Front doors have a clearance problem when opening, causing paint to chip off

[Mexecutioner]

There is a problem with either the front door hinge alignment or the panels in my X5 that causes the very corners of the doors to rub against the body when the door opens. The tolerance is very tight on both sides, but if you take a look at both of the doors top views, you can clearly see the driver side door protrudes a bit and it is not flush with the rest of the body as is on the passenger side. The paint chip is more pronounced on the driver side.

Both of them have the marks, however there is a significant difference between the two, the driver side being more pronounced.

While I don’t mind having the paint touched up, I am afraid that even a new additional thin coat of paint will rub and peel off over and over again becoming a never ending problem leaving that area exposed to the elements which is not good thing. This leads me to think that the hinge or bracket the door sits on needs to be adjusted in order to match the way the passenger door is. I ignore if there are additional ways of modifying the fit or clearance the door has.

The bothersome part is that I took the car to the dealership and they seemed shocked by the news. They didn’t really know what to do, or how to adjust it. They said that they’d rather not adjust the panels above the front wheels (which BTW are plastic, and according to the SA are designed to expand and contract with temperature fluctuations) because those would be signs of the car having body work done and would lower its resale value.

While I was at the service department one of the SA saw that another X5 parked in front of mine had the exact same issue on both front doors.

Since they don’t have an in-house body shop, the SA offered to mail me some touch-up paint, which I have not received after more than 2 weeks, and could have bought online myself. I know that it is pointless to touch it up since it will most likely peel off again, especially as the weather gets warmer and the panels “expand”, but I guess I have to go through the motions.

The SA has not returned my emails, or my calls, and this is getting frustrating. For those of you living in the Los Angeles area, do you have a reliable dealer with a decent service department so I can take this problem to before contacting BMWNA?

I am including some photos of my actual vehicle and a stock one to show the location of this problem in case some of you want to check your own cars for this issue, as I have seen more X5’s with this problem.

Your feedback is appreciated.

[Mexecutioner]

Forgot to mention my F15 had less than 2000 miles when I took it in, so I don't see how this is acceptable by any stretch of imagination, even at 100K miles.

[dubsesd]

You are being treated like crap by your dealer. This is a warranty issue and if they can't find a solution you should contact bmw usa. Touch up paint is a joke for a solution on a premium vehicle with warranty

[MattBianco]

Originally Posted by dubsesd

You are being treated like crap by your dealer. This is a warranty issue and if they can't find a solution you should contact bmw usa. Touch up paint is a joke for a solution on a premium vehicle with warranty

^ Best advice.

[Mexecutioner]

Originally Posted by dubsesd

You are being treated like crap by your dealer. This is a warranty issue and if they can't find a solution you should contact bmw usa. Touch up paint is a joke for a solution on a premium vehicle with warranty

I agree with you and thank you for your advice. Being this my first BMW I am unfamiliar with the best channel to get a hold of BMW USA. Should I just call the 1-800 Customers Relations number, or is there a better way?

[Doanster]

Originally Posted by Mexecutioner

I agree with you and thank you for your advice. Being this my first BMW I am unfamiliar with the best channel to get a hold of BMW USA. Should I just call the 1-800 Customers Relations number, or is there a better way?

You said you're in LA right? Can't imagine there isn't another dealer to go to first and get treated properly before going to corporate.
Remember, people will sometimes treat you how you allow them to. I'm not saying to go off the deep end or make a scene, but I never would've left the dealership accepting the touch-up paint solution for something so blatant. Panel tolerance adjustments should be normal work for a body shop.

[elisiX]

Until seeing this read, I had no idea what was the cause of this same problem on my M50d. I'd actually put it down to a stone chip as I couldn't explain how this damage occurred.

I first noticed it on my drivers door soon after my detailer worked on my car. I pretty much blamed him for it in my own mind, for perhaps being to aggressive with a buffer on that pointed corner.

Reading the above and inspecting both drivers and passengers sides, I can completely see how this has happened. I've run my finger along the inside where it touches and it too is damaged.

My solution when I noticed the drivers door was to apply touch up paint to cover a stark white patch (black car), however it's a really poor job and you can see the damage pretty clearly.

Need to speak with my dealer about this - not only to address it on the M50d, but to ensure this is not a problem on my new X5M which arrives next week. To say I'm concerned would be an understatement.

Aside from making adjustments to the hanging of the door, what can be done? Re-paint a relatively new door? It'll never be the same and it's the last thing I would want to do to a new car.

[Mexecutioner]

Originally Posted by elisiX

Until seeing this read, I had no idea what was the cause of this same problem on my M50d. I'd actually put it down to a stone chip as I couldn't explain how this damage occurred.

I first noticed it on my drivers door soon after my detailer worked on my car. I pretty much blamed him for it in my own mind, for perhaps being to aggressive with a buffer on that pointed corner.

Reading the above and inspecting both drivers and passengers sides, I can completely see how this has happened. I've run my finger along the inside