[ft1330]

Originally Posted by TonyS

So it's not just me then. It just shows how difficult this noise is to pin down, doesn't it? Mine does it under exactly the same circumstances as you mention too. It's definitely worse under engine load and when going uphill (which of course increases the engine load). My car is booked in to the dealers again on the 7th.

Ok, we really have the same issue I'm 99% sure. It will be an interesting time next week. My appointment is on the 6th. I will let you know what they find. By the way the engine really sounds like crap when taking that engine cover off. it goes tic tic tic tic tic. I think it's the direct injection. Probably the reason for this engine cover.

[dzt]

Same issue here!

[TheHitchhiker]

I have the same ratte 2013 335i M-Sport. It started at the same time with this noise: http://www.f30post.com/forums/showthread.php?t=907367

I wonder if they are related. Can anyone confirm if you hear this?

[ft1330]

Originally Posted by tasansal

I have the same ratte 2013 335i M-Sport. It started at the same time with this noise: http://www.f30post.com/forums/showthread.php?t=907367

I wonder if they are related. Can anyone confirm if you hear this?

Not sure I have what you describe. A video would help tremendously.

[Philipangoo]

I had my car in at the dealer for a rattle that was louder then yours but sounded like a lower frequency. They attributed it to the Dashboard Brace being loose. The nuts were tightened and retorqued and the sound is now gone. It was coming from the lower passenger side of my dashboard. I remember pushing up on that panel with my hand would not make the sound go away but when they tightened everything it was fixed fine. The dealer mentioned they have had to do this to a few of the F30's. My car was like 3 weeks old when it started making that sound, no more sound now though!

Its a longshot but maybe your issue is the same?

[ft1330]

Originally Posted by Philipangoo

I had my car in at the dealer for a rattle that was louder then yours but sounded like a lower frequency. They attributed it to the Dashboard Brace being loose. The nuts were tightened and retorqued and the sound is now gone. It was coming from the lower passenger side of my dashboard. I remember pushing up on that panel with my hand would not make the sound go away but when they tightened everything it was fixed fine. The dealer mentioned they have had to do this to a few of the F30's. My car was like 3 weeks old when it started making that sound, no more sound now though!

Its a longshot but maybe your issue is the same?

Thanks... I'll make sure to let the tech know about this. I have another rattle that appears to be coming from this area (not sure) at very low speeds. It's a faint rattle and goes away when driving... Maybe that's what it is.

[TheHitchhiker]

I took the car in today for the following issues:

- The rattle in this topic (I wasn't able to replicate while we were test driving. OFCOURSE)
- Wastegate Rattle (confirmed by tech)
- Steering rack knocking (confirmed by tech)
- Passenger window rattling (confirmed by tech)
- Rocker panels vibrate/rattle with music, heard from the outside (confirmed by tech)
- Clunking from one of the rear suspensions (confirmed by tech)

I'll keep the post updated. BMW has gone so cheap, that this many issues are on a brand new car. I am really thinking of switching to something built with higher quality standards for my next car.

[ft1330]

Originally Posted by tasansal

I took the car in today for the following issues:

- The rattle in this topic (I wasn't able to replicate while we were test driving. OFCOURSE)
- Wastegate Rattle (confirmed by tech)
- Steering rack knocking (confirmed by tech)
- Passenger window rattling (confirmed by tech)
- Rocker panels vibrate/rattle with music, heard from the outside (confirmed by tech)
- Clunking from one of the rear suspensions (confirmed by tech)

I'll keep the post updated. BMW has gone so cheap, that this many issues are on a brand new car. I am really thinking of switching to something built with higher quality standards for my next car.

Let us know how you fare and make sure to get a full report from the techs about the fixes so we can benefit... I also have the rocker panel rattle BTW. And a few other small issues.

[TonyS]

My car has been at the dealers today for the second time to investigate this rattle. They have been on to BMW about it and been told that it's coming from the gearbox and is in fact a "characteristic" of the gearbox (mine is a 6MT).

According to my dealer there are a number of customers with 335i manual gearboxes who have complained about this noise. In fact, they started out by saying there were a "few" customers, and later on said there were customers "up and down the country" complaining. They say that BMW have swapped out the gearboxes on some and found that the noise remains the same.

