Hey folks. Have any of you had problems with a slight rattle that comes from the dashboard. It isn't anything major but there is a faint rattling noise, especially when the car is moving along at freeway+ speeds that is qute irritating.

I love the car, despite some of the irritants, but I must say that our service department is quite useless. They tell me that if the sound is not very loud (which it isn't) they won't fix it.

I still haven't been able to fix the damn passenger seat airbag that comes up even when my wife is sitting on the passenger seat --- my wife is light, but well above the 85lbs needed to activate the airbag. They claim that BMW is still working on this issue.

 

Even if the rattle is minor the dealer is resposible to fix it.The rattle is not part of design specification for this car therefore it must be addressed accordingly.
Go back to the dealer and tell him that you paid big bucks to get a car that is whisper quiet, this is what BMW stands out of the crowd for, not a rattle box.
This is my 2 cents.

 

Even if the rattle is minor the dealer is resposible to fix it.The rattle is not part of design specification for this car therefore it must be addressed accordingly.
Go back to the dealer and tell him that you paid big bucks to get a car that is whisper quiet, this is what BMW stands out of the crowd for, not a rattle box.
This is my 2 cents.
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Absolutely right - the judgement on whether any rattle is minor or not is mine and it's up to me whether i can live with it or not. I've got a couple of little ones left after having the door seals done and to be honest they don't bother me enough to take them in as I can appreciate they can be tough to fix, but if a rattle has got to the point where it is enough to get me to go back to the dealer I expect them to be fixed. A 65K car should not rattle.

 

I had a rattle from the dash and as it turns out the plexi-glass cover over the cluster was loose...check yours by pushing on the cover to see if the rattle goes away..mine was tightened by the dealer and that fixed the problem

 

It would be prudent for you to find out roughly where the rattle comes from. Can the rattle be simulated while the car is stationary? This is important for you to show the CA/tech what you meant.

I had a rattle once that came on while driving at around 80 kmh, and I was certain it came from the somewhere within the dash - brought her in, and the techie was able to simulate the rattle - it was later traced to some metal pipes within the engine compartment

 

Thanks for all your help. I am taking it back on Tue. and hope that they can simulate the rattle at low speeds. I haven't been able to hear the rattle when the car is stationary.

 

I've unfortunately had lots of experience with squeaks/rattles (having driven Porsches for the last 15+ years...don't get me started... ) and the key is to take the tech or shop foreman on a drive with you and point out the noises that are bothering you. They usually have a bumpy stretch of road near the dealership for this. It helps to tell them under what circumstances (speed, RPM, road type) the noises occur. There's usually one of their techs that's a rattle specialist--ask if they have one (it's a sometimes frustrating job, and with the wrong tech you'll get the car back saying unable to reproduce customer complaint").