2012 Sudden Dash Creaking / Popping Noise

[kaleb]

Hey there, I have a 2012 X5d with leather dash and HUD and 156,000 miles. Suddenly in the last week or so, I'm getting a creaking and popping sound in the dashboard/cowl area any time the chassis does any sort of flexing. Could be turning into a driveway with a small curb, turning the wheel slightly, an uneven bump while driving straight, and I even heard it POP while sitting still with the engine off!

I am wondering what I should check. The first thing I checked is a visual inspection of my upper strut foam spacers, since that commonly causes noise, but I replaced those (no noise at the time) at 131k miles and they look fine from the top.

What should I check next? Sway bar bushings? So odd. This year I have done a bit of light off-roading (driving through a field) but nothing crazy like WhistlinDiesel. I just have some land and I drive through the field.

[wcs531]

The ball joint failed on one of my front lower control arms 31126771894, and I believe was the cause of a loud creak when going over speed bumps or or unloading the front suspension (shifting the weight to the rear). It was also more prevalent below freezing, but would have gotten worse in warmer weather as time went on.

That was the only component that was very obviously bad when I did a full front suspension refresh. Unfortunately I didnt inspect anything in the shock/spring assembly since I went with aftermarket shocks/springs.

[kaleb]

UPDATE: I am dumb and I forgot that I had to quickly put my cowl covers back on after some engine maintenance, and I didn't bolt down the lower hard plastic trays (the ones below the upper trays). This allowed them to shift around and cause the noise! I bolted them down and all is well again!