To my way of thinking, if swapping the gearbox doesn't change the fault then the gearbox is not the cause of it. Also, if it's a "characteristic" then why don't they all do it, and why has mine only started after 9 months? They didn't have an answer to this.

They are also saying that other issue it went in for (also for the second time) - excessive wind noise on the passenger side (left side in the UK) - is in fact the same noise and also caused by the gearbox. I told them that the wind noise started at a completely different time to the vibration noise, so how could they have the same cause? They didn't have an answer to this either.

This all sounds like complete b*llsh*t to me, and I'm not at all happy with this response. My dealer has said there's not a lot more they can do unless/until BMW come up with a fix.

My dealer is usually pretty good (I've been with them for years), and I do appreciate that their hands are tied a bit by what BMW advise them. but I shall be writing to BMW UK about this when I've calmed down a bit.

Also, my apologies if this comes across as a bit of a rant, but I'm still rather p*ss*d off at the moment.

Out of interest, do any of the rest of you who have a 335i with this noise also have 6MT?

[ft1330]

Originally Posted by TonyS

My car has been at the dealers today for the second time to investigate this rattle. They have been on to BMW about it and been told that it's coming from the gearbox and is in fact a "characteristic" of the gearbox (mine is a 6MT).

According to my dealer there are a number of customers with 335i manual gearboxes who have complained about this noise. In fact, they started out by saying there were a "few" customers, and later on said there were customers "up and down the country" complaining. They say that BMW have swapped out the gearboxes on some and found that the noise remains the same.

To my way of thinking, if swapping the gearbox doesn't change the fault then the gearbox is not the cause of it. Also, if it's a "characteristic" then why don't they all do it, and why has mine only started after 9 months? They didn't have an answer to this.

They are also saying that other issue it went in for (also for the second time) - excessive wind noise on the passenger side (left side in the UK) - is in fact the same noise and also caused by the gearbox. I told them that the wind noise started at a completely different time to the vibration noise, so how could they have the same cause? They didn't have an answer to this either.

This all sounds like complete b*llsh*t to me, and I'm not at all happy with this response. My dealer has said there's not a lot more they can do unless/until BMW come up with a fix.

My dealer is usually pretty good (I've been with them for years), and I do appreciate that their hands are tied a bit by what BMW advise them. but I shall be writing to BMW UK about this when I've calmed down a bit.

Also, my apologies if this comes across as a bit of a rant, but I'm still rather p*ss*d off at the moment.

Out of interest, do any of the rest of you who have a 335i with this noise also have 6MT?

Sorry to hear about that. I know you said it was a good dealership but to me this sounds like a crap dealership. At least the tech you spoke to. It looks like they aren't trying very hard if all they say is "gearbox" and basically "normal". Then they say everyone has been complaining about it in the UK as if to justify not looking into it any further. Definitely fishy.

I have the auto gearbox. So if our noise is the same it's not due to the gearbox. Plus mine doesn't sound like it's coming from down near the gearbox at all. More like behind the dash. And I'm sure you would have heard about this "widespread" issue on this very forum. Now I don't know if our noise really is the same. Is it something you can record and post on this forum?

I had to postpone my appointment to next week so we'll see.

[1.fresh.f30.335]

I have an early 2012 335i and I have terrible rattles, under the pass seat, the headliner, the same rattle you have when it's cold as well... Then again, I should say it used to rattle, it was involved in an accident two weeks ago and potentially totaled.

[TonyS]

Originally Posted by ft1330

Sorry to hear about that. I know you said it was a good dealership but to me this sounds like a crap dealership. At least the tech you spoke to. It looks like they aren't trying very hard if all they say is "gearbox" and basically "normal". Then they say everyone has been complaining about it in the UK as if to justify not looking into it any further. Definitely fishy.

Despite all the frustration that these sorts of problems bring, it's important to remember that the dealer is not BMW or even employed by BMW, they merely pay BMW for a licence to act as an official agent to sell and service BMW cars.

