[mattsheng]

I have been hearing rattling noise from the "cup holder" area over uneven road, and Jen4BMW mentioned in his thread (https://x3.xbimmers.com/forums/showt...ght=cup+holder) that the noise isn't actually coming from the cup holder area but from the washer fluid reservoir.

I knew about this SIB, SIB 61 02 20 - Knocking noise from washer fluid reservoir.pdf, but it only applied to cars made before 1/1/2022 and my car was made on 3/17/2023 so I was a bit skeptical. So I removed the cup holder entirely and went for a test drive and sure enough, the noise was still there! I then got into the passenger seat and now the noise was coming from the bottom of the passenger A-pillar. WTH??!!

Ok, now I'm starting to think that Jen4BMW is correct. So I removed the wheel liner and found the lower hook of the reservoir loose as hell. Great job BMW! Here is a video of how it sounded before the fix: https://youtube.com/shorts/FD2ho92-fMo?feature=share

I followed SIB 61 02 20 and put some felt tape around the lower mounting bracket. I even put some felt tape around the lower mounting hook just to be sure the noise is 100% eliminated.



After that, the noise is reduced but still present: https://youtube.com/shorts/MkRA0V5G3t4?feature=share

So I pulled the reservoir out again and see where it was making contact with the car. It turned out that the back locating tap (circled in red) was making the noise so I put some felt tape on it and now the noise is completely gone!



Some words of advice:

• If you don't have PPF on the fender and the wheel arch trim, it may be better to have your dealer fix it for you.
• The repair manual says you only need to remove the rear section of the wheel liner but that is not correct. You will need to remove the front section as well in order to remove the reservoir
• The 7 plastic rivets (51777171004) holding the wheel arch trim are one-time-use. God damn it BMW! I thought they are reusable like the VW/Audi ones. I used a 2mm allen key to push the bit into the rivet then pried it off.
• It is not necessary to completely remove the wheel arch trim. You can just unhook part of it while you remove the wheel liners.
• The washer fluid will come pouring down on you so be prepared... (I wasn't)
• You don't need to remove any wire from the reservoir. Just have it resting on the brake rotor while you are putting felt tape (all over the car)
• Here is the repair manual for removing the reservoir: Removing washer fluid reservior (REP-REP-P-6171063-1 - V.5).pdf

[NYRangers79]

Where do you look these sib up? I have been trying to find the one for whistling in the passenger side. Someone mentioned a code name puma I think. Something like that.

[mattsheng]

Originally Posted by NYRangers79

Where do you look these sib up? I have been trying to find the one for whistling in the passenger side. Someone mentioned a code name puma I think. Something like that.

Most of the SIBs are available on nhtsa.gov. You can use google to restrict your search on nhtsa.gov only. For example, in the search box, type "site:nhtsa.gov bmw g01 xxx". Subsitute "xxx" with something you want to search. See the attached photo for example.

[NYRangers79]

Originally Posted by mattsheng

Most of the SIBs are available on nhtsa.gov. You can use google to restrict your search on nhtsa.gov only. For example, in the search box, type "site:nhtsa.gov bmw g01 xxx". Subsitute "xxx" with something you want to search. See the attached photo for example.

God bless your soul LoL

[AlmondJayRoM3]

So glad I happened upon this post. Thought I was going crazy because I heard a rattle every time I drove my wife’s X3 but not when I sat as the passenger. Been chasing this problem on and off for the last couple months thinking it was either the door or something in the dash. It always amazes me how rattles propagate throughout a car.

[mattsheng]

Originally Posted by AlmondJayRoM3

So glad I happened upon this post. Thought I was going crazy because I heard a rattle every time I drove my wife’s X3 but not when I sat as the passenger. Been chasing this problem on and off for the last couple months thinking it was either the door or something in the dash. It always amazes me how rattles propagate throughout a car.

Ikr. Felt tape is the only BMW special tool that us BMW owners need 😂

[TacosRule!]

I have like 10 of those plastic rivets if you need them...

[mattsheng]

Originally Posted by saabster2010

I have like 10 of those plastic rivets if you need them...

Thanks bro! I just got some from the dealer haha

[jsh139]

Glad you found the cause and were able to fix it. That seems like a mild PITA. There's no way to get at that thing from the topside? And without spilling washer fluid all over the place?

[mattsheng]

Originally Posted by jsh139

Glad you found the cause and were able to fix it. That seems like a mild PITA. There's no way to get at that thing from the topside? And without spilling washer fluid all over the place?

