[Oilman89]

Recently bought a CPO 2020 X7 m50i, has about 45,000 miles on it. I notice at low speeds when road noise is minimal a certain “squishy” sound that sounds like rubber rubbing on something. Sounds like something if you were underwater. It appears to be more frequent when slight bumps in the road cause the vehicle to sway. It doesn’t appear to be present on speed bumps etc. no clunking.

I’ve attempted to take a video to document the sound. You can hear it well in the 25-30 second mark.

Could it be sway bar bushings?

[Oilman89]

Went in for service and they diagnosed all 4 shocks needed to be replaced! Thankfully covered under warranty but kind of surprising for a car with 44k miles! Noise gone and ride is much more smooth/grounded.

[m20e3087]

I am having same issue, dropped it off for diagnostic. Were your shocks leaking?

[DishoomX2]

I have some suspension noise as well. Unfortunately dealer wasn't able to duplicate it. It's most noticeable when making tight turns at low speed (eg maneuvering in a parking lot).

[JJacksonIII]

Originally Posted by DishoomX2

I have some suspension noise as well. Unfortunately dealer wasn't able to duplicate it. It's most noticeable when making tight turns at low speed (eg maneuvering in a parking lot).

That could be the wheels 'skipping' on the pavement. It's a thing with the four wheel steering. No harm being done.

[DishoomX2]

Originally Posted by JJacksonIII

That could be the wheels 'skipping' on the pavement. It's a thing with the four wheel steering. No harm being done.

It's a faint clunking/knocking noise. The best I can describe it is the sound of a horse walking on a cobblestone street.

[JJacksonIII]

Originally Posted by DishoomX2

It's a faint clunking/knocking noise. The best I can describe it is the sound of a horse walking on a cobblestone street.

Yeah, maybe that's something else then.

[DishoomX2]

Originally Posted by JJacksonIII

Yeah, maybe that's something else then.

After watching your video again and listening more carefully, I think the sound I hear may be similar.

[JJacksonIII]

Originally Posted by DishoomX2

After watching your video again and listening more carefully, I think the sound I hear may be similar.

Glad I could help

[aptekcom]

Originally Posted by JJacksonIII

Glad I could help

At about 40,000 miles, my right front air strut went bad. It started sounding like that, but got a lot worse. It was especially bad in the cold. Then about a month ago (55,000), during turns the wheels were “skipping”. It was diagnosed as a bad transfer case and was replaced under my extended warranty. So, it could be one of those maybe?

[DishoomX2]

Update: I took my X7 to the dealer on Monday (for the 2nd time) to diagnose the creaking/clunking noise I've been hearing. The noises had become more frequent and more noticeable to both my wife and I. A few months back the dealer's tech and shop foreman couldn't reproduce -- even though I heard it during our test drive -- so nothing was done about it. This time, I took a ride with their "QA" person, who was able to reproduce the noise. Again, the tech and shop foreman couldn't reproduce themselves, so I told them to talk to their QA person, and only then did they dig deeper.

I was told that they would be replacing two wheel hubs based on SIB 34 05 17.

I thought it was strange to replace wheel hubs. I would think that hubs would only need to be replaced if I was experiencing noise and vibration all the time and at higher speeds. This isn't my case though -- I only hear noise at low speeds while maneuvering around a parking lot (ie vehicle weight shifting from one side to other).

I asked if SIB 32 01 23 was more applicable, but they felt that it was the other SIB that relates to my issue. Go figure.

The SA called this afternoon to let me know the vehicle was ready to pick up. Though, I pushed back pickup and told them I'd wait until their "QA" person drove it again to make sure the work they performed resolved the issue. Keeping fingers crossed that I get a positive update tomorrow morning.

[Herofmine]

I had same issue, dealer replaced both front air suspensions and control arms…
Lucky all covered under warranty

[DishoomX2]

Originally Posted by Herofmine

I had same issue, dealer replaced both front air suspensions and control arms…
Lucky all covered under warranty

Do you recall what they found to warrant replacement of front air suspension and control arms? Was there was a particular SIB?