In this case it's BMW telling the dealer that it's "normal", it's not the dealer coming up with excuses. They've already spent three days looking for the cause of this problem and contacted BMW because they were unable to resolve it. I've been with this privately owned dealership for about twenty years and they have always gone out of their way to help with any problems.

If the dealer escalates a problem to BMW and BMW say it's a known issue and "it's normal" or "there is no fix" then the dealer cannot do much more. They rely on the costs of warranty work being covered by BMW, they don't and can't pay for it out of their own pocket unless they pass that cost on to the customer.

My apologies as I'm sure that you probably already know all of this anyway, but there are an awful lot of people who aren't aware of the distinction between dealer and manufacturer and how the two work together.

[ft1330]

Originally Posted by TonyS

Despite all the frustration that these sorts of problems bring, it's important to remember that the dealer is not BMW or even employed by BMW, they merely pay BMW for a licence to act as an official agent to sell and service BMW cars.

In this case it's BMW telling the dealer that it's "normal", it's not the dealer coming up with excuses. They've already spent three days looking for the cause of this problem and contacted BMW because they were unable to resolve it. I've been with this privately owned dealership for about twenty years and they have always gone out of their way to help with any problems.

If the dealer escalates a problem to BMW and BMW say it's a known issue and "it's normal" or "there is no fix" then the dealer cannot do much more. They rely on the costs of warranty work being covered by BMW, they don't and can't pay for it out of their own pocket unless they pass that cost on to the customer.

My apologies as I'm sure that you probably already know all of this anyway, but there are an awful lot of people who aren't aware of the distinction between dealer and manufacturer and how the two work together.

OK, yes I'm aware of the distinction but I didn't understand your first message in this way, I thought the dealer made the call to stop searching and to suddenly declare the issue "normal". Sounds like a classic case of BMW UK being their customer-unfriendly self. From being European myself I know that customer service is not the best over there. I know in the US some people on this forum had their car exchanged/refunded over things like that. Pigs might fly before such things happened in Europe. Could be the fear of litigation. Hopefully I'm more successful. I'll let you know what they find out...

[TonyS]

Originally Posted by ft1330

OK, yes I'm aware of the distinction but I didn't understand your first message in this way, I thought the dealer made the call to stop searching and to suddenly declare the issue "normal". Sounds like a classic case of BMW UK being their customer-unfriendly self. From being European myself I know that customer service is not the best over there. I know in the US some people on this forum had their car exchanged/refunded over things like that. Pigs might fly before such things happened in Europe. Could be the fear of litigation. Hopefully I'm more successful. I'll let you know what they find out...

Sorry if I didn't make that clear in my original message. Anyway, I have an update - about 15 minutes ago I had a call from my dealer saying that BMW have come back to them and agreed to replace the gearbox in my car! Maybe my dissatisfaction that I asked the dealer to relay to BMW had an effect? As the service rep just said to me on the phone, they must think there is a genuine problem as a new gearbox is around £5k and they don't change them lightly. Dealer will contact me with a date once they've got the new gearbox in, and we shall see if it actually fixes the problem or whether I just get a new gearbox out of it.

All the best when you take your car in too...

[ft1330]

Originally Posted by TonyS

Sorry if I didn't make that clear in my original message. Anyway, I have an update - about 15 minutes ago I had a call from my dealer saying that BMW have come back to them and agreed to replace the gearbox in my car! Maybe my dissatisfaction that I asked the dealer to relay to BMW had an effect? As the service rep just said to me on the phone, they must think there is a genuine problem as a new gearbox is around £5k and they don't change them lightly. Dealer will contact me with a date once they've got the new gearbox in, and we shall see if it actually fixes the problem or whether I just get a new gearbox out of it.

All the best when you take your car in too...

Great news! Good luck to you and your car and don't forget to update the forum!

[Philipangoo]

That's crazy that they replace the entire transmission you would think the rattle would come from the shifting linkage I mean something more simple then the entire transmission. Good news for you though!

[TonyS]

Originally Posted by Philipangoo

That's crazy that they replace the entire transmission you would think the rattle would come from the shifting linkage I mean something more simple then the entire transmission. Good news for you though!

Yes, that's what I thought too. I guess the cause must be deep in the gearbox and something that can't be fixed easily, and I assume that BMW wouldn't pay for a gearbox change unless they really thought it was necessary.

