[bulldog_yyc]

so consensus is that its the bushings? Having this issue as well........

[Grohouse]

I have this exact issue. I've replaced upper & lower control arms (months ago) and sway bar bushings myself (just recently) and the squeak remains. I'm confident its the sway bar bushes as they twist like a MF*cker on bumps, I'm going to tray Poly-Urethane bushes and see if they work - cheap part so its worth a shot.

[Erenix]

Originally Posted by Grohouse

I have this exact issue. I've replaced upper & lower control arms (months ago) and sway bar bushings myself (just recently) and the squeak remains. I'm confident its the sway bar bushes as they twist like a MF*cker on bumps, I'm going to tray Poly-Urethane bushes and see if they work - cheap part so its worth a shot.

Reviving this thread a year later. Did you get rid of the noise replacing sway bar bushings?

[mitch1971]

Also reviving this thread. Tried replacing the sway bar bushings. No change. Examined the BMW original sway bar bushings that were removed, and didn't see any signs of wear, cracking, being dried up, etc. Mystery continues.

Mechanic is telling me its the front suspension and a very costly repair... 2 to 3 thousand dollars. But seemed very unsure.

Anyone traced down the cause and repair?

[mitch1971]

Update:

So I agreed to pay BMW to diagnose and pinpoint the problem. Result was internal malfunction of the front shocks. No damage externally and the front shocks were not leaking. Also both front shock were stiff.

Not surprising as I had to replace both rear shocks recently, and I live in an area with a lot and continually increasing number of bad pot holes.

BMW quoted $2k all said and done for the repair. They did say there are a few potential causes, so it has to be narrowed down for each case. And there will typically always be a slight faint noise going over bumps due the way the vehicle operates in the front.

[Spitfire007]

Originally Posted by mitch1971

Update:

So I agreed to pay BMW to diagnose and pinpoint the problem. Result was internal malfunction of the front shocks. No damage externally and the front shocks were not leaking. Also both front shock were stiff.

Not surprising as I had to replace both rear shocks recently, and I live in an area with a lot and continually increasing number of bad pot holes.

BMW quoted $2k all said and done for the repair. They did say there are a few potential causes, so it has to be narrowed down for each case. And there will typically always be a slight faint noise going over bumps due the way the vehicle operates in the front.

$2000 for front struts?
Holy poop on a stick, Batman! They're not kidding.
MaKe sure you change out strut bearings, bump stops, and spring pads and other associated cheap hardware while you're in there...for $2000 they should do the rears as well...

I also have this cream in the front right, but only under strong compression (speed bump at speed). I'm pretty sure it has to do with the spring rotating on compression. Just a thought...

[Doesha]

Is it at low speeds also? Mine does the same thing. But I'm sure my passenger rotor is slightly warped. Plus check the dust shield isn't bent in slightly. Also I've read way back when it could be the idler pulley just to throw that out there

[BMSE92_Harry]

did you replace the top hats?

[charlesfslater@gmail.com]

Having read much about this problem, I have eventually solved it on my E90 323i (2008): the shock absorber top mountings including bearings are worn (check the state of the rubber at the top of the shock mounting within the bonnet). Replaced by shock agent at a cost of ZAR 1850.00

[Hawk99]

POSSIBLE FIX:

I had a very similar creak that sounded like it was coming from the windshield / roof area when going over uneven ground like a sloped driveway. Had this for months. Worse in cold weather. I have an E93 convertible, so body flex is known to happen.
Thought it may have been the strut braces, so I replaced the bolts and retorqued everything. No change. Thought it may have been my anti-roll bar bushings, or endlinks, or possibly my struts. Had my indy shop go over the car, but nothing found.
Then I looked at the hood more closely, and decided to lube the rubber stoppers/bumpers at the front of the hood (3 attached to the hood, and 2 on the body of the car). I was assuming that the hood may be moving slightly when the body flexed. But still no results.
I was about the give up, then........... I noticed the small adjustable metal "stoppers" which are part of the hood hinge mechanism. The stopper is attached to the lower part of the hinge, and makes contact with the top portion of the hinge. In my case it was clear that there was some serious contact between the stopper and the top portion of the hinge as the paint was worn away at this point.
Short story long, I applied some white lithium grease on the top of the stopper on both left and right hinges, and BINGO, silence. No more creak, pop, creak.....etc.
Hope this helps someone.
A