Creaking/rattling(?) noise on new M3P from 40mph on

[justgabriel]

Hi everyone,

New owner of a M3P (7 days ago), I started to hear a strange creaking noise starting about at 40mph both and soft and hard acceleration, even on road without ANY kind of bumps.
I know there's a lot threads with the same topic, but I think my noise it's a kind of different, I clearly hear it from the left anterior side of the cabin and it seems like something metal.
Opened a ticket through the app about 4 days ago, but my request is still pending, so no chance to visit a SC in the short period.
Here's the link to the video with the noise, it becomes more loud in the middle of the video
Thanks for caring!

Vimeo

 

[justgabriel]

No one with this kind of noise?

 

[eliteconcept]

I have something like this... seems to ( although its hard to tell) be coming from the drivers side. But yeah i notice it on any road over about 35-40mph. To me it reminds me ofva plastic peice flapping in the wind. Again hard to tell. Its very noticable though. I was thinking maybe the hub caps? I know my hub caps at very low speeds are creaky.

Looking for a solution though and i came across this post.

 

[ev_go123]

If it's over a certain speed, it's likely to be wind interacting with something on the outside. The rear of the wheel liners seem to be a common source (foam tape or even just wedging foam in there temporary to see if that fixes it). Also check under the car from behind the wheel back, tap on things and see if anything is loose/makes noise, that could be your source. Plastic trim in the frunk could also be a source. Check those places out.

 

[P3dStealth]

That sounds like its something in the cabin vibrating.

Download a tone generator app on your phone. Connect to bluetooth and run through the frequencies slowly playing through your cars speakers. You should be able to hear it eventually and track it down.

 

[ev_go123]

That sounds like its something in the cabin vibrating.

Download a tone generator app on your phone. Connect to bluetooth and run through the frequencies slowly playing through your cars speakers. You should be able to hear it eventually and track it down.

If it only occurs above a certain speed, I doubt it's on the interior--it's likely something exterior caused by wind. This especialy sounds true if it happens on roads without bumps at higher speeds.

Check out this plastic trim piece that can flop around, I had a lot of noise coming from this that I crudely solved by stuffing a little chuck of foam in the hole so the plastic trim can't hit the metal frame (ideally you use the right sized clip):

Sandy raves about how amazing this 10 cent cost saving is, and in reality it causes an annoying rattle

 

[M3DZ]

I have a similar clicking noise with my March 2023 M3P that started within the first 1k miles. However, mine sounds more like a single click with each bump or sometimes upon hard acceleration/deceleration coming from the driver B pillar/headliner area and not speed dependent. I’ve pulled the pillar trim to add tape/foam and dressed door seals multiple times with no success. I’ve been meaning to put in a ticket since both of my visor vanity lights are out now, but still interested to hear about your resolution.

 

[ev_go123]

I have a similar clicking noise with my March 2023 M3P that started within the first 1k miles. However, mine sounds more like a single click with each bump or sometimes upon hard acceleration/deceleration coming from the driver B pillar/headliner area and not speed dependent. I’ve pulled the pillar trim to add tape/foam and dressed door seals multiple times with no success. I’ve been meaning to put in a ticket since both of my visor vanity lights are out now, but still interested to hear about your resolution.

B pillar area could be the seat belt assembly, those seem to have a history of rattling.

You could try to get someone else to drive the car so you can hunt for the noise yourself. When you move your head around/get closer to the noise, you can really help zero in on the source. Also if you post a video of the problem, that helps people here identify the noise if it's a familiar one. The video itself can also help identify the source of the noise if you slowly move the camera around the suspect areas (the stereoscopic microphones smartphones have are very good).