[moeharri]

Thanks again for another update! I see there's another thread (couple years old) that is suggesting this could be the windshield washer reservoir--I've actually thought that myself without any way of proving it. I'm following the other thread closely too. I wish I could have heard the noise from the videos two years ago to understand if it's the same as I hear.

https://x3.xbimmers.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1706123

[moeharri]

I have some potential good news! I took a look under my hood and saw that two "caps" were loose. The windshield washer fluid cap was open and the red cap to the battery connection was also open. I'm thinking that possibly either of these were hitting the hood (or some part of the frame) when driving on certain services. After the suspension warms up, perhaps it soaks up bumps a bit better and the noise mostly subsides.

I plan to take the X3 out in the morning (when it always makes the noise) and see if the noise went away. If this doesn't do it, I'm still hopeful the issue from the thread I linked above will finally be the solution if I can get a few more details to share with my dealership.

[gatechman]

moeharri, regarding the windshield washer reservoir as the possible root cause of the noise, I think I found the SIB that explains the issue and the solution. See link below.

https://static.nhtsa.gov/odi/tsbs/20...74017-9999.pdf

[moeharri]

Originally Posted by gatechman

moeharri, regarding the windshield washer reservoir as the possible root cause of the noise, I think I found the SIB that explains the issue and the solution. See link below.

https://static.nhtsa.gov/odi/tsbs/20...74017-9999.pdf

THANK YOU! If my closing of the washer and battery terminal caps doesn't fix the issue (which I'm kind of thinking it won't--the washer fluid container is heavier and probably more likely to make the noise I'm hearing), I'll see if my dealership is willing to try this out even though they haven't duplicated the sound yet. Or, maybe I can figure out how to do this myself? I'm not very handy though...

Edit: I'm definitely not trying this fix myself. It requires jacking up the X3, removing the wheel, wheel liner, and pulling out the reservoir. That's too complicated for me--I'd end up breaking something else. I do plan to bring this up to my dealership soon, however.

[moeharri]

Originally Posted by madshenriksen

Yesterday I got called up by the mechanic at the dealership saying he has never experienced anything like this before. Usually they find out what's going on pretty fast and having the car in for 3 weeks without any solution is really unusual.

He has called BMW multiple times to be given some options and one of them was to change the steering rack. They actually changed the steering rack two months ago because of noise when turning left in reverse. I'm beginning to think this is a lot more fundamental problem.

In november last year when I first had it in, they changed the right front bearing, and now they have changed it again - no improvement.

Mechanic says he knows exactly how to produce the sound and finding it weird that the noise is so inconsistent and changing in sound.

I will get a call up again next week.

Any update on your end yet? Today I had the windshield washer reservoir fix performed by my dealer. I'll take the car out tomorrow and hope that my 3.5 year journey to resolve this noise has come to an end!

https://static.nhtsa.gov/odi/tsbs/20...74017-9999.pdf

[gatechman]

moeharri, did the washer reservoir procedure address your noise issue?

[madshenriksen]

Yep - got the car back Wednesday and until this date the noise is completely gone. Never thought it was going to be fixed.

Mechanic called me Tuesday to say he had changed everything possible on the front end and that he couldn't reproduce the sound anymore. He was still cautious and wanted me to test drive it for a few days and then call in with some feedback. I asked him what fixed the noise but because he had changed so many parts he couldn't tell me exactly… Hmm…

I'll call him Monday and tell him I have a thread on Bimmerpost with people who have the same issue. At least I can get a list of what he replaced I think and try to make him more specific about when the noise disappered in the repairing process.

[moeharri]

Originally Posted by gatechman

moeharri, did the washer reservoir procedure address your noise issue?

Unfortunately, the weather is a bit warmer, making it more difficult for me to tell if the fix worked or not. My estimate is that the noise is reduced by 80%, such that if I hadn't known about it previously, I'd say that this did indeed work. I hope to get out some morning when it's closer to 20 degrees F (or colder), but those days are becoming more rare here in Spring in Wisconsin.

I would definitely recommend this fix as I really think this mostly resolves the 3+ year issue I've been having!

[moeharri]

Originally Posted by moeharri

Unfortunately, the weather is a bit warmer, making it more difficult for me to tell if the fix worked or not. My estimate is that the noise is reduced by 80%, such that if I hadn't known about it previously, I'd say that this did indeed work. I hope to get out some morning when it's closer to 20 degrees F (or colder), but those days are becoming more rare here in Spring in Wisconsin.

