Rattles from the Rear of E36 M3

[Onef]

I've had this M3 for years and, I admit, I drive over unimproved roads occasionally. I got rid of some rattles in the parcel shelf area by fitting the tabs into the slots properly, but I still had rattles from the back area of the car. This is what it turned out to be on my car and it has made quite a difference in both noise reduction and creating a solid feel to the back end of the car. The trunk locking mechanism was loose. To reach it you have to remove at least one plastic stud ( so pick up one or two in case they break) from the trunk lid itself. I removed the one closest to the handle indentation and carefully pulled the carpet handle area free. The handle for the carpet must be lifted up before you can pull it out. If you try this be extremely careful as you can bend the formed carpet piece, thus requiring replacement! Anyway, once you bend the right bottom area of the carpet out of the way, get a strong flashlight and look for the locking mechanism which is attached to the inner trunk lid. It is secured by two 10mm bolts. Note: the mechanism operates the trunk lid button by thick wire rods. Tightening the two bolts is the goal, but count on getting scraped up a little reaching the bolts if you only remove one plastic stud. Put everything back together and this should help remove some rattles, it did for me.
Sorry for the long post.

[e36 enthusiast]

wow. mine rattles from time to time. that might be the problem. thanks