Identifying Interior/Exterior Rattles

[Arm]

My i3s is overall a pretty quiet car. It has some road noise on rough surfaces from the tires but on smooth surfaces it's very quiet.

But on rough roads, there is a symphony of rattles that are very plasticky in nature that really annoys the hec out of me. I get the fact that the car has a different chassis build that creates a different type of resonance and interior noise when compared to a regular steel structure.

But the sounds I'm talking about are genuine rattles that come from the door panels, the steering column, side skirts/cladding on the outside, the air vents, etc. There is a lot of plastic cladding on this car that is attached by plastic push pins or something like that. There is a lot of tolerance and play.

I noticed just thumping my hand along the side skirts/paneling along the bottom sides of the car create lose plastic rattling. These aren't lose...they just have a lot of play between them. I realized that a lot of the sounds are from these types of fits and finish. It's a shame because the car is well made.

Anyone done their own sound rattling improvements they can share?

 

[Deutsch100]

My 2019 i3S was the most rattly car I have owned in decades. On smooth roads and freeways....very quiet though.

On roads that were not perfect....OMG! Dash board, steering column (or under it), driver and passenger doors, side panels, windows......RATTLE, RATTLE. Plastic on plastic sounds and just terrible.

 

[Arm]

My 2019 i3S was the most rattly car I have owned in decades. On smooth roads and freeways....very quiet though.

On roads that were not perfect....OMG! Dash board, steering column (or under it), driver and passenger doors, side panels, windows......RATTLE, RATTLE. Plastic on plastic sounds and just terrible.

Yes I've noticed the steering column rattle...it's really bad going over harsh bumps or what not where their is substantial thumping...it's like plastic plates crashing together...I don't get it. Doesn't BMW test these cars out before they release them during design as well as assembly? Don't the engineers notice these things?

 

[Deutsch100]

I was beyond disappointed in a 2019 BMW, costing almost $60k. BMWs I have been in and owned, many costing much less had better interior build quality!!!

 

[electronchaser]

Where were these i3's driven?

I'll also confirm, on smooth roads, its like butter, like one of the smoothest rides. Not any worse than a 5 or 7 series. On heavily pitted or roads with potholes, cracks, expansions, etc its pretty harsh. Almost feels like something's going to break.

I've got a BEV, I've found whenever I've got the vehicle loaded with heavy cargo (often), hundreds of pounds worth, (I put so much cargo, that the rear tires only fit two fingers between tire and wheel well. When empty I can fit 4 fingers) it handles so much better in terms of comfort and smoothness regardless of surface condition of roads. Meaning even rattles are minimized.

In fact last time I jumped in and forgot if I was in the 330e or i3. it felt that solid going over crap roads. Obviously you get dinged in energy consumption with more weight in vehicle, but it does make it feel like a much more solid ride. But its just that, most avg premium cars are about 3500ish lbs curb weight, that extra 500 lbs makes a massive difference in rebound and bounces the suspension.

Most recent time I had 420lbs of cat litter in the car (10x 42lbs ). + 2 adults. 60 mile trip, smooth as my 330e, if not smoother.


In regards to rattles , You've gotta take the car apart to really appreciate and then remedy the pitfalls of the structure and assembly. I've gutted a good portion already, And its missing a lot. Driving around with the door panels off. the road noise was insane. Lining the panels in 1/8 inch CCF and putting them back in already made a perceivable difference at highway speed noise intrusion.

panels back off, and Now, the thermoplastic pieces are getting treated with dampening material, already makes an incredible difference when shutting the doors, sounds like a proper bmw thud, like how the rear doors on the i3 shut with that classic bmw thud (reminds me of heavy 7 series doors closing). They'll be supplemented with 1/8 thick layers of CCF and MLV. the nice thing about the i3 doors is that the shape allows plenty of clearance with window so you can actually lay thicker material. If doing it again I'd order 6 or 8mm foam instead of the 4mm that I got.
But I'm going 3 layers of foam, One on the outer skin, one on the plastic inner cover beneath that white insulation material. and the last layer on the inside part of the door panel. I cant imagine any rattles afterwards.

 

[electronchaser]

hahah, what I was trying to relay is a lot of the rattles and crap are from the inability to dampen road conditions. Everything gets projected upwards through the car. when weight it added, it dampens the rattles and squeaks since the energy is dampened before it can reach dash, steering, etc.

So add weight and sound dampening material. world of diff.

 

[Deutsch100]

Great work electronchaser. A friend did a similar thing you did (foam) on his last few Miatas. Made a huge difference!

 

[electronchaser]

Great work electronchaser. A friend did a similar thing you did (foam) on his last few Miatas. Made a huge difference!

Many thanks! It's fun to see how the car came together, shortcomings and all Great learning experience. You also come to appreciate the unconventional approaches they took since the construct of the vehicle is so diff. You can see where the weight savings from the first gen 60ah i3s just carried over to the larger packed upgrades, when there was enough buffer at that point to address some of the excluded necessities (rattles, dampening, etc).

DId you end up picking up another i3?

 

[Deutsch100]

Electronchaser....I did not get another i3S when BMW bought back my '19. I got a new Jaguar I-Pace HSE. Love, love it. Build quality and materials match Bentley or Rolls-Royce and you can hear a pin drop even driving on horrible roads.

I can honestly say, besides my Phantoms and full size Range Rovers, I have never had such a rattle free car as this Jaguar. I am shockingly blown away with the build quality. Mind boggling tight and perfect!

