Creak / knock from inside dash

S

SO8

Active member
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My Z4M R has developed a knock/creak when I go over potholes every so often that appears to be coming from deep inside the dash .... either from the centre or passenger side.

Now, is a creaking dash something that the BMW AUC warranty covers or not ? I've had it four months and am using the car lots more than the previous owner did in his 2 1/2 years of ownership ! Annoyingly the car is only a month out of the intial 3 year warranty. When I bought it they gave me a 1 year AUC warranty as well.

Comments welcome.

FWIW the knock/creak is much louder than normal plastic creaks so is annoying the hell out of me ... and it's only been there 3 days ! Maybe when warmer weather comes it may go ... he says hoping !
 
Do you have a strut brace?

If so - check the nuts are torqued correctly.

i had identical symptoms and took it to the dealer - that was the problem.
 
Try pushing your fingers on panels next to panel gaps when going over bumps to find them... Or better yet, get a mate to do it :)

One to try that infuriated me, was the gap between the ashtray and main dashboard (above the roof controls). Just stuffed in some velcro and it feels like a new car :thumbsup:
 
I had exactly that noise and after being driven insane for months (and driving around with bits of folded paper wedged wherever I thought the noise might be coming from that day) I took it to the dealer. They fixed it fairly rapidly under warranty (though mine's still under the new-car warranty rather than an AUC one). The salesdroid couldn't be very specific about exactly what they'd had to do except that it involved lubrication. So I'd definitely take it in.
 
I also had a loose strut brace. The nuts are under the hood right up against the firewall. I swore it was coming from under the dash. Took the instrument cluster out looking for it before I realized where the noise was coming from.
 
Mine's going into the dealer on Monday to have my rattle found and fixed! They want it for up to 3 days just to make sure they find it!
 
I've had the braces from the struts to the bulkhead come loose twice now, first time I torqued the nuts up myself, the second time the noise sounded like it was coming from somewhere else so it went back to the dealer where it turned out to be the braces again.
 
My car has just developed this exact same problem (just over 3, 24k on the clock). Is this an easy DIY fix or should I take it down to the dealer? My car is AUC but I'm not sure this will be covered either? Let me know how you get on...
 
What has worked is pushing my girlfriend out of the car. It's quiet (well as quiet as an M is ever going to be) with just me in the car! Having bounced the car around and I think it may be a creaky shock so I'll bear with it for now and hope it doesn't become too frequent.
 
GarethZ4MC said:
I gave my struts a good shake but no obvious movement.
Click to expand...

I couldn't see or feel any movement the second time mine came loose but that was still the problem, there's a fair old bit of force goes through them.
 
BMW dealer just called.
Good news and bad.

Good news they found the rattle. After taking the speedo out, refitting and still a noise...they whipped it out again to notice the previous owner has fitted a Horizon tracker. Well the tracker is somewhere in the car but they found the battery back up and it was this that was vibrating against the speedo. OK, something I would never of found.

Bad news, as it's the tracker and not something standard...won't be covered by warranty!
I feel a painful bill coming on. :poke:
 
What is the torque wrench setting for these as my car creaks going over slow bumps,kerbs etc
 
GarethZ4MC said:
BMW dealer just called.
Good news and bad.

Good news they found the rattle. After taking the speedo out, refitting and still a noise...they whipped it out again to notice the previous owner has fitted a Horizon tracker. Well the tracker is somewhere in the car but they found the battery back up and it was this that was vibrating against the speedo. OK, something I would never of found.

Bad news, as it's the tracker and not something standard...won't be covered by warranty!
I feel a painful bill coming on. :poke:
Click to expand...
I thought all Z4Ms came with a Tracker preinstalled, and you simply had to pay to activate it.

I paid £650 for a lifetime subscription, but I believe you can get it for about half this now :headbang:
 
I ca concur that the creaking coming from the bulkhead/front suspension area can well be the strut brace bolts. Mine was making these creaks and groans going over potholes and bumps at lower speeds. I tightened the said nuts (16mm socket) and its cured.
 
I would hazard a guess that the creaking is coming from the windscreen touching the end of the dash! Jam your fingers down the end and see if it stops, took me a while to find mine. The remedy - New windscreen!
 
Top pup said:
I've had the braces from the struts to the bulkhead come loose twice now, first time I torqued the nuts up myself, the second time the noise sounded like it was coming from somewhere else so it went back to the dealer where it turned out to be the braces again.
Click to expand...

Sounds like you ought to be using Nylocs or better still tab washers to prevent this happening.
 
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