Latest news from my dealer is that the gearbox has to be ordered from Germany and should be here in 5 to 7 days. I'll report back on the results.

[ft1330]

Got some news. Bad news. So after an initial drive with the shop foreman when we both heard the rattles, the car was at the dealership for 2 full days and they could not reproduce the rattle. They just couldn't hear it! On the third day they asked me to come in and drive the car again with the foreman and I just couldn't reproduce it. They can't do anything until they can at least hear the noise. So I told them I would take it back when it's more consistent. THE MINUTE I drive off the dealership the noise comes right back!!!!!!!! At that point I'm pretty pissed, turn around, go get the foreman again and GUESS WHAT. THE FUCKING RATTLE IS GONE again!!! Made me look like a fool! So I leave for the last time and???? Rattle is BACK! WHAT.THE.FUCK!!!! I'm so pissed you guys have no idea.

OH and I got REAR-ENDED while driving around town with the BMW foreman IN THE CAR, by some b**** while stopped at a traffic light. YES the bumper is now messed up.

Now put me up for most unlucky person in the Guinness Book of Records please because I think this qualifies!

The shop foreman is a really nice guy and you can tell he's trying to fix it, but no noise = no fix.

What a fucking bad day.

[BavarianFanatic]

Originally Posted by TonyS

Despite all the frustration that these sorts of problems bring, it's important to remember that the dealer is not BMW or even employed by BMW, they merely pay BMW for a licence to act as an official agent to sell and service BMW cars.

In this case it's BMW telling the dealer that it's "normal", it's not the dealer coming up with excuses. They've already spent three days looking for the cause of this problem and contacted BMW because they were unable to resolve it. I've been with this privately owned dealership for about twenty years and they have always gone out of their way to help with any problems.

If the dealer escalates a problem to BMW and BMW say it's a known issue and "it's normal" or "there is no fix" then the dealer cannot do much more. They rely on the costs of warranty work being covered by BMW, they don't and can't pay for it out of their own pocket unless they pass that cost on to the customer.

My apologies as I'm sure that you probably already know all of this anyway, but there are an awful lot of people who aren't aware of the distinction between dealer and manufacturer and how the two work together.

Very well explained and seemingly lost on a great number of people who frequent this forum.

[Theride]

I can never understand some of these issues. If a customer can have their car for a month and have certain issues, why weren't these issue caught and rectify before hitting the public? what was all these months of testing for?

[ft1330]

Originally Posted by Theride

I can never understand some of these issues. If a customer can have their car for a month and have certain issues, why weren't these issue caught and rectify before hitting the public? what was all these months of testing for?

Amen bro, I don't know what's happening to my car either, someone cast a spell on it or something. I guess it worked real well because it goes away whenever the car is at the dealer. Not sure you can lemon a car for rattles, especially intermittent??

[TonyS]

Originally Posted by ft1330

Got some news. Bad news. So after an initial drive with the shop foreman when we both heard the rattles, the car was at the dealership for 2 full days and they could not reproduce the rattle. They just couldn't hear it! On the third day they asked me to come in and drive the car again with the foreman and I just couldn't reproduce it. They can't do anything until they can at least hear the noise. So I told them I would take it back when it's more consistent. THE MINUTE I drive off the dealership the noise comes right back!!!!!!!! At that point I'm pretty pissed, turn around, go get the foreman again and GUESS WHAT. THE FUCKING RATTLE IS GONE again!!! Made me look like a fool! So I leave for the last time and???? Rattle is BACK! WHAT.THE.FUCK!!!! I'm so pissed you guys have no idea.

OH and I got REAR-ENDED while driving around town with the BMW foreman IN THE CAR, by some b**** while stopped at a traffic light. YES the bumper is now messed up.

Now put me up for most unlucky person in the Guinness Book of Records please because I think this qualifies!

The shop foreman is a really nice guy and you can tell he's trying to fix it, but no noise = no fix.

What a fucking bad day.

Just a thought, but could the rattle be tied to the passenger seat somehow, so that when you go out with someone the weight of that person in the seat stops the rattle? If you think it might be that, get them to sit in the back next time.