Loose, creaky and cheap-feeling door handles

D

daniel_c

Member
Hi everyone! I just got a lightly used 2022 30i and have a bit of an unexpected issue, if you can call it that.

The door handles on both sites feel pretty bad, they creak when used, are slightly loose, and in general feel pretty cheap, for the lack of a better word.

The car has only done 6.000 miles (10.000km) and is in very good condition otherwise, so this doesn’t feel like normal wear and tear to me. In addition, it seems like hardly anyone has sat in the passenger seat at all, so that door would have been used even less, and the handles feel identical on both sides.

The car is still within warranty and I’ll take it in to have it looked at, but I suspect they’ll just say it’s normal, so I just wanted to hear your opinion.
Without being overly dramatic, these are probably the worst feeling door handles of any car I’ve gotten into.

Can you relate to this at all or am I just being crazy? I’m fully open to ridicule :P

Other than the door handles, I have the HK sound system, and while im actually pretty happy with the sound stage (the sound feels detailed and airy), any amount of bass makes the interior rattle behind me, making the low-end sound almost blown out.

I’ve done some research on both these issues and the bass rattling seems to be pretty common, while I’ve read nothing about the door handles.
In an otherwise so premium feeling car, these two issues kind of caught me by surprise.

I apologize for the first post as a new owner being a negative one, hopefully soon, that will turn around :D

Thanks all!
 
I’ll have a look at my door handles in a min, but I haven’t noticed.

The bass rattled can be sorted a little, but will never be 100% which is annoying.
 
Thanks Ori! I guess if you haven’t noticed it, your handles are probably good!

I noticed this as soon as I opened the door for the first test drive before buying it, and I’ve literally never ever thought about door handles on any car before, they’re just “there”. I scuffed it off as the car was otherwise in immaculate condition and I assumed I was just being overly critical, but now after having owned it for a few days, I have to say it’s getting to me.

It is after all the very first impression you get from entering the car, other than the looks, of course. And even tho it’s definitely a “first world problem”, every drive starts with a small cringe =/
 
I hadn't noticed anything with mine but I just went out to take a look. There is a slight up and down play in the handle but I would not call it loose. I've also had a search around to see if this is a known problem, but I've only found old threads, which do contain fixes (tighten up a screw, replace a bush etc.).
 
PSQ777 said:
I hadn't noticed anything with mine but I just went out to take a look. There is a slight up and down play in the handle but I would not call it loose. I've also had a search around to see if this is a known problem, but I've only found old threads, which do contain fixes (tighten up a screw, replace a bush etc.).
Click to expand...
I really appreciate you checking!

I’ll try to record it, but I guess the “feel” and the creaky sound will probably be hard to show off in a video.

I’m just so surprised, if only one of the handles was like this, I’d just assume it needed adjustment, but the fact both are the same is kind of worrying.
 
That’s a new one on me as no issues on mine (4 years old). I’d definitely get it sorted under warranty.
 
after 11 months mine has developed an annoying rattle from the driver's side air vent/speaker/pillar - not sure where, and behind me. Anyone have any ideas?
 
F1SpaceMonkey said:
after 11 months mine has developed an annoying rattle from the driver's side air vent/speaker/pillar - not sure where, and behind me. Anyone have any ideas?
Click to expand...

Had that recently and the air vent plastic was replaced under warranty. Tech said the plastic was just squeaky and needed replacement.

Now I’ve developed a squeaky door mirror. It’s bad as even opening the door makes it squeak and it’s annoying as hell with the roof down. New door mirror on order at BMW.
 
The door handle issue does seem unusual. Mine are fine and whilst not the best of the best are fine. If the dealer has another Z4 just co compare or compare with another BMW with the same design as so many parts are the same from model to model.
 
Not noticed any issues re the door handle.

But as just mentioned by r2uzenblot, would definitely mention it to the dealership but if you can find another G29 in a showroom somewhere, go have a look and compare those door handles against the feel of yours.
 
No door handle probs for me. A squirt of WD40 needed perhaps?

Yes my HK sound system is a tad bassy but that’s how I like it, I’m sure it can be dialled out on the EQ system.
 
Thank you all for your inputs!

This weekend I went to see my family (and of course show off the car), they’re all car people and none of them said anything about the door handles. I’ll still compare it to similar handles at the dealer, but most likely, im just being overly critical.

After some tweaking, I’m also starting to be more accepting of the HK audio system. While still definitely worse than in my dads Mazda (that has a Bose system), it’s not terrible. I guess it’s just to the limitations of a convertible, with a much smaller cabin.
Still tho, I’d say it sounds about the same as the stock system in my old SLK, so would definitely not call it premium. I now kind of wonder how bad the stock system sounds in the Z4.
 
Just to add, those two issues are still the only ones, it’s an absolutely lovely car. IDrive is by far the best entertainment system I’ve tried, to the point I’m not even using CarPlay anymore. The built-in Spotify app and even the navigation system are just fantastic!
 
Someone posted this on another forum so i copied it (more or less) to get the best sound from the HK. I certainly noticed a difference.
 

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