I FIXED the Annoying RATTLE/CREAKING from rear hatch!!
 

Hello people,

I finally fixed that annoying rattling/squeal/squeek noise coming from the rear hatch area. I been adjusting that rubber feet things on the D-pillar that meets the rear top hatch to no success whatsoever.

so, I got my friend to ride in the back today and he actually found the source of the noise.

http://img529.imageshack.us/img529/9...urcemn7.th.jpg

hope you can see the yellow arrows on the TAILGATE. Yeah, that's right! Much to my surprise, it is actually the tailgate interior plastic covers being squeezed together when it is closed that's causing the noise. With the tailgate closed, try grabbing the tailgate and squeezing the interior plastic panels right at the corners where the arrows are pointing (not while being open like that, but when it's closed.. the picture is misleading but it's to show the location).

The picture is just to show where the area is, but when you close the tailgate, the bottom piece (piece toward the front of the car) slides over the second top piece (on the tailgate itself) and covers it completely. The two corners of the pieces-while the tailgate is in closed position- that's when the squeak/rattle is produced, especially while driving slowly.

I just put some felt/foam in between the two tailgate plastic pieces (the interior panel spring loaded) at the corners (arrows, but when closed, not open) where they meet, and the noise is GONE!

Man I really need to get a camera...

well, I hope this works for those who have the same problem

That's very interesting! Thanks for the tip :thumbup:

Going to have to try that to see if it helps me too. From the sound that I hear, I could imagine it being something like that. I just wish it was easier to recreate :(

thx, will definitely try it. the value of this forum continues to grow ....

Nice suggestion! I've heard that occasionally, and I always thought that was the cargo cover, which caused a rattle in my ML. I'll definitely take a look.

Thanks Y5choi! I spent the best part of a couple of weekends adjusting the rear hatch and taking everything out of the back area, to see if I could find the crackling noise. The plastic spring loaded piece that slide over the rear lower hatch was the culprit. There is only a thin felt piece that seperates the two pieces. I laid a piece of foam insulating tape over the entire piece of felt and the noise is gone! I'll swap this with something more permanent as this was just an experiment to see if this was the problem. BMWNA, if you're reading, replacing this piece with a thicker insulator will save your customers much time and effort, and will save you $$$ by keeping the vehicle out of the dealer to fix under warranty!!!

haha, you are exactly right- the piece is attached by a few springs and the thin felt (maybe half an inch or so) doesn't quite cover the corners.

Yeah people seem to think that it's the hatch but no.. its the tailgate.

glad it worked out for you too

The pic is gone.... Can you re-post it ?

:confused: The pic is still there. You're talking about the OP's pic, right?

yeah I can repost but I clicked the pic and the link is still alive

Rufusdedog, You da man! That's an awesome fix.

I've been driving myself nuts (and that doesn't take much, believe me) narrowing down the damn rear rattle noise. Putting felt pads on the rubber bumper stops helped, but hasn't completely cured it. I still get it sometimes, and you are so right - it's hard to recreate the noise!

First thing I'm going to do when I get home is put foam in that space. Hell, I'd even remove the plastic covers if that means it would never rattle again!

I cut some felt that has adhesive on one side -- you can find at most drug or hardware stores. Seems to have helped but I need to get out there and test some more.

try a craft store like Michael's. I bought this 8 1/2 by 11 sheet of black "foam" from there (like more rubbery than felt) and it works really great in killing the noise. I have not heard any interior noise since I stuck 1"X1"pieces on the corners with some double sided tape.

The credit goes to y5choi. I simply followed up on his findings.

I think I have a more permanent solution than foam tape. I ordered some Dynamat, enough to cover the entire back of the plastic cover. I'll let everyone know how it works out.

UPDATE: I installed the Dynamat today. Covered the entire underside of the plastic piece that flips over the lower tailgate. Enormous difference! No creaking or cracking and it actually muffles external noise. Worthwhile investment!

Picture please!

Where did you get your dynomat from and how much do you need?

Thanks!

Got it on ebay. 4 square ft is a little more that what you need, but you can cut up the remaining piece and put it to good use elsewhere in the X5.
I'd post a pic, but really nothing to see. Just the bottom of the plastic piece now covered with dynamat (aluminumium foil is all you see).


http://cgi.ebay.com/Dynamat-Xtreme-Extreme-BULK-32-x18-Sheet-4-SQ-FT-14-9_W0QQitemZ250313123017QQcmdZViewItem?hash=item250 313123017&_trksid=p3286.c0.m14&_trkparms=72%3A1205 |66%3A4|65%3A12|39%3A1|240%3A1318

Glad it worked out for you. :D

Thanks. I also just found that same piece on Amazon, just ordered it with my prime shipping option. I'll install it and report back. Hope it works as well for me as it did for you.

Installed the Dynamat over the weekend. It works! No more rattles from the tailgate.

Thanks for the idea

Glad it worked! I had to remove the retractable cover for the cargo area as it was also producing it's fair share of rattles. All quiet now. Finally.

can we see some pics please

What's wrong with the first pic I posted? lol:D :nanana:

yeah it's kind of hard to see but yeah the point is, the noise is coming from the tailgate.

Finally my thread is getting some attention!:2thumbs:

there is nothing wrong with ur post. but i want to see a pic with the dynamat installed so that i can do the same
:popcorn:

Me too, I want to see some pic how you guys installed. :popcorn:

Any updates guys ? I wanna see the dynamat installed pics ??:dunno:

My update. The fix worked but then I ran into an issue.

