[Volare]

The 2006 3-series has a really noisy interior. Cracking, rattling, banging, squeaking, you name it.

So I was able to eliminate most of these sounds using felt tape and ¼” x ¾” foam tape, which I got at findtape.com. Here are the specific products that I used. I cannot emphasize enough how good the felt tape is! I bought two rolls which was plenty.

http://www.findtape.com/product278/J...fo=felt%2btape

http://www.findtape.com/product226/J...fo=foam%2btape

I also found that foam (from a memory foam mattress topper) was very handy.

The key to the soundproofing is knowing where to focus your efforts. Here is a list of places I addressed:

1. Wrap the outsides of all plastic female seatbelt receptacles (where the seatbelt clicks in) with felt tape as far down as you can. This is especially important for the front seats, since the rubber boot at the bottom squeaks against the surrounding leather and plastic.

2. Wrap felt tape around the seatbelts where the little nub is that keeps the male end of the seatbelt connection from dropping down too far. When the plastic of the seatbelt male end hits the nub, it clicks.

3. Remove the front dash trim (around the AC vents and start button) and line the inside of the dash with felt tape around where the outside of the trim meets. Just pry off the trim carefully with a thin flathead screwdriver. (There is a DIY post on swapping out interior trim if you search.)

4. Take apart the center console from the HVAC controls and line the connection of the console trim to the plastic frame with felt tape all around. In my case, this is where the burl walnut hits the gray plastic. Also, line the border of where the shift boot plate (the black one with P R N D S) hits the center console trim (the burl walnut). I also wrapped the bottoms of the ashtray insert and the other cubby hole to the right of the parking brake, so that it does not rub against anything underneath. You can stuff foam under the ashtray and backwards under the armrest since there are gaping caverns of unused space which are perfect for sound absorption. I also wrapped felt tape around the border and back of the HVAC console (with the climate controls) since this squeaks against the trim frame. (There are a few DIY posts on removing the center console if you search.)

5. Under both front seats there are some cables that flop around and knock against metal parts. Raise the seats as high as they go, and tie them together with a cable tie or shoelace. Also, there are some large plastic tabs that I cut off since they crinkle.

6. The rear seat is a huge area for quieting. There is a good post about lubricating hinges, and this helps, but the biggest source of noise are the connection points for the rear seat bottom. Pull it up, and wrap felt tape around the four metal U hinge hooks at the back (near the seatbelts) and the two metal A-shaped posts at the front. While the seat bottom is off, remember to wrap the seatbelt receptacles. It does take a bit more force to put the rear seat bottom back on once the six connection points are covered in felt tape, but just give it a bang and it snaps quietly in place. A helpful tip for reinstalling the seat bottom is to thread the seatbelt receptacles through the seat and then hold them in place by inserting the seatbelts from above. (This will make sense when you are doing it.)

7. Wrap some felt tape around the bottom of the cup holders in the rear armrest since these tends to click.

8. I pried off the overhead lighting above the armrests and also the cover to the top rear brake light. I inserted some foam and felt tape on a few areas that rubbed together.

9. I put some foam tape where the front of the armrest top hits the bottom. This minimizes shifting around, while still allowing the armrest to click closed.

10. I placed some foam tape on the left and right sides of the glove box, where the door hits the dash. Helps stabilize the door.

11. The rear covers under the glovebox and steering wheels, above your feet, come off with some torx screws. I placed some foam on the front borders and wrapped the tabs that connect that panel with the center console with felt tape, since that was plastic on plastic contact. I also placed some foam between the dead pedal and the cover on the driver side since this again is loose plastic on plastic.

12. A little lithium grease on the seat springs and connections (under seat) removed a couple squeaks. Be careful not to get this stuff on the carpet and trim though, it can be hard to get off, so lay down some towels.

There are a few other little areas that I soundproofed, but these are the major ones. And if done correctly, most of the changes are invisible and the black felt tape blends in nicely with the areas that are visible (like the seatbelts). Just take your time and look for any areas where plastic hits other plastic, metal, or squeaky rubber. You might find a few extra areas that I missed.

Good luck. Gary

[nyc3r]

[rlc]

Maybe I'n not as sensitive as you (my wife won't agree), or the music is just too loud, but I don't hear any of the sounds you are preventing. My car is quiet so far.

[canucklion]

just you wait, eventually they'll come

volare, great write up man I've been doing the same, but not as extensive as your endeavour

Originally Posted by rlc

Maybe I'n not a sensitive as you (my wife won't agree), or the music is just too loud, but I don't hear any of the sounds you are preventing. My car is quiet so far.

[vleivo]

Yepp, my e46 interior squeaked everywhere and so does the e90 i have now, didnt do it in the begining though.

[shimshimhada]

Now, why would you want to do that?

[Chesmu]

i keep the interior of my car quiet by not driving with my wife.

