[kierownik]

Hi there,
So I went for a 60miles drive today, 30miles there, 30miles back.
Going outbound everything was super fine.
Half way back home I was rolling in the traffic doing about 5mph. When I tapped the brake I heard a knocking sound from the front. It knocked again when I set off. At slow speed it now knocks on the F/O/S when driving on uneven road, not even a potholes, just uneven surface. It knocks if I lean on the front O/S wing. It knocks when I tap the brake at slow speed.
Doesn't knock at all when I wobble the steering wheel so I don't think it's the steering rack. I had steering rack knocking on my old F20 which made a very similar kind of sound/knock but this one doesn't make any noise when I wobble the steering wheel.

What could it possibly be? Drop links?
I even checked my wheel nuts to make sure the wheel isn't falling off.

I'm loosing my patience for this car, less than 600 miles since I bought it and a list of issues is getting longer and longer.

Any ideas please?

[KRS_SN]

i had the same issue at 40k miles. dealer changed a bunch of things(hydrobearing,drop link, control arm, steering rack knuckle bushing all under warranty (no improvement). i changed shocks n mounts as soon as car was out of warranty and noise was gone and handling was ace.
So if its under warranty take it to the dealer if not my money would be shocks if its a tapping noise at 5-10 mph over uneven surfaces.

[Pobsey]

Brake pads moving in the callipers if you have the blue m sport brakes

[kierownik]

Originally Posted by KRS_SN

i had the same issue at 40k miles. dealer changed a bunch of things(hydrobearing,drop link, control arm, steering rack knuckle bushing all under warranty (no improvement). i changed shocks n mounts as soon as car was out of warranty and noise was gone and handling was ace.
So if its under warranty take it to the dealer if not my money would be shocks if its a tapping noise at 5-10 mph over uneven surfaces.

That's exactly what it is. A tapping noise.
But shocks gone at 29k miles? Is that even possible? No visible leaks. No previous symptoms at all.

[kierownik]

Originally Posted by Pobsey

Brake pads moving in the callipers if you have the blue m sport brakes

I don't have blue msport clippers. Plus i don't think it would be making the knocking noise when I'm pressing down on the front os wing.

[kierownik]

So all the way through autumn, winter and spring i had zero knocking noise. As soon as temperatures started to reach around 20C it came back twice as bad as last year. When it's warm and the car has been driven for some time and everything is hot the knocking noise becomes unbearable. Especially during slow manoeuvres around car park. When Driving below 20mph it sounds like the car is falling apart. I still haven't managed to find out what the cause of this could be. My garage says that it could be shock absorbers but I'm not so sure. It's driving me crazy.

[Aamirkj89]

Hi,

I have the same issue .. driving in traffic for a while and the noise starts coming. After a while it gets worse and can feel it in the front end and steering and tire. Mechanic changed the suspension arms both sides both of them. And bmw specialist said that it’s the top mount and should change shock absorbers while at it. Costs £900 but I’m not sure Iv already spent £600 and no results! We’re you able to resolve yours?

[kierownik]

Originally Posted by Aamirkj89

Hi,

I have the same issue .. driving in traffic for a while and the noise starts coming. After a while it gets worse and can feel it in the front end and steering and tire. Mechanic changed the suspension arms both sides both of them. And bmw specialist said that it’s the top mount and should change shock absorbers while at it. Costs £900 but I’m not sure Iv already spent £600 and no results! We’re you able to resolve yours?

My mechanic said it's either the top mounts or the shocks. To replace both sides it's gonna cost about £800 which is a lot and there's no guarantee it will fix it. Either way my car goes in next Monday and they will be looking for the exact cause and hopefully they'll be able to locate it and finally fix it.

[KRS_SN]

from previously having faced this problem and having replaced shocks strut mounts springs drop links hydrobearings brake pads etc its an annoying one.
I do hear 2 issues which you could investigate
1. loose washer fluid tank reservoir
2. lax steering rack there are are DIY options for this if yoy Google
Good luck.

[Two-tone525]

My guess, based on similar sounds I've heard, but not on BMW's, would be the top mounts.

Some great diagnostic ideas from KRS_SN

Loose washer fluid tank - you've never guess that one unless it had actually happened to you would you.

[kierownik]

Originally Posted by Two-tone525

My guess, based on similar sounds I've heard, but not on BMW's, would be the top mounts.

Some great diagnostic ideas from KRS_SN

Loose washer fluid tank - you've never guess that one unless it had actually happened to you would you.

Loose washer fluid tank wouldn't knock only when the weather is nice and car is warmed up, would it?

[Sasquartch]

If you can reproduce the knock by pressing down on the wing then it ought to be easy to find where the knock is coming from.

