Rear Boot rattle

[lynx_10]

I own a 3 series E46 on a T plate. For some months now I have had this rattle coming from the boot, it is on the near side and towards the suspension area. My local garage has taken a look and said there seems to be nothing wrong. I have taken all the carpets out and checked everything but still nothing. Any ideas??

[M5Dave]

Could be a broken spring or a failing top mount, the 3 series, both E36 and E46, are notorious for both, and both would cause a rattle.

[rogers190]

i have just purchased a 2000 328ci and heard the knocking as well i took it to BMW and the floor plan is cracked bmw want 6000 for a new boot lining i have goe a specilist to weld it and strengthen it for a grand

[taffyracer]

Had the same in both E46's, PITA

[amurray6]

Do you have folding rear seats? The seat catches on my '05 E46 Coupe rattled and squeaked like mad - had them replaced by the dealer, but you could try tightening them - four bolts (2 each) under parcel tray (lie on your back in the boot)... a good check is to see if the noise is any better with the rear seats folded down in various combinations.

I also hear that the parcel chelf rattles against the rear deck. May be worth investigating.

Other than that, I've heard the suspension top mounts can make noises.

[philiphunter]

Interested in topic as I bought a '52 330 Sport Convertible 5 months ago from a main dealer.

I took it back to get a similar squeaky rattle from the rear quarter seen to.

I was told it was a dry joint in the roof mechanism and they said they had fixed it with a shot of lubricating oil.

2 months further on and the rattle is worse than ever.

[stephenperry]

if it starts as a knocking noise when you're taking off from standstill and gradually gets louder into a bang as time goes on then it's usually the trailing arm bush, common fault on e46 - originals are rubber, replacements are rubber but have a metal casing

and have you checked underneath the boot panel at the otherside of the numberplate for anything loose rattling about inside? maybe take the tools out of the toolkit too and see if its one of those causing your rattle

[Vee]

rogers190 said:

i have just purchased a 2000 328ci and heard the knocking as well i took it to BMW and the floor plan is cracked bmw want 6000 for a new boot lining i have goe a specilist to weld it and strengthen it for a grand

Did you ever contact BMW UK, not just accept what the dealer said ?
They would have covered it whether it had BMW history or not.