[Brendon]

Originally Posted by DishoomX2

Do you recall what they found to warrant replacement of front air suspension and control arms? Was there was a particular SIB?

In my case they did not reference an SIB. And given that it was a goodwill repair out of warranty, it's probably safe to say they would have if one existed. They simply documented it "faulty air springs" on the paperwork, but my advisor told me the noise was common and a result of rubbing against the mount if I'm not mistaken.

[DishoomX2]

Another update. The "repair" didn't work. The QA person drove it and found that the noise is quieter but still present. Now they're looking into a bulletin referencing the steering rack to see if it's applicable. I'm not sure why they are not more focused on suspension components.

[GarrettYan6]

Originally Posted by Oilman89

Went in for service and they diagnosed all 4 shocks needed to be replaced! Thankfully covered under warranty but kind of surprising for a car with 44k miles! Noise gone and ride is much more smooth/grounded.

I have a 2020 X7 M50i with 42k miles and am facing almost the same issue as you did. I plan to visit the BMW dealer next week for assistance. Did they give you a hard time? I hope this issue is covered by the warranty.

[DishoomX2]

In my case, the issue appears to have been resolved after replacing the left front air strut (p/n 37-10-6-869-035), which is normally around $1800 just for the part. I don't know why only 1 was replaced, as I would think they would be replaced in pairs. In any case, thank goodness for warranty!

GarrettYan6 I suggest that you really push them to resolve the issue before warranty runs out. Take a test drive with a shop foreman. You should be able to duplicate the concern at low speed in a quiet parking lot.

[GarrettYan6]

Originally Posted by DishoomX2

In my case, the issue appears to have been resolved after replacing the left front air strut (p/n 37-10-6-869-035), which is normally around $1800 just for the part. I don't know why only 1 was replaced, as I would think they would be replaced in pairs. In any case, thank goodness for warranty!

GarrettYan6 I suggest that you really push them to resolve the issue before warranty runs out. Take a test drive with a shop foreman. You should be able to duplicate the concern at low speed in a quiet parking lot.

It's interesting that they only changed one.

I appreciate your advice to be proactive with this, especially with the warranty in mind. The noise in my car is pretty hard to miss, so I'm hopeful they'll take it seriously without too much hassle.

Planning to take a test drive with the shop foreman as you suggested. Hopefully, that'll help make things clear. Thanks again for your help!

[Brendon]

Originally Posted by DishoomX2

In my case, the issue appears to have been resolved after replacing the left front air strut (p/n 37-10-6-869-035), which is normally around $1800 just for the part. I don't know why only 1 was replaced, as I would think they would be replaced in pairs. In any case, thank goodness for warranty!

GarrettYan6 I suggest that you really push them to resolve the issue before warranty runs out. Take a test drive with a shop foreman. You should be able to duplicate the concern at low speed in a quiet parking lot.

For what it's worth, my BMW dealership (who seemed to have a lot of experience with this particular issue) told me that they always do it in pairs. In the early days of encountering this problem they would just do one side, but had several experiences where the other side became problematic in a relatively short amount of time.

BMW also agreed, when they good-willed my repair out of warranty, they did both.

[DishoomX2]

Ugh, in retrospect, I should have been adamant that both front air struts be replaced.

I don't know if it's just a mental thing but I almost feel that now the right side rides just a bit softer than the left.

[Oilman89]

I forgot to reply back on my original post but for me I ended up taking it in last May when I still had 6 months left of original warranty. Ride with the shop foreman and he said in about 10 seconds that the shocks were bad and needed to replace. All 4 were replaced! No sound there after. After replacing, the suspension did appear to have better body roll and stability. Seems like an issue if this popped up at 45,000 miles!

[Brokejetflyer]

2022 X7 with 17k miles.

My driver’s side door lock broke so they had to replace actuator.

And I told them about the same noise in the front of the vehicle as described in this thread.

They’re now replacing the front struts.

I keep reading how maintenance-free these cars can be.. sure hope I didn’t get a bad one.