E60Gator

Hello everyone! I am a first time owner of a BMW. I purchased a used 2010 535i in late November. I absolutely love the car, but in the two months I have owned it, it has been in the shop longer than I have had it at home. The dealer I bought it from had a 30 day warranty, and I purchased an extended warranty, so it hasn’t cost me anything for the repairs. The car repair was subbed to my local BMW dealership and so far they have replaced out all six fuel injectors and both thigh support motors in the seats.

I have one nagging issue I was hoping to get some help on. I hear a faint noise when I come to a complete stop. It is hard describe, but it almost sounds like a ship creaking or a guitar string being wound too tight.

- It doesn’t seem to make the noise until the car has been driven for 10 to 15 minutes.
- Once it starts it is consistent, it makes the noise every time I make a complete stop. It doesn’t matter if it is a hard stop or slow and gentle.
- The noise starts about half a second after a complete stop; it lasts about 1.5 seconds.
- The SA and I pinpointed the sound as coming from the right rear speaker area.

I ruled out the door seals sound mentioned in the forum as a possible source because it still makes the sound with the windows cracked. The BMW SA also stated he is familiar with the door seal sound and this was not it. The dealership inspected the rear brakes and suspension and couldn’t find anything wrong. The BMW SA and shop foreman state the noise is normal and is the ARS adjusting itself at each stop. They stated they had another 2010 5 series with ARS in the shop and it was making the same noise, and they pulled the ARS fuse on my car and didn’t hear the sound. Because the car is no longer under factory warranty, I have no reason to believe the BMW dealership is trying to get out of doing something. They would get paid for the work. I do have a problem believing a luxury car would make such an annoying noise “normally”.

I think the car they were comparing it to may have had the same problem, and they possibly pulled the ARS fuse on my car while it was cold and wasn’t making the noise anyway.

The dealer I purchased the car from and the BMW dealership are trying to find another 2010 5 series with ARS so I can compare the sound. I don’t want to take back possession until this is fixed because I don’t know if the dealership will fix it for free down the road, and it may not be a covered item in my extended warranty.

My question to the forum is does anyone have any ideas about what may be causing this sound, and if you have ARS on a LCI E60, is this a normal ARS noise?

H F

if u already have it on record.... they will still have to fix it cause u stated the problem before the waranty expired...

i have ars on my 05 / 545,, and it dont make that noise..
well check this out.. one day i was goen onto a really narrow drive way (at nite), And i hit the top of the approach and broke the braket that supports the rubber bushing that keeps the stabilizer bar in place... before i fixed it the ars was making a clonking noise every time i turned the wheel and came to a stop... so tomake it short i fabricated a new braket and welded it to the sub frame.. once i bolted the bushing back on the new bracket the noise went away,, So i was thinking maybe could it be the bushing thats bad on the support bracket thats causing the noise ur hearing ....

E60Gator

Thanks for the info H F. I went back to the BMW dealership and test drove another E60 with ARS and it was making the same noise, just a little quieter. So I guess it’s kind of normal. Of course all three could also have the same problem, maybe the bad bushing as you suggest.

I have the car back and am going to investigate other causes for the noise. If I can pinpoint it, the dealer I bought it from (non-BMW) said they would still fix it like you mentioned.

I think I am going to start by pulling the ARS fuse and seeing if it still makes the noise. Do you think the noise you had would have stopped if the ARS was disabled?

By the way, kudos on that repair job! I would never have thought to do something like that and couldn’t even if I needed to.

H F

thanks,, itwas a matter of neccessity.. they dont sell the little bracket its part ofthe sub frame. and for 2,000 bucks.... for a new one...
as far as puling the fuse... i dont know because my situation was due to the broken braket.. and the rubber bushing was loose and wasnt holding the sway bar tight.to the mount thats welded to the sub frame. But i havent ever heard any noise from my ARS at all.... and i do,,, hit the corners harder than i should. and put lots of pressure on my ARS... so i dont think its a normal noise.

Small Tomato

Hi Could you please film and record the noise so to get a better picture... My car comes with ARS but I don't seem to hear strange noise when it comes to a stop in the carpark.