DMW530d

Hi,

A few weeks ago my '03 530d developed a creaking noise at the rear. It was a bit intermittant at first so I wondered if it was something and nothing. However, recently it got worse so I paid a visit to the dealer. An engineer looked at the car and immediately diagnosed it as a rubbing handbrake shoe.

It went in today and I was looking forward to finally getting it fixed. However, after spending a couple of hours on the ramp, it turns out it is nothing to do with the handbrake. It seems the problem is actually a suspension ball joint that need replacing.

I'm a little alarmed at this news. The car has done about 58K, the vast majority of which has been spent hiking up and down the motorway. I've been doing similar motoring, often well in excess of this mileage for over 15 years, and never had a significant structural issue like this, relatively early in a car's life. It doesn't instill much confidence in BMW engineering.

Are my expectations too high? I guess the RFTs give the suspension a harder time.

Of course, the problem started just a couple weeks outside the warranty!

DW