Found the rattle in the back.

[4MoJoe]

Here is the part number 51247141879. You could check with morristown bmw, listed on the forums page for parts. I'm going to order it too as mine is missing it as well.

[Georg300]

thanks... I do have the trunk rattle situation solved though... I used Silicon spray on the latch, good 4-5 sprays, and the sound is gone! I almost suffered a nervous breakdown for the last 4 months... and all it needed was to be lubricated... I did the 'pads', the tape, everything... and it was the spray what did it.

[Toorak]

I had same problem. Took into dealer. They tightened the latch slightly, adjusted the rubber stops, and gave the tailgate latch a spray with a fairly sticky lubricant. 10 minutes and no more rattles. I noticed I do not have the rubber stopper on the left of the latch, though sound is all gone, and has been for a month now.

[Georg300]

yup it's the silicon, trust me I tried everything... maybe we should spread the word, it was the silicon...

[rogerkiu]

The bump stop (51247141879) is only available for facelifted X5s. Mine has no either. I doubt if it fits all pre-facelifted X5s.

[Aussie James]

I am working on my rattle clunk noise too.One thing worth trying is the plastic lower panel on the boot lid (upper) to be removed.This is done by removing the screws AND unplugging the internal plastic stoppers that clip to the bootlid (it pops out).Once done you will find that each one of these little plugs sits loosely in its respective housing and clicks rattles and dances.Get each one and wrap them with insulation tape until they are firm.This could be the source of your annoying noise.Good luck.
Aussie James

[Georg300]

Hey Aussie, try soaking the thing with Silicon (not WD40) spray... is worth the 6 bucks... I was so surprised after two months dealing with that headache.

[ljnlaw]

FYI I ordered 2 new trunk latch stops for my X, and it looks like BMW upgraded the design. I am talking about the torx bolt rubber stopper assemblies located in the trunk well which stops the top of the tail gate when you close it. The original stops were one peice which could be adjusted by hand up or down to prevent rattling. The new stops from the dealer are now "spring loaded" which should reduce it not eliminate rattles...I will let you know how they work once I install them.

[DinanX5]

Originally Posted by ljnlaw

FYI I ordered 2 new trunk latch stops for my X, and it looks like BMW upgraded the design...The new stops from the dealer are now "spring loaded" which should reduce it not eliminate rattles...I will let you know how they work once I install them.

So how do they work??

[mojamusic]

BMW X5 Boot Trunk Rattles Squeaks Noise

Well it’s finally done, and not a simple fix, it never is.
The BMW dealership won’t get it right, your mechanic won’t get it right.
But they will take weeks and, if out of warranty, hundreds of dollars for no results.
If you want it done right you’ve got to do it yourself and it will take a full day.

I followed the advice of similar posts and then some...

You will need:
- a roll of thick black felt tape – hardware or auto accessory shop AUS$10
- a roll of fine BMW black felt tape – BMW AUS$40
- a BMW bump stop – BMW AUS$60 – Part # 51247141879
- scissors

What needed to be done:
- tape boot latch
- install rubber boot stop
- adjust rubber hatch stops
- tape reflectors
- remove hatch door plastic lining, tape inside metal housing
- tape rear seats sides
- tape contact points and moving parts in the spare tyre well


Tape Boot Latch: photo attached
Use thick tape to cover entire latch front, sides and back. Cut out open section for lock to move freely

Install rubber boot stop: photo attached
I bought one of these from the local BMW dealership for a whopping AUS$60.
Part # 51247141879
We had a laugh as I paid for it. In the US and Europe this should be about $10 or less.
Despite what others say, you must unscrew the retaining screw to fit the stop. Otherwise it will fall off after use.
Use a torx head #30. Make sure the torx head is a tight fit otherwise you may strip the screw head. I used a rechargeable impact driver and it unscrewed easily. Unscrew about 5mm. Fit the groove inside the rubber stop onto the screw head. Tighten screw back.
If I could get another rubber stop, I would install it on the right side of the latch as well. Some say it’s unnecessary to do both, but a second one could only help balance the pressure and it would not trigger the bottom hatch button.

Adjust rubber hatch stops: photo attached
Under both left and right sides of the hatch there are rubber stops attached to the car, just beside the hatch seal.
These must be adjusted precisely. If they are too low, they don’t hold the hatch in place. If they are are too high, they don’t allow the vacuum to seal.
From memory, use a #25 torx head.
Unscrew the bolt, adjust the height by rotating the rubber stop, then fasten the bolt.
Rotate the rubber stop until it is almost flush at the same level with the surrounding hatch seal. I found the optimum height was about 2mm below the surrounding seal. You may have to experiment by adjusting, then driving to hear wether it is still rattling. This will depend on the condition of the your seal. Don’t put tape on the stops nor the piece that the stops touch, when closed. Just adjust the stop itself.

Tape Reflector: photo attached
The reflector on top of the vertical bottom boot wall do buckle up at the center and as you press them down you hear them squeak.
Cut a square of thick tape and place in center of reflector.

Hatch door linings: photo attached
If you run your hand and press on the inside hatch door plastic linings, you will find they creak and squeak easily. Under these are some cables and electronics.

There are 3 panels to remove. The center one nearest the roof and the two sides.
Careful as they are attached to each other by a plastic groove.
The mechanic who removed mine, before I did it myself, broke off the plastic tabs at the bottom of each where they meet the bottom panel. I didn’t do the following procedure to that bottom panel as it has the rear window brake light.

Start at the top center panel and pull the panel towards you, there are 4 metal clips to pull the panel away from. Be sure to pull back straight towards you, not side to side, otherwise you may snap off a plastic tab. Then remove the side panels.

Remove each of the metal clips from the plastic panel or they may have remained inside the holes in the hatch door.

Locate the holes (12) in the hatch door, cut off a 5cm strip of the BMW fine tape, insert a piece of the tape into each hole leaving a lip overflow of about 5mm (which you stick down onto the surface, while the rest goes into the hole). You are making a pocket for the clip to go into so that the clip doesn’t touch the metal, which causes a rattling noise.

Reshape the clips. With fingers or plyers squeeze each clip together, then most importantly with a screwdriver press each inner catch of the clip so that they are as close to each other as possible.

Insert the clips back into the holes in the hatch door.
Line up the plastic panels then push firmly at the locations of the holes to fasten them back into the clips. Try to line up and press only once as removing the panel again is a hassle.

Tape rear seats sides:
Fold the two rear seats down.
As you fold them down, look at the side wall, where the top of the seat touches (when it is in it’s normal upright position).
Put a 5cm square of thick tape on the plastic side wall where the seat side rubs.

Tape contact points and moving parts in the spare tyre well:
Remove the 2 panels above the spare tyre.
Remove the spare tyre.
Put tape on the metal unit below where the spare wheel makes contact.
There are two black foam panels under the tyre, put some thick black tape underneath the panel where the panel touches the metal floor.
Remove the car jack, tighten it so there is no play, put some tape where it touches metal.
Locate all the tools, remove them and figure out where they make contact when seated normally and put tape on contact points so that when they are re-seated, they can’t move or rattle. Do the same for the triangular metal pieces in the front right part of the well also put some tape between each metal piece as when they are stacked, they clink on each other.

Good Luck, it takes time but if you do all this... no more rattles, bumps, creaks! Now i can actually enjoy the sound and the driving of my 2003 4.6is...