if the car drives good and nothing is broken, and there is a noise that bothers you (which will be in every car) crank up the radio...

(Some people tell me that they ride in other people cars and don't notice those noises... But the thing is that most of the time the noises are noticible to the person who owns the car and drives it all the time...)

Maybe I'll achieve that level of Zen where it doesn't bother me anymore, but my 2000 328Ci never made a peep of rattle/vibration noise in the 6 years I owned it, so I am a bit disappointed if this is the best we can expect from the 50%-more-expensive X5...

[TahoeM3]

Originally Posted by DinanX5

My plate mount has holes for four screws, so my metal frame is mounted pretty solidly.

That's interesting. My X5 which is essentially exactly the same as yours...same year, same color, same options...has two screws holding the plate frame on the back. There are 4 screws around the plate holding the plate to the frame, but only two holding the frame to the tailgate, one on each side in the middle of the frame. It seems like a flimsy setup, and allows for some motion of the frame giving me a rattle/vibration with acceleration.

[AlpineMsix]

i have a sub in my car and most of the rattling id say comes from the rear roof spoiler, and the rear lower side panels of the car

[dkl]

Originally Posted by imola4.8isWA

i have a sub in my car and most of the rattling id say comes from the rear roof spoiler, and the rear lower side panels of the car

I got the roof spoiler "buzz" too with the sub on...just too lazy at this time to take it apart to add some dampening materials to it.