[canucklion]

^ keep her in the trunk works well too

[txusa03]

volare, you work for felt tape or do you have any affiliation with that company

We like to see some photos (as proof pls). I would give it a try but I am not 1005 certain I know where the sounds are coming from.

[canucklion]

tx, felt tape works really well in eliminating squeaks from plastic-plastic and plastic-metal contacts.

the plastic scuff plate in the trunk squeaks like crazy when you press or lean down on it, so one day I took it apart and lined the inside of the plastic cover with felt, no more squeaks.

I will dissect my interior come next spring and do what Volare did with his car, for now, I use my stereo to escape from the ratltles/squeaks

Originally Posted by txusa03

volare, you work for felt tape or do you have any affiliation with that company

We like to see some photos (as proof pls). I would give it a try but I am not 1005 certain I know where the sounds are coming from.

[txusa03]

Originally Posted by canucklion

tx, felt tape works really well in eliminating squeaks from plastic-plastic and plastic-metal contacts.

the plastic scuff plate in the trunk squeaks like crazy when you press or lean down on it, so one day I took it apart and lined the inside of the plastic cover with felt, no more squeaks.

I will dissect my interior come next spring and do what Volare did with his car, for now, I use my stereo to escape from the ratltles/squeaks

are you refering to this? Not my car, just borrow someone's pic.

[canucklion]

yip, that's the part, it annoyed the hell outta me everytime I lean on it to put luggage, groceries..etc into the trunk, it squeaked and creaked

[txusa03]

Originally Posted by canucklion

yip, that's the part, it annoyed the hell outta me everytime I lean on it to put luggage, groceries..etc into the trunk, it squeaked and creaked

but can you hear it while driving? My guess is no while driving unless you have superly unhumanly impossible powerful hearing.

I'll check it out next time I access the trunk.

[Volare]

Given all the whining about the lack of pics in my previous post, this time I added some. I thought the reader base of this site would be capable of interpreting descriptive language and applying their own visualization skills. Maybe not.

(Just giving some of you grief. Pics are helpful, I know.)

To soundproof this area, you have to remove the rear shelf. I have fold down seats, so bear that in mind.

1. Fold down the rear seats.

2. Pry off the rear speaker covers with a small flathead screwdriver (snaps off easily) and unscrew the midrange speakers with a torx wrench. You can leave the tweeters alone, they are attached to the midrange. (Note, I have the premium sound, so others' speakers may be different.) On the bottom of the midrange speakers, remove the cable attaching the speakers to the rear shelf. Sorry no pics for this, but really straightforward.

3. Remove the three child seat latches on the top of the shelf. To do this, use the hexagonal star attachments with a socket and unscrew. The bolt/latches pull up, along with a bracket that keeps the rear shelf in the right place.







3. Then, you need to locate these fasteners, which hold the black plastic trim piece that holds the front edge of the shelf in place. [Note - my photographic staging of the fastener is wrong in that the inner part of the fastener actually goes into the other end of the outer part. You'll see, it is pretty self explanatory once you are in the back of your car.] The bottoms of the fasteners are under the bottom of the black piece that secures the edge. You just pull back the bottom of the black edge piece and use a flathead screwdriver to push the inner part of the fastener out of the outer shell part of the fastener. I think there are five of these fasteners. Maybe four.



3. These are the only things holding the rear shelf in place, besides lots of friction on the sides (between the upper interior panels where the word "airbag" is embossed) and the back (with the plastic piece that hits the rear window). Now you essentially pull and wiggle the rear shelf out. I found it helpful to lift the center of the shelf to make the shape of an A frame tent. Don't worry about making a crease in the shelf. The material bends nicely.





That covers the removal of the rear shelf. To reinstall, just reverse the steps. Be careful when screwing in the child seat fasteners that you screw them in straight. They easily screw in off kilter and one of mine got stuck which was not fun.

While everything is apart, you can soundproof.

4. I wrapped the metal front lip with felt tape, and put foam tape on the front metal and tops of the four square boxes (one beige box with electronics and three, I think, for seatbelts). These are all opportunities for the shelf to bang into something hard.



They only let me upload 10 photos, so look at the pic above to see the foam tape on the beige box and you should know what I mean about the tops of the boxes.

A few other soundproofing ideas:

- Under the foam there are some speaker wires that move around and can hit metal. I taped them down with electrical tape.

- There is a pretty big cavern of space in the back. I placed some strategically cut pieces of foam (from a mattress topper) into this space. This also stabilizes the rear shelf and when I bang on it now, it is like hitting a pillow. Not a sound. Just be careful not to put so much foam as to create a rise in the rear shelf.

- I also placed a 1" square piece of foam inside the three child latches to prevent the U shaped top from clicking when resting inside the latch. Essentially, just put some foam on top of the torx bolt that you screwed back in.

That is it. Quiet as can be now back there.