Id take to it any MOT garage and get them to raise it off the ground on a 4-post ramp (so the suspension is under normal load) and bounce it up and down and see what's what

But if you've only driven it 600 miles you can't have had the car long, did you buy it from a garage or privately ? If garage I'd be looking to the dealer to sort it

[kierownik]

Originally Posted by Sasquartch

If you can reproduce the knock by pressing down on the wing then it ought to be easy to find where the knock is coming from.

Id take to it any MOT garage and get them to raise it off the ground on a 4-post ramp (so the suspension is under normal load) and bounce it up and down and see what's what

But if you've only driven it 600 miles you can't have had the car long, did you buy it from a garage or privately ? If garage I'd be looking to the dealer to sort it

I've had the car for over a year. Took it to the garage today and they did exactly what you said. They've put it on the 4post ramp and kept bouncing the car looking for knocking. 1st diagnosis - shocks, top mounts, they kept checking, no it's not shocks - possibly tie rods, maybe even steering rack, could be rollbar bushes. Wherever they check they can feel kocking. So the car stayed at the garage overnight and they will keep disassembling the front trying to find the exact cause of the problem.

[Aamirkj89]

Hi,

I have taken mine to the local garage and they have done the same and at first they said it’s the lower control arms and those were changed. Then they have changed the other suspension arms. They feel the knock in both but changing them didn’t fix the issue. The only other thing I did was change the break pads and disks and they were brembo. Could it be that? I don’t really know. Also Iv read about this repair kit for the steering rack? Any opinions would be really helpful. It is really hard to find it coz the noise only comes when driving in traffic for 30-40 mins and if I book the car in they don’t hear anything if it’s rested and cold.

[Two-tone525]

Originally Posted by kierownik

Loose washer fluid tank wouldn't knock only when the weather is nice and car is warmed up, would it?

Would depend on what had expanded and/or contracted in the circumstances. Could be a bracket that expands when hot and gets loose.

[kierownik]

Originally Posted by Two-tone525

Would depend on what had expanded and/or contracted in the circumstances. Could be a bracket that expands when hot and gets loose.

Yeah I get that but a recently refilled washer tank would not be making this kind of sound on just slightly uneven surface. This can be ruled out imo.

[KRS_SN]

https://x3.xbimmers.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1789323

https://f30.bimmerpost.com/forums/sh...1155981&page=2

[kierownik]

Originally Posted by KRS_SN

https://x3.xbimmers.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1789323

https://f30.bimmerpost.com/forums/sh...1155981&page=2

Naaaah, that's not it. This is rattling. Nowhere near anything that's happening on my car. Mine is a proper knocking. Metal against metal kind of knocking.

Anyway, I've picked up my car from the garage today after they had it for 2 days. They say they're 90% sure the cause of the knocking on my car are the inner tie rods. So I will be having them replaced on Monday and once that's done I will let you know if it fixed the issue.

[KRS_SN]

Good luck. After many days at the bmw dealer and many parts changed noise would always come back after going away for a while.
After 2 years of ownership I gave up and got a G05 X5 happy to report it is rattle and knock free.

[kierownik]

Originally Posted by KRS_SN

Good luck. After many days at the bmw dealer and many parts changed noise would always come back after going away for a while.
After 2 years of ownership I gave up and got a G05 X5 happy to report it is rattle and knock free.

I hope it doesn't get to the point where I'll just need to get rid of the car. Apart from the damn knocking I really like it. I just find it difficult to understand how can it be at such state with only 35k miles on it. Anyway I hope it'll get fixed on Monday.

[Aamirkj89]

Originally Posted by kierownik

I hope it doesn't get to the point where I'll just need to get rid of the car. Apart from the damn knocking I really like it. I just find it difficult to understand how can it be at such state with only 35k miles on it. Anyway I hope it'll get fixed on Monday.

I have just got mine checked from dealership and has been diagnosed with the steering rack issue. There is a repair kit that bmw provide which is a bushing that gets replaced in the steering rack. Have a look into that there are lots of YouTube videos about it. The guy told me that when the car gets warm enough then the noise starts coming which is my case. I have booked my car for next Thursday. Will update when done!

[KRS_SN]

Originally Posted by kierownik

I hope it doesn't get to the point where I'll just need to get rid of the car. Apart from the damn knocking I really like it. I just find it difficult to understand how can it be at such state with only 35k miles on it. Anyway I hope it'll get fixed on Monday.

I sincerely hope it does! They did replace the steering rack thrust bearing on mine. Still didn't solve the issue.
In retrospect mistake I made was I bought from car supermarket. ? clocked. Should have bought approved used bmw.
Funny thing is car was perfect apart from that knocking and I just couldn't live with that knock. Keep us updated.