Does your car creak when going over bumps? I test drove a 2004 545i with 26k miles and it seemed like the car was creaking/flexing a lot when going over bumps. (City streets)

Car had the reg suspension and 17in wheels.

I have an E46 coupe with Eibach sport suspension and 17in wheels with a lower tire profile and my car seems a little tighter on bumpy roads.

Were there any known issues with early 545i's about rattles and creaks.....

On the E46, the rear parcel shelf had to be velcroed down and the doors needed to be shimmied to tighten them up.

 

I had a problem with creaks over bumps and sometimes when accelerating from a dead stop as well. I thought it was due to the door/window seals as many members here have experienced, so I was constantly cleaning and lubricating them. Low and behold, I found the source of my creak last week while polishing the hood. Apply a little pressure between the windshield squirters and the hood begins to sound like a wooden ship. I have temporarily fixed the issue with a microfiber tucked around the hinge of the hood, but it will be permanently fixed with my next trip to the dealer.

 

same creaking. Dealer tried teflon tape and replacing door felt strips, still creaks. It's a common and well known problem on early 5s. It seems temperature dependent (worse in the afternoon after sitting in the sun all day than it is on a cool morning). Don't know what else to do about it. I'll have to check the hood, but it really sounds like it is coming from the inside of the car.

 

It sounds like the door seals creaking... if the car is still under warranty BMW will replace the door seals at no cost to you.

To test it crack open the windows just a bit and see if the sound is still there.

 

I had 2 noises from the back (1 from the dash).....first was a creaking with certain 'flexing'. My culprit turned out to be the rear seats. Try pushing on them manually under various forces to see if its that too.
Mine required readjustment,lubrication which definately eliminated that noise component. Second (since day 1) is a chirping sound over road imperfections, still can't get that damn noise quiet. The dashboard noise, that's another story.

 

I have had similar noises from the rear in the past, most noticeably when turning into driveways or going over speed humps. The rear seat fit was the culprit, and my dealer sorted it right out after being told exactly what to look for (isn't e60.net great?!!) Here's a link to the thread in which the topic was discussed, and do see response #10 for my experience. The problem was sorted totally, but came back about 6 months later (admittedly after a succession of long road trips with people sat in the back the whole time). It was sorted again about 8 months ago and has, since then, never reappeared (despite more long road trips with passengers in the rear).