to what degree vibration is normal

[doomito]

Hi all! I'm a very very happy owner of a new z4 sdrive 2.8i. Down here in Argentina, not all roads are not exactly smooth. Sometimes the material of the road is very porous and of course, you have a lot of patches. On a perfectly aligned road, the Z4 make almost no perceptible noise. But, when reaching an irregular road I'm getting a lot of vibration behind my head. It seems to make from the back windows. Not sure.

The point is: what can I expect in terms of vibration? is this normal or this can be improved with lubrication, adjustments or something?

Regards!

 

[Adamski]

Welcome to the forum. I don't a great deal about the E89 zed, but I'm sure someone will be along soon to help

 

[andysat]

Welcome-what Adamski said

 

[Jembo]

E89 is supposed to be a more refined motor than my E85, though in Kent we have some of the most uneven, badly repaired & not repaired roads in the country. If there's truly some vibration, am sure it's not normal.

Best of luck

 

[doomito]

Yes, there is a lot of vibration exactly on the roof mechanism. Specially on the drivers side. I hope is just calibration or lubrication.

 

[bigshurv]

Nice smooth roads = no vibration. Bumpy,rutted,badly surfaced roads = a horrible ride in a Z4.It's not your car, it's the road surface.Your car is fine.Short suspension added to big ultra low profile tyres with always exaggerate poor road surfaces.

 

[Stark]

For example, when I reverse my car out of the drive, it's a an angle on one side and turning the wheel as I reverse out into a one way road, and the car is at different angles, and the roof groans a little...if its fine on normal surfaces and only creaks on crappy roads...then blame the roads and maybe not the car!

It must be a first, a forum member from Argentina!!!

 

[doomito]

I love my Z! Argentina's routes does not love me back!

I took it to the service, they made a 'lubrication' and told me if the problem continues, they will be needing to disassemble some plastic parts and make a deeper lubrication. It got better, most of the cracking is now gone, nevertheless, at high speed (180km/h aprox) vibrations started again.

We agreed to check it on the next service.

 

[doomito]

I took the car to the dealer twice. They lubricate the roof and on the last visit the put tape on the plastic covers. Still, the 'cra cra cra cra' appears sometimes. I open the roof, close it and disappears for a while.

Any ideas?

 

[ZeeFore]

Hi Doomito,

Welcome and congratulations on your Z4.

Sounds like you're talking about noises (creaking and cracking) rather than felt vibration(?).
Don't know about the newer Zeds, but my ancient 2.5i makes quite a few interesting noises from time to time, most just being the interior trim moving about as the chassis flexes a bit while driving. It bothered me a little at first, but now I hardly even notice it. Trying to track down all those little creaks and crackles can be a nerve-wracking experience.

As for vibration (i.e. caused by crappy roads), as long as my teeth aren't falling out I figure all's well. 8)

 

[Carol M]

Have you put pressure on the roof with your hand when its happening to see if the noise stops?

 

[doomito]

No, I will do that. I made a small video. Starting second 15 you can clearly hear the cracking.

http://back.tfsla.com/video-z4.mov
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bt0yju862aQ&feature=youtu.be

 

[Maniac]

No, I will do that. I made a small video. Starting second 15 you can clearly hear the cracking.

http://back.tfsla.com/video-z4.mov
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bt0yju862aQ&feature=youtu.be

That's unacceptable and a dealer needs to look at that. I've got the odd small rattle or click but not that level of noise, something needs tightening up there!

 

[doomito]

I tried putting pressure on the roof while driving, but did not make any difference. I made another video, I think the cracking is much clear. I hope the third time to the dealer is the charmed! They tried to argue with me about weather this noise is normal or not.

If I do not get the problem solved, I will escalate the issue to BMW.

NEW VIDEO: http://proficient5.tfsla.com/video-marsili2.mov

 

[Maniac]

So.. you mention weather... what is the weather like where you are at the moment? If your car is covered in ice, then this sometimes makes a heck of a racket as it twists in the seals. If however its just cold and wet, then there should not be this noise.

 

[doomito]

I purchase the car in spring and now is summer with 30C

 

[Maniac]

Well summer and 30C... I'm guessing not much ice around then

You'll need to speak with the dealer, but IMHO that's a noise that can be resolved by lubricating or tightening up the mechanism. Its definitely not normal.