Help Please! ARS Creaking noise?

Hello everyone! I am a first time owner of a BMW. I purchased a used 2010 535i in late November. I absolutely love the car, but in the two months I have owned it, it has been in the shop longer than I have had it at home. The dealer I bought it from had a 30 day warranty, and I purchased an extended warranty, so it hasn’t cost me anything for the repairs. The car repair was subbed to my local BMW dealership and so far they have replaced out all six fuel injectors and both thigh support motors in the seats.

I have one nagging issue I was hoping to get some help on. I hear a faint noise when I come to a complete stop. It is hard describe, but it almost sounds like a ship creaking or a guitar string being wound too tight.

- It doesn’t seem to make the noise until the car has been driven for 10 to 15 minutes.
- Once it starts it is consistent, it makes the noise every time I make a complete stop. It doesn’t matter if it is a hard stop or slow and gentle.
- The noise starts about half a second after a complete stop; it lasts about 1.5 seconds.
- The SA and I pinpointed the sound as coming from the right rear speaker area.

I ruled out the door seals sound mentioned in the forum as a possible source because it still makes the sound with the windows cracked. The BMW SA also stated he is familiar with the door seal sound and this was not it. The dealership inspected the rear brakes and suspension and couldn’t find anything wrong. The BMW SA and shop foreman state the noise is normal and is the ARS adjusting itself at each stop. They stated they had another 2010 5 series with ARS in the shop and it was making the same noise, and they pulled the ARS fuse on my car and didn’t hear the sound. Because the car is no longer under factory warranty, I have no reason to believe the BMW dealership is trying to get out of doing something. They would get paid for the work. I do have a problem believing a luxury car would make such an annoying noise “normally”.

I think the car they were comparing it to may have had the same problem, and they possibly pulled the ARS fuse on my car while it was cold and wasn’t making the noise anyway.

The dealer I purchased the car from and the BMW dealership are trying to find another 2010 5 series with ARS so I can compare the sound. I don’t want to take back possession until this is fixed because I don’t know if the dealership will fix it for free down the road, and it may not be a covered item in my extended warranty.

My question to the forum is does anyone have any ideas about what may be causing this sound, and if you have ARS on a LCI E60, is this a normal ARS noise?