[txusa03]

as long as you feed us photos, you can dish out all the griefs you like

[Fastdriverinca999]

You guys are nuts. You bought a $45,000 car and think it's noisy. You are going to CREATE noises by taking things apart. Leave it alone

[Brunotheboxer]

Originally Posted by daniel.shapiro@jdpa.com

You guys are nuts. You bought a $45,000 car and think it's noisy. You are going to CREATE noises by taking things apart. Leave it alone

[SMOKE EM IF U GOT EM!!]

Originally Posted by Volare

The 2006 3-series has a really noisy interior. Cracking, rattling, banging, squeaking, you name it.

So I was able to eliminate most of these sounds using felt tape and ¼” x ¾” foam tape, which I got at findtape.com. Here are the specific products that I used. I cannot emphasize enough how good the felt tape is! I bought two rolls which was plenty.

http://www.findtape.com/product278/J...fo=felt%2btape

http://www.findtape.com/product226/J...fo=foam%2btape

I also found that foam (from a memory foam mattress topper) was very handy.

The key to the soundproofing is knowing where to focus your efforts. Here is a list of places I addressed:

1. Wrap the outsides of all plastic female seatbelt receptacles (where the seatbelt clicks in) with felt tape as far down as you can. This is especially important for the front seats, since the rubber boot at the bottom squeaks against the surrounding leather and plastic.

2. Wrap felt tape around the seatbelts where the little nub is that keeps the male end of the seatbelt connection from dropping down too far. When the plastic of the seatbelt male end hits the nub, it clicks.

3. Remove the front dash trim (around the AC vents and start button) and line the inside of the dash with felt tape around where the outside of the trim meets. Just pry off the trim carefully with a thin flathead screwdriver. (There is a DIY post on swapping out interior trim if you search.)

4. Take apart the center console from the HVAC controls and line the connection of the console trim to the plastic frame with felt tape all around. In my case, this is where the burl walnut hits the gray plastic. Also, line the border of where the shift boot plate (the black one with P R N D S) hits the center console trim (the burl walnut). I also wrapped the bottoms of the ashtray insert and the other cubby hole to the right of the parking brake, so that it does not rub against anything underneath. You can stuff foam under the ashtray and backwards under the armrest since there are gaping caverns of unused space which are perfect for sound absorption. I also wrapped felt tape around the border and back of the HVAC console (with the climate controls) since this squeaks against the trim frame. (There are a few DIY posts on removing the center console if you search.)

5. Under both front seats there are some cables that flop around and knock against metal parts. Raise the seats as high as they go, and tie them together with a cable tie or shoelace. Also, there are some large plastic tabs that I cut off since they crinkle.

6. The rear seat is a huge area for quieting. There is a good post about lubricating hinges, and this helps, but the biggest source of noise are the connection points for the rear seat bottom. Pull it up, and wrap felt tape around the four metal U hinge hooks at the back (near the seatbelts) and the two metal A-shaped posts at the front. While the seat bottom is off, remember to wrap the seatbelt receptacles. It does take a bit more force to put the rear seat bottom back on once the six connection points are covered in felt tape, but just give it a bang and it snaps quietly in place. A helpful tip for reinstalling the seat bottom is to thread the seatbelt receptacles through the seat and then hold them in place by inserting the seatbelts from above. (This will make sense when you are doing it.)

7. Wrap some felt tape around the bottom of the cup holders in the rear armrest since these tends to click.

8. I pried off the overhead lighting above the armrests and also the cover to the top rear brake light. I inserted some foam and felt tape on a few areas that rubbed together.

9. I put some foam tape where the front of the armrest top hits the bottom. This minimizes shifting around, while still allowing the armrest to click closed.

10. I placed some foam tape on the left and right sides of the glove box, where the door hits the dash. Helps stabilize the door.

11. The rear covers under the glovebox and steering wheels, above your feet, come off with some torx screws. I placed some foam on the front borders and wrapped the tabs that connect that panel with the center console with felt tape, since that was plastic on plastic contact. I also placed some foam between the dead pedal and the cover on the driver side since this again is loose plastic on plastic.

12. A little lithium grease on the seat springs and connections (under seat) removed a couple squeaks. Be careful not to get this stuff on the carpet and trim though, it can be hard to get off, so lay down some towels.

There are a few other little areas that I soundproofed, but these are the major ones. And if done correctly, most of the changes are invisible and the black felt tape blends in nicely with the areas that are visible (like the seatbelts). Just take your time and look for any areas where plastic hits other plastic, metal, or squeaky rubber. You might find a few extra areas that I missed.

Good luck. Gary

how bout u move ur ass to a town w better roads. u make it sound like ur drivin a covered wagon on wooden wheels.....lol

[canucklion]

Volare, really appreciate your pics!

[blazinsicario]

ur crazy dude... u call it loud... cant beleive u doin this to ur ride... u have no life... do something productive....

[StewtheBassman]

Volare, would you say that your ride is significantly more silent now? Just curious, what is your mileage?

[ages944]

Originally Posted by Chesmu

i keep the interior of my car quiet by not driving with my wife.