Yea, it won't be possible to get at that from the topside. The reservoir is mounted underneath the fender, and the source of rattle is at bottom and the rear of the reservoir.

[antair]

I will continue the ultimate rattle guide.
I had 4 rattles/noise issues.
1. Moonroof rattle - fixed by dealer. They adjusted the glass to sit tight on the seal.
2. Wind noise - driver’s windows. The issue was the damaged seal in the top right corner.
3. Door plastic rattle (driver’s side). Fixed by putting a piece of foam between the plastic part and metal surface.
4. Windshield wash reservoir rattle. Indeed it’s present in X3 2022. If you don’t want to disassemble the whole wheel arch there is an alternative. Remove the hood seal on the top to get to the top of the reservoir. Take a piece of plumbers insulation foam and put it between the reservoir and body panel to eleminate tank wiggle.

[bmr4j]

Originally Posted by antair

I will continue the ultimate rattle guide.
I had 4 rattles/noise issues.
1. Moonroof rattle - fixed by dealer. They adjusted the glass to sit tight on the seal.
2. Wind noise - driver’s windows. The issue was the damaged seal in the top right corner.
3. Door plastic rattle (driver’s side). Fixed by putting a piece of foam between the plastic part and metal surface.
4. Windshield wash reservoir rattle. Indeed it’s present in X3 2022. If you don’t want to disassemble the whole wheel arch there is an alternative. Remove the hood seal on the top to get to the top of the reservoir. Take a piece of plumbers insulation foam and put it between the reservoir and body panel to eleminate tank wiggle.

When you say "Remove the hood seal on the top to get to the top of the reservoir" do you mean to lift up the rubber seal that runs along the passenger side of the hood (the edge that runs from the hood hinge to above the passenger side head light)? Or do you mean the wiper cowl at the base of the windshield?

I would love to quiet the washer reservoir rattle without having to remove the wheel well.

[antair]

This one. Be careful with plastic hook at the end - super easy to break.

[g11hoonigan]

Originally Posted by antair

I will continue the ultimate rattle guide.
I had 4 rattles/noise issues.
1. Moonroof rattle - fixed by dealer. They adjusted the glass to sit tight on the seal.
2. Wind noise - driver’s windows. The issue was the damaged seal in the top right corner.
3. Door plastic rattle (driver’s side). Fixed by putting a piece of foam between the plastic part and metal surface.
4. Windshield wash reservoir rattle. Indeed it’s present in X3 2022. If you don’t want to disassemble the whole wheel arch there is an alternative. Remove the hood seal on the top to get to the top of the reservoir. Take a piece of plumbers insulation foam and put it between the reservoir and body panel to eleminate tank wiggle.

Man for a moment there I thought you were holding a thick roll of seaweed

[bmr4j]

Originally Posted by antair

This one. Be careful with plastic hook at the end - super easy to break.

Ah, thank you for clarifying! That picture is super helpful!

I guess you just follow the hose from the washer fluid fill cap down to the reservoir, correct?

My mistake was that I never fully removed this assembly, I just popped all the plastic rivets out and pried the seal back to look for an opening to the reservoir before committing to fully removing the seal like you did.

[bmr4j]

So I had actually taken my 2022 X3 M40i to the dealership for the washer fluid reservoir rattle. I pointed out SIB 61 02 20 and drove with the shop foreman, who confirmed he could hear the noise coming from the front passenger A pillar/glove box.

When I picked up my car in early February, the rattle was indeed gone! However, the rattle has returned in the last couple of months. I saw antair 's reply in this thread and followed his suggestion to get at the washer fluid reservoir from above (instead of removing the wheel arch lining).

Well, I guess the service department thought shoving an old rag down there was good enough.




To be fair, the rag did quell the rattle..for about 2 months.

This time, I took matters into my own hands and went with foam pipe insulation as suggested by antair above.


The insulation is pretty firmly in place and the rattle is gone!

Thanks to antair and everyone else in this thread for sharing their experience! I couldn't have fixed this without everyone's collective wisdom.

[mattsheng]

Originally Posted by bmr4j

Well, I guess the service department thought shoving an old rag down there was good enough.
Attachment 3186515
Attachment 3186496
Attachment 3186497

Never would have thought that a rag can be a BMW approved part for fixing rattle let alone a good old used one 😂😂😂

[JC210]

Originally Posted by bmr4j

Well, I guess the service department thought shoving an old rag down there was good enough.

Does the rag have a part number?

[g11hoonigan]

Originally Posted by bmr4j

So I had actually taken my 2022 X3 M40i to the dealership for the washer fluid reservoir rattle. I pointed out SIB 61 02 20 and drove with the shop foreman, who confirmed he could hear the noise coming from the front passenger A pillar/glove box.

When I picked up my car in early February, the rattle was indeed gone! However, the rattle has returned in the last couple of months. I saw antair 's reply in this thread and followed his suggestion to get at the washer fluid reservoir from above (instead of removing the wheel arch lining).

Well, I guess the service department thought shoving an old rag down there was good enough.
Attachment 3186515
Attachment 3186496
Attachment 3186497

To be fair, the rag did quell the rattle..for about 2 months.

This time, I took matters into my own hands and went with foam pipe insulation as suggested by antair above.
Attachment 3186516

The insulation is pretty firmly in place and the rattle is gone!

Thanks to antair and everyone else in this thread for sharing their experience! I couldn't have fixed this without everyone's collective wisdom.

Great!

But hey, are you sure that's a rag, not an old and torn up underwear?

[turbobeagle]

Awesome thread thanks so much for posting. I strongly suspect I have this rattle now. The sound I hear sounds a lot like the video.

I’m going to try the topside fix. Hope I don’t break anything. If anyone knows of any videos removing that hood seal, I would love to see it as I’m not that experienced working on cars and trim panels.

Wish me luck. Haven’t decided on what “professional grade” fix I will use to try to match the dealership’s skill. Maybe some old underwear

[Jen4BMW]

Originally Posted by mattsheng

I have been hearing rattling noise from the "cup holder" area over uneven road, and Jen4BMW mentioned in his thread (https://x3.xbimmers.com/forums/showt...ght=cup+holder) that the noise isn't actually coming from the cup holder area but from the washer fluid reservoir.

I knew about this SIB, Attachment 3157457, but it only applied to cars made before 1/1/2022 and my car was made on 3/17/2023 so I was a bit skeptical. So I removed the cup holder entirely and went for a test drive and sure enough, the noise was still there! I then got into the passenger seat and now the noise was coming from the bottom of the passenger A-pillar. WTH??!!

Ok, now I'm starting to think that Jen4BMW is correct. So I removed the wheel liner and found the lower hook of the reservoir loose as hell. Great job BMW! Here is a video of how it sounded before the fix: https://youtube.com/shorts/FD2ho92-fMo?feature=share

I followed SIB 61 02 20 and put some felt tape around the lower mounting bracket. I even put some felt tape around the lower mounting hook just to be sure the noise is 100% eliminated.
Attachment 3157446
Attachment 3157445

After that, the noise is reduced but still present: https://youtube.com/shorts/MkRA0V5G3t4?feature=share

So I pulled the reservoir out again and see where it was making contact with the car. It turned out that the back locating tap (circled in red) was making the noise so I put some felt tape on it and now the noise is completely gone!
Attachment 3157454
Attachment 3157455

Some words of advice:

• If you don't have PPF on the fender and the wheel arch trim, it may be better to have your dealer fix it for you.
• The repair manual says you only need to remove the rear section of the wheel liner but that is not correct. You will need to remove the front section as well in order to remove the reservoir
• The 7 plastic rivets (51777171004) holding the wheel arch trim are one-time-use. God damn it BMW! I thought they are reusable like the VW/Audi ones. I used a 2mm allen key to push the bit into the rivet then pried it off.
• It is not necessary to completely remove the wheel arch trim. You can just unhook part of it while you remove the wheel liners.
• The washer fluid will come pouring down on you so be prepared... (I wasn't)
• You don't need to remove any wire from the reservoir. Just have it resting on the brake rotor while you are putting felt tape (all over the car)
• Here is the repair manual for removing the reservoir: Attachment 3157490

Hey Matt, I am glad my post helped you trouble shoot your water reservoir rattle. BMW Mortorwerks literally disassembled by dash before discovering the source of the rattle.

Cheers,
Jen

[turbobeagle]

So I applied the easier version of this fix from top side with pipe insulation as suggested earlier. It worked great!

But the noise has now returned a month later. I checked the fix, and it turns out the pipe insulation had gotten compressed and was no longer applying much pressure on the reservoir. I replaced with some fresh pipe insulation and all is well again.

Any recommendations for an alternate material?

I don’t necessarily need a perfect fix, but maybe something that could last longer than a month. I don’t mind having to do this a couple times a year, but monthly would be annoying.