The Dynamat started to ooze out the ends and that caused the tailgate (plastic) pieces to stick together. So -- two months ago it came out and we cleaned the tailgate.

The clank sound has returned. Not sure if the person who originally figured this out installed the Dynamat in a different way.

Man, again, awesome information.

I didn't know everyone had that problem, I tried everything - well almost. I dont think I would have thought about the plastic flap.

thanks again.

I have been wondering why the rear end making some kind of noise when I driving slowly. May be that is the cause of the problem.

Thanks.

My X5 is at the dealer for Maintenance and warranty issues and the creaking rattling from tailgate is one of the warranty issues. It will be interesting to see if they found the source and what they did to resolve.

X5 back from Dealer today and here are the details on the rear hatch rattle fix:

Adjusted rear hatch. Adjusted Tailgate Catch. Additional noise heard from C Pillar Area. Pertains to SIB 51 09 09 Removed and installed both left and right Quarter Vent Trim. Applied Felt Tape along contact points as needed. Rattle noises heard eliminated at this time.

Hope this helps others with the Rear Hatch Rattling noise getting it fixed under warranty.

Guys,

Let me share what I did to resolve the rattling noise at the tailgate. I bought some foam insulation and cut out a whole piece and used double sided tape and attached it to the small tailgate..I will take some pics this weekend and update you guys if problem has been eliminated. I will do a test drive for several days and make several adjustments if necessary.......please wait

bump

Just an update. My DIY of covering the whole lower tailgate with insulation did not eliminate the rattle noise. I finally gave up and brought the X5 to the stealership. My SA tried to remove all plastic covers around the tailgate and applied silicon to reduce rattle between plastic parts. I just got the X5 yesterday and did my own road test. My initial findings is that rattle noise has been reduced but still I can hear a few rattles once in a while in some rare uneven roads. Might need to bring back the X5 next week and ask them to put some foam insulation around the plastic parts in the tailgate section both upper and lower parts....

Still hearing the rattle coming from the tailgate after having the above done. While it is better I'm still hearing it. I'm thinking I need to find a stretch of road close to the dealer where I can consistently recreate the noise!!!!

Guys,

Got back my X5 and stealership was able to resolve rattle problem. CULPRIT was a faulty rear hatch mechanism that needed to be adjusted .

CASE SOLVED !!!!........:thumbup:

those those don't know. also check the rear seat latch.

Turned out mine was the rear hatch mechanism also. Dealer had adjusted it twice and also insulated the heck out of the tailgate but was still hearing the noise and it seemed like it was coming from where the tailgate closes and locks into the catch. So I just added some black electrical tape to the catch and now the noise is gone. Wrapped the tape around four times to build it up a little to eliminate play and even if it is still moving on bumps it is no longer metal to metal so cannot be heard.

I have found the REAL problem with the tailgate rattle. After years of frustration, I finally tried to adjust the hatch bumpers all the way down until you hear a ratcheting sound. Tighten the screws and Voila!!!. The noise is gone and hasn't returned for 3 weeks. The problem seems to be the bumpers being mis-adjusted at the factory maybe. This prevents the latch mechanism from fully seating in its closed position and allowing the latch to move sideways in its slot.

In my case they did adjust the door and latch, replaced the floor latch
and , more importantly cleaned the top of the shock absorber which was making an annoying skeaking noise
now after many months its like it supposed to be....

Can you explain what you did a little better (pic would be really nice).

I want to give this a try, but don't understand adjusting the hatch bumpers.

Thanks

I'll try to get pics later. In the meantime, if you open the hatch, you will see a small round bumper on each side of the opening. It's about 1"diameter with a torx screw in the middle. Loosen the screw and turn the rubber bumper clockwise until it bottoms out and you hear a ratcheting sound. then retighten the torx screw. This allows the tailgate latch mechanism, which is "V" shaped to fully seat in the lower hatch and prevent side movement which causes the rattle. I haven't had any more problem since i made the adjustment a few weeks ago.

Well I'm an idiot. I still can't find the thing. Your instructions sure make sense, if I could find the small round bumpers! Thanks for trying to teach me!

I wonder if the part has changed between model years. Mine is a 2008, what is yours?

Mine's a 2003. When the wife returns with the car I'll take a pic for you. Maybe someone with the same model year X5 can tell you where they are. Do all model year X5s have this problem?

That explains it. You have the E53, this is the E70 forum. You have a completely different model of X5.

My car is in the dealer for a few days resolving quite a few rattles and creaks that have developed. One of them is in the tailgate. Hopefully the work they do will resolve it. I'll let everyone know when I get it back.

I wrapped some tape to the catch and the noise is still there. Mine is not a rattle. It's a soft knocking sound whenever the car runs on uneven road or goes over a bump even slowly.

does any one has a picture of this, I can't find the location "the piece"

Hey Guys, I just went through this myself.

After multiple un-sucsessful visits to the dealer, I took it upon myself to find the problem!

Turns out is was one of the rear seat catches. I just rolled some electrical tape around the seat catch.

Here's the fix to the other rattles if the ones posted here doesn't work for you:

http://www.xoutpost.com/bmw-sav-foru...tml#post778376

Dealer fixed my rattles:
1) Rear seat latch
2) Tailgate bumpstops

After weeks (!!) of trying to pinpoint the location of my rattle/creaking I finally found it (100% certain); In my case it was the locking mechanism of the backlid. The inner plastic part was dry and rubbing against the outer plastic part, Silicone spraying the whole mechanism fully solved my problem!