Intermittent creaking from the armrest on the door

[BDO]

The armrest (the one integrated in the door panel, not the middle one) sometimes makes a creaking noise when I push on it with my elbow.

I've tried to show the dealer at two separate occassions, but as per Murphy I couldn't get it to make the sound at that time.

Any idea what this is and is there some simple DIY I can try?

[turboawd]

Well they say if it hurts when you poke it, then don't poke it!

[hlrzr]

Mine creaks a lot also. I've been trying to figure out if it's when I use the soft close, wind down and then up the window, close the door normally, or what. It squeaks/rattles when driving too. Centre console in front of the cupholders to the left also rattles. Drives me up the wall.

Oh.... and low speed rattle from somewhere in the drive train. More pronounced after the car has warmed up and then switches gears at a low speed. Dealer heard it once then didn't again. Might have to fill it up with gas and tell them to go wild.

[hufington]

Same here. Brought it to two different services and checked it with the supervisors and there is not much to be done the way it is installed. No screws to tighten or no felt tape to be put in between the door and the panel. One of the guys at the service also told me that most F15 owners have the same complaint.

[BDO]

Originally Posted by hufington

Same here. Brought it to two different services and checked it with the supervisors and there is not much to be done the way it is installed. No screws to tighten or no felt tape to be put in between the door and the panel. One of the guys at the service also told me that most F15 owners have the same complaint.

That's really bad... I have a feeling that overall my F16 is nowhere near as solidly put together as the F13 was, which is a shame.

I will bring it up at the next dealership visit and see if anything can be done.

[menelaos]

Took the door panels out recently to replace the trim.
This above is the only thing that scared me the most. I expended a ton of energy to pull and snap back in, and thankfully, no creaks.
I would just ask them to remove, test-drive w/o it and reinstall and see if anything got loose.

[BDO]

Originally Posted by menelaos

Took the door panels out recently to replace the trim.
This above is the only thing that scared me the most. I expended a ton of energy to pull and snap back in, and thankfully, no creaks.
I would just ask them to remove, test-drive w/o it and reinstall and see if anything got loose.

I will have to do that, as I can't live with it like that. Creaks and rattles are something I am so anal about it will make me get rid of the car.

[menelaos]

Originally Posted by BDO

I will have to do that, as I can't live with it like that. Creaks and rattles are something I am so anal about it will make me get rid of the car.

Don't blame you. Can't have creaks in $100K vehicles -at least original MSRP that is!

[BDO]

The noise went away after the last dealer visit. Today the car was in for upper/lower control arms replacement, and when I collected it, you guessed it, the creaking is back. 😂

Driving me nuts but I don't have the energy to go back.

[menelaos]

Originally Posted by BDO

The noise went away after the last dealer visit. Today the car was in for upper/lower control arms replacement, and when I collected it, you guessed it, the creaking is back. 😂

Driving me nuts but I don't have the energy to go back.

Hang in there sir!

[hufington]

Crank up the stereo volume!

[pwrdbym]

My F15's interior plastic creaks and groans anytime pressure is put on it. Including the seat bases, center console and door panels. I think it's just the design of the hard plastic. BMW interiors have certainly gone down in quality over the years. They look nice but aren't nearly as solid as something like an E39. I hate to say it but my wife's Tahoe has much better interior materials and finish.