Will the rattles never cease?!

[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...

[DinanX5]

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 pretty sure that's a different noise altogether. I recently started noticing an occasional metallic *clunk* that I at first attributed to the jack in the spare tire compartment (because I had broken my jack holder strap changing a flat), but when the *clunk* was still there after getting a new strap and re-securing the jack, I realized it was probably the hatch. When I looked at it from the outside, it did seem as though the hatch was recessed a bit from the rear side panels, so I adjusted the stops out several turns. This def. helped with the *clunk* sound (although it still does it a little over big bumps, so I think I'll try the felt pads... ) but the faint plasticy vibration/rattle has been a separate thing entirely.

[redvault]

My X5 is "clunk free" now. I found out that the lower half of the back boot door was not engaging and locked. Check that both sides are locked - you should hear a "clicking" sound if you press the door in slowly and let it engage the lock machanism.

[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.

[tcn2k]

It's because instead of a trunk monkey, bmw x5 comes with a rattling troll in the back at no extra cost.

[statdoc]

Originally Posted by tcn2k

It's because instead of a trunk monkey, bmw x5 comes with a rattling troll in the back at no extra cost.

I love the trunk monkey ads!

[ROMEO]

Have any of you guys tried to fold the back seat down? i guess i will try that next... but for mine seems like all the little noises come from the back compartment where the spare tire is.. but again maybe not..

[DinanX5]

Originally Posted by ROMEO

Have any of you guys tried to fold the back seat down? i guess i will try that next... but for mine seems like all the little noises come from the back compartment where the spare tire is.. but again maybe not..

I thought about that... give it a try and let us know.
Since so many of us are complaining about the same types of noises, we can divide and conquer to try and track 'em down! I'm going to try securing the seat belt latches - and maybe the housings, if I can come up with an idea how - and I'll report back.

[x5fromOz]

Don't forget to check that your sunglasses are not rattling in the overhead compartment...mine do it all the time and it sounds like its from the sunroof!!!!

[dksavage]

I got my son to sit in the luggage area and went around the block. He said it seemed to come from the top of the rear window. I suspect its something to do with the wind deflector. Not one other bump or rattle in the car except this one :-|