Dash rattle/squeak

Recently been having this annoying squeak/rattle in the dash, only when it's been driven for awhile and some heat from the sun hits the dash. I think it's the piece in the picture but not entirely sure. Every time I go over any uneven surface or even slowly lover a speed bump it's squeaks. Super annoying. Anyone have something similar and can say whether I'm on the right track?

Obviously no bmw but I had this happen in my wife's Touareg. They have a similar piece up there for the front center speaker. Over time plastic clips loosen up and don't hold so well or even crack as plastic ages. The fix for me was to take it out and check the plastic clips. One was broken so I gorilla glued it back, filed the excess down, reattached and the rattling was solved.

Like I said applies to another car but I'll bet that or similar is your issue.

I pulled that cover off last summer and replaced most of the felt material on the underside. Seemed to reduce the noise from that area quite a bit.

I have the exact same rattle/squeak there, In my car there's a central speaker and unlike you it happens on coldish days...is driving me nuts

I'll pop it off and take a look. I'm glad I'm not the only one with the issue. I appreciate everyone's insight. I'll report back once I narrow down and fix/replace the issue

yup same spot for me, and the backseat passenger side.

super annoying.

EnVe46 wrote

I'll pop it off and take a look. I'm glad I'm not the only one with the issue. I appreciate everyone's insight. I'll report back once I narrow down and fix/replace the issue

You can buy felt tape, similar to the one below.

3m felt tape

Generic brand

Dealers and audio shops use these kinda tape all the time to fix rattles. Just apply it under the panel where it make contact with the adjacent panel. I used the generic brand from amazon few years ago on my Lexus to fix a door panel rattle. Works like a charm.

MaximusB wrote

You can buy felt tape, similar to the one below.

3m felt tape

Generic brand

Dealers and audio shops use these kinda tape all the time to fix rattles. Just apply it under the panel where it make contact with the adjacent panel. I used the generic brand from amazon few years ago on my Lexus to fix a door panel rattle. Works like a charm.

Thank you kind sir! Just bought and will update after messing with it this weekend.

Have you made any changes to the dash (new radio or something)?

spazzyfry123 wrote

Have you made any changes to the dash (new radio or something)?

Nope. Started once couple months ago and has progressively gotten worse

I seem to have a rattle coming from my steering column and also another one that seems to be coming from either the front or rear passenger side. Its so damn hard to pinpoint these squeaks!

I had a similar noise from another car. It was driving me crazy. Of course it would only do it when driving. After taking out the console/radio/air and other stuff trying to track it down, it turned out it was something in the engine compartment.
The sound was coming through the air vents but sounded exactly what you would expect if it was in the dash.
It was only later when the noise got loud and would do it with the car idling that I heard it in the engine comp.
A real goose chase.
Just something to look out for.

Yep, same here. How does that panel come off?

The rear deck also makes noise. These are the two main sources of noise in these cars.

I've spent so much time hunting down and fixing noises in my M3. Rear parcel shelf creak, after many attempts at stuffing foam etc, was only really fixed by installing a rear strut bar.

The center dash cover covers the center speaker bracket and center air vents. The cover rests directly on top of the speaker bracket. If applying pressure on the cover stops the noise then it might be worthwhile to open it up and tightening the screws. Else the noise may be coming from deeper inside your dash.

The noise only happens when I go over a significant bump that cause the chassis to twist, like a speed bump or a bridge at highway speeds. Small road imperfections usually won't cause it. I'm not even 100% it's the center vents/speaker cover but it's the only piece in the dash that isn't part of the dash pad itself. I may just pop it off today and drive to see what happens. Extremely frustrating. I can deal with minor creaks and noises but this is piercing and makes the car sound like a pos

Redd wrote

I've spent so much time hunting down and fixing noises in my M3. Rear parcel shelf creak, after many attempts at stuffing foam etc, was only really fixed by installing a rear strut bar.

The center dash cover covers the center speaker bracket and center air vents. The cover rests directly on top of the speaker bracket. If applying pressure on the cover stops the noise then it might be worthwhile to open it up and tightening the screws. Else the noise may be coming from deeper inside your dash.

These cars are quite a bit worse than the E46 which is like a vault in terms of rattles - virtually rattle free even as they age.

The rear shelf on the E9X is BAD..... it vibrates like crazy. I've already spent a couple hours back there closely inspecting and I can't easily replicate the noise(s) by hand. I'm going to try cramming a couple of racquet balls between the shelf/glass as a first attempt. If that fixes it then I'll remove the entire shelf and add foam/padding under it.

I had a similar rattle that I thought for sure it was the center speaker area as well. After hours of trying a lot of the things already mentioned, I finally pulled the tach/speedo assembly to see if that made the noise go away, and it did, immediately.

Two torx screws in the upper flange of the assembly, and just tip it forward, take it for a quick ride and see if the noise is gone.

I removed mine (the entire assembly) and put several pieces of 3M felt tape on the back of it, as I could not pin point the source of the rattle, but it's gone and hasn't come back in 2 years and counting.

Did you fix this?