Creaking wooden ship sound front right 2022 M3

[Dan-NZ]

Hi All

I wasn’t sure how to best describe the noise coming from my front right suspension area but it honestly sounds like a creaking wooden ship so wanted to ask the community whether anyone has come across this? I’ve done around 6k km’s and have owned from new. Every time I traverse my driveway entrance (if you can imagine a shallow V profile where the crossfall of the road meets the lip of the driveway) or some uneven surfaces where the right side of the vehicle’s suspension is slowly loaded up then released, it makes the noise. I can’t figure out if it’s cause for concern but it doesn't happen on the left side which is strange. I took it to the SC and was able to demonstrate it to the technician who verified the noise but he was unable to determine if it was ‘typical’ or not and advised me to come back if/when it becomes louder - that didn’t reassure me as I’m still none the wiser as to whether there was perhaps a factory defect that I need to get addressed.

Any comments or insights would be much appreciated, thanks.
Dan

From inside veh reversing out of driveway

Outside veh turning left into driveway

 

[ODWms]

Front upper control arm needs to be replaced. It’s an ongoing, known issue that’s fixed under warranty.

 

[Dan-NZ]

Thanks for your response - right, yeah I found all of the well-documented posts about the notorious FUCA creaking/squeaking but I wasn’t sure if my noise was synonymous with a failing one as it was slightly different. I have the rev. J part - am I right to presume that grease migration would’ve taken a bit more time (i.e. >6k kms) to cause an issue?

 

[Tronguy]

Thanks for your response - right, yeah I found all of the well-documented posts about the notorious FUCA creaking/squeaking but I wasn’t sure if my noise was synonymous with a failing one as it was slightly different. I have the rev. J part - am I right to presume that grease migration would’ve taken a bit more time (i.e. >6k kms) to cause an issue?

Had this happen to a 2018 M3 I had. Just going to the left front and pushing down (a la testing shocks kind of motion) would make the ball joint squeak.

I had no idea what this was, but took it to a local repair joint, figuring that Suspensions were Suspensions, and they would know what to do. They had it up on a lift, running around with a stethoscope (odd, what one finds in the tools bin at a shop..), and narrowed it down to that ball joint. And looked for a grease fitting in vain.

A mobile tech came out with a pair of the upper control arms, one for the left, one for the right, and replaced both in my driveway in about 40 minutes. Wasn't wildly expensive (about three hundred bucks for both arms and the labor). Supposedly the new ones are life-time greased and won't do this going forward.

As you've noted, the other solution is to buy, at an auto parts store, what amounts to a hypodermic needle backed up with some grease, and inject the grease right through the rubber seal. Some messing around then clears the noise, although now with a hole in the rubber, it's going to come back. Eventually.

Aftermarket control arms, which are $$, are adjustable (good for weekend racers, I guess) and come with grease fittings. That last fixing the problem once and for all.

My car was out of warranty when this happened. Your car is likely still covered by the bumper-to-bumper warranty, and something like this is not normal wear and tear. Give them a ding on the app?

 

[Dan-NZ]

Thanks for the insight Tronguy. I have been rocking, shaking, pressing on the wheel arch + trampolining on the frunk to try to reproduce the sound but I can’t it’s quiet when on a level surface. This is why it’s strange as my wooden boat creaking is only audible when the veh is on an angle under slow torsion / roll / pitch situations.

I’m hopeful anyone here who is able to recognise what typical chassis flex or battery cover flex sounds like can either help confirm or rule out if that’s what this sounds like.

Good idea re: mobile tech option if I do log a ticket vs. taking it in (again) to the SC.

I see Tesla is finally introducing their re-re-revised 1288321-00-A / 1288326-00-A FUCAs which is positive.