I would definitely recommend this fix as I really think this mostly resolves the 3+ year issue I've been having!

Well, I decided to take a quick drive at 9pm given that my car wasn't driven today. It's currently 37 degrees F and at best, the sound is 50% less than normal. I now think that the only reason it's quieter is because it's not very cold outside. I think I've given up trying to find a solution at this point. I only have 1500 miles on my new X3 and it's going to be a long several years until I finally move onto another brand after 3 BMW's in a row.

BMW is my favorite brand and I currently have my "dream vehicle", but it's an abusive relationship where I can't fix whatever's wrong...

[wandmts97]

Hi All - been having a rattle on my new x3 that the dealership hasn't been able to get to the bottom of. Been combing through the posts and looks like the windshield washer reservoir issue could potentially be it so bringing the car in next week and really hoping this is actually it. For those that have experienced before and the reservoir was the issue, does the below video sound like what you here? Wondering how much hope I should have!

https://www.dropbox.com/s/tnw6x4m770...attle.MOV?dl=0

As others have noted, I actually hear the noise on the inside front passanger side dash. Dealership has tried multiple things on inside of car, but hasn't addressed it and sounds like it could be the reservoir issue others have noted.

If others have experienced before and you have had it resolved, can you let me know what dealer did to fix? Thank you!

[madshenriksen]

Originally Posted by moeharri

Well, I decided to take a quick drive at 9pm given that my car wasn't driven today. It's currently 37 degrees F and at best, the sound is 50% less than normal. I now think that the only reason it's quieter is because it's not very cold outside. I think I've given up trying to find a solution at this point. I only have 1500 miles on my new X3 and it's going to be a long several years until I finally move onto another brand after 3 BMW's in a row.

BMW is my favorite brand and I currently have my "dream vehicle", but it's an abusive relationship where I can't fix whatever's wrong...

Feel for you, man… Just sucks, especially on a completely new car. Mechanic unfortunately told me today that he couldn't tell me what the solution was. With the car being in the dealership for weeks, he eventually changed a whole lot on the front on warranty and the car stopped making the noise somewhere in that process.

I was really lucky with the mechanic who helped me. Extremely involved and didn't give up until there was a solution. Another less involved mechanic would maybe have stated the sound as "normal" and I would have to deal with it.

Reading through your comments, I suspect we don't have the exact same noise problem. Finding a new dealership/service center (whatever you call it) with fresh eyes on the issue could be a solution. A new M40i should be a joy, not causing nervous tics

[moeharri]

Originally Posted by wandmts97

Hi All - been having a rattle on my new x3 that the dealership hasn't been able to get to the bottom of. Been combing through the posts and looks like the windshield washer reservoir issue could potentially be it so bringing the car in next week and really hoping this is actually it. For those that have experienced before and the reservoir was the issue, does the below video sound like what you here? Wondering how much hope I should have!

https://www.dropbox.com/s/tnw6x4m770...attle.MOV?dl=0

As others have noted, I actually hear the noise on the inside front passanger side dash. Dealership has tried multiple things on inside of car, but hasn't addressed it and sounds like it could be the reservoir issue others have noted.

If others have experienced before and you have had it resolved, can you let me know what dealer did to fix? Thank you!

Your noise doesn't sound quite the same as mine. My noise seems a bit lower in tone--"thunking" is how I'd describe it, not so much a rattling noise.

This morning I had my wife drive for a few blocks down our street while I sat in the passenger seat. The noise then sounded like it was coming from the back left (instead of the front right)!

So, I decided to take out the spare tire, jack, all of the accessories, and the cargo cover from the "trunk" in a hope that this would be the cause--surprise, it wasn't the issue.

I still think the washer reservoir is the problem and that it just isn't secured very well. Perhaps the whole tank should be wrapped in felt or something. I really think if they took the reservoir out completely and tried to duplicate the noise that it'd prove that's the issue...

I'm contemplating dropping my vehicle off Tuesday evening and telling them to keep it overnight and until they figure out what's wrong. It's so miserable to drive a brand new vehicle with this noise every single day. I know it's a first world problem, but BMW should hold itself to a higher standard than this.

[wandmts97]

Originally Posted by moeharri

Your noise doesn't sound quite the same as mine. My noise seems a bit lower in tone--"thunking" is how I'd describe it, not so much a rattling noise.

This morning I had my wife drive for a few blocks down our street while I sat in the passenger seat. The noise then sounded like it was coming from the back left (instead of the front right)!

So, I decided to take out the spare tire, jack, all of the accessories, and the cargo cover from the "trunk" in a hope that this would be the cause--surprise, it wasn't the issue.

I still think the washer reservoir is the problem and that it just isn't secured very well. Perhaps the whole tank should be wrapped in felt or something. I really think if they took the reservoir out completely and tried to duplicate the noise that it'd prove that's the issue...

I'm contemplating dropping my vehicle off Tuesday evening and telling them to keep it overnight and until they figure out what's wrong. It's so miserable to drive a brand new vehicle with this noise every single day. I know it's a first world problem, but BMW should hold itself to a higher standard than this.

Best of luck getting your thunking resolved. My rattling was finally resolved and was indeed the washer fluid reservoir. It took two tries from the dealer with different approaches to get it taken care of though. I know how frustrating it can be so keeping my fingers crossed for you. Keep at it and hopefully it will get taken care of soon.

[Chief Orman]

What an exasperating issue. Totally different experience, but I had some strange front end noises in a 335d that was only a couple of year old and it turned out to be a shot motor mount. In the good old days you could feel a rattle in the stick. Also I am not sure with the X3, but in the old days the motor mounts were connected to the vacuum system and that could also get wonky. If it is a deep thud definitely make them look at motor mounts.

[madshenriksen]

Aaaaaaand the noise is back! That lasted around 2 months… I'm giving up on this car.

[NashX3]

I noticed you mentioned you had your control arms replaced. Did this solve the noise over bumps? My car makes the exact same noise and dealer could t figure it out. They replaced both struts and strut mounts.

[brettl]

My noise has been going on for 3 years and 2 dealers. They’ve looked at and mended the reservoir, several tighten sessions and most recently replaced the steering rack. At the end of this week they are going to replace the top of the strut/shock tower. IF that doesn’t fix it they are going to break out the ‘chassis ears’ which is a series of microphones on different channels. Not sure why it’s taken this long to get this to happen. Car had an accident after the noise was discovered and reported but I suppose bmw will use this an excuse to not help out much should we start talking about citrus trees. Car is covered by warranty until Aug 2023 so I hope we get this figured out soon!!

[mattsheng]

My MY22 30i xDrive makes the same noise over speed bump, which you can see in this thread I posted: https://x3.xbimmers.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1984231

My shop foreman and I tested drove some MY23 30i xDrive from both the USA factory and the South Africa factory and these new cars (not even PDI yet) make the same noise over speed bumps. We came to the conclusion that it is just what it is with the SA 225 standard suspension.

I have had many loaners over the past 4 months, ranging from 2019 740i, 2020 540i, 2021 X3 M40i, to 2021 X5 40i, and none of these cars make any noise over speed bumps. It is a shame that a car >$50k makes this kind of noise when it is still brand new.

[NashX3]

My noise eventually goes away after I have gone over some speed bumps and the suspension warms up. But it sounds more of a plastic crunch noise (bad bushing?). I am giving in and taking it to a local German mechanic to see what their thoughts are. I test drove a used 2020 X3 M40 yesterday and hit some speed bumps and the car didn’t make a sound. All I could hear were the shocks rebounding like I can on mine. But the loaners they gave me (X5, 5 series, and 4 series) never made the noise going over the same dips or speed bumps.

[madshenriksen]

Originally Posted by NashX3

I noticed you mentioned you had your control arms replaced. Did this solve the noise over bumps? My car makes the exact same noise and dealer could t figure it out. They replaced both struts and strut mounts.

Take a look at this thread https://x3.xbimmers.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1884837
It did solve the noise going over speed bumps too… I still hear the noise on left side now but the left control arm will first be replaced in March, so I guess this will solve it.

[AllBlackBimmer]

Get the engine mounts checked.
This is a failure point in the 30's X3's only, as the M40's have stronger engine mounts.

[NashX3]

Originally Posted by AllBlackBimmer

Get the engine mounts checked.
This is a failure point in the 30's X3's only, as the M40's have stronger engine mounts.

Dealer said they checked the engine mounts and they were good. They even disconnected the stabilizer links to see if it was the sway bar and car still made the noise. I am leaning towards the control arms are making the noise. My local mechanic will look at the car Thursday so we will see what they say. Dealership told me to come back once sound is more persistent since it goes away after a bit of driving.