 

[Arm]

So I've started to identify where most of the rattles primarily come from. The outside cladding along the roofline, the side-skirts, read quarter panels particularly on the charge port side, and the cladding near the side mirrors at the base of the ...I will try and upload pictures of where I'm finding pretty much loose fitting panels and plastic cladding that are...IMO...the main culprits of the ridiculous amount of rattling this car exhibits on rough roads.

Also, another major culprit are the read seats...they are pretty much loose. If I can make a video and upload it on YouTube I will.

For now, I've posted a generic picture with my own highlights showing where my exterior rattles are definitely coming from. I simply went around the car and gently tapped the car with the side of my fist.

https://photos.app.goo.gl/fMHiJLBqeBuB49ND6

 

[panamamike]

***I can honestly say, besides my Phantoms and full size Range Rovers, I have never had such a rattle free car as this Jaguar. I am shockingly blown away with the build quality. ***

Wow, nice! Looks like Jag did a good job. Will be interesting in seeing how the i4 fares. Looks like a nice crop of electric vehicles are coming our way soon.

 

[derekgates]

So I've started to identify where most of the rattles primarily come from. The outside cladding along the roofline, the side-skirts, read quarter panels particularly on the charge port side, and the cladding near the side mirrors at the base of the ...I will try and upload pictures of where I'm finding pretty much loose fitting panels and plastic cladding that are...IMO...the main culprits of the ridiculous amount of rattling this car exhibits on rough roads.

Also, another major culprit are the read seats...they are pretty much loose. If I can make a video and upload it on YouTube I will.

For now, I've posted a generic picture with my own highlights showing where my exterior rattles are definitely coming from. I simply went around the car and gently tapped the car with the side of my fist.

https://photos.app.goo.gl/fMHiJLBqeBuB49ND6

Very interesting, I didn't consider the outside cladding.

I have a prominent 'clunk'/rattle that happens when I hit a bump hard enough. Sounds like it is behind the passenger seat (regardless if seat is up or not). Sounds like passenger C-Pillar but I can't find anything loose. Haven't considered the cladding...

 

[Arm]

So I've started to identify where most of the rattles primarily come from. The outside cladding along the roofline, the side-skirts, read quarter panels particularly on the charge port side, and the cladding near the side mirrors at the base of the ...I will try and upload pictures of where I'm finding pretty much loose fitting panels and plastic cladding that are...IMO...the main culprits of the ridiculous amount of rattling this car exhibits on rough roads.

Also, another major culprit are the read seats...they are pretty much loose. If I can make a video and upload it on YouTube I will.

For now, I've posted a generic picture with my own highlights showing where my exterior rattles are definitely coming from. I simply went around the car and gently tapped the car with the side of my fist.

https://photos.app.goo.gl/fMHiJLBqeBuB49ND6

Very interesting, I didn't consider the outside cladding.

I have a prominent 'clunk'/rattle that happens when I hit a bump hard enough. Sounds like it is behind the passenger seat (regardless if seat is up or not). Sounds like passenger C-Pillar but I can't find anything loose. Haven't considered the cladding...

Definitely go around the car and tap on the areas I identified and let us know what you also find. I'll venture to guess you'll hear a lot of plastic on plastic sounds. The rear top area I've highlighted is rather poorly connected by these silly clips on the inside of the panels. You'll see them when you open up the tailgate and look to the right of the tailgate lift rods...I'll try and take a picture of them when I get a chance. Those are a source of noise and rattling as well.

I went around the car with double sided heavy duty rubber tape and really tried to see if I can put some sort of insulation between these affected areas. Some areas are simply unreachable or are beyond effort frankly.

 

[Fisher99]

I just finally identified a nasty rattle that has been driving me crazy. Interestingly enough it mostly only happens in cold weather and goes away in warmer weather, probably due to normal shrinkage of things in cold and expansion in heat. This rattle was coming from somewhere in the dash on the passenger side but my wife could never find it while I was driving. This morning I rode in the passenger seat and placed my hand on the small plastic panel on the right end of the defroster vent just below the windshield and the rattle stopped. Hallelujah!

 

[alohart]

This morning I rode in the passenger seat and placed my hand on the small plastic panel on the right end of the defroster vent just below the windshield and the rattle stopped.

The fix…

 

[frictioncircle]

But the sounds I'm talking about are genuine rattles that come from the door panels, the steering column, side skirts/cladding on the outside, the air vents, etc. There is a lot of plastic cladding on this car that is attached by plastic push pins or something like that. There is a lot of tolerance and play.

Regarding the steering column, I requested redress for an issue with my 2014 BEV (I'm the original owner).

The symptom was excessive free play at the steering wheel (it would move when pulling or pushing the wheel towards or away from the driver). Six months after purchase the steering column was replaced under warranty and there has been no noise or free play in this area since.

 

[Fisher99]

Interesting! Thanks for the video link Art!

 

[Arm]

I just finally identified a nasty rattle that has been driving me crazy. Interestingly enough it mostly only happens in cold weather and goes away in warmer weather, probably due to normal shrinkage of things in cold and expansion in heat. This rattle was coming from somewhere in the dash on the passenger side but my wife could never find it while I was driving. This morning I rode in the passenger seat and placed my hand on the small plastic panel on the right end of the defroster vent just below the windshield and the rattle stopped. Hallelujah!

I think I know exactly where you are talking about but could you perhaps take a photo and log it here so we all are able to clearly identify it?

Cheers!

 

[Fisher99]

I have a pic, but don't see an option to attach it when I post a reply.

 

[alohart]

I have a pic, but don't see an option to attach it when I post a reply.

Unfortunately, you must post your photo on a publicly-accessible Website and refer to it in your post here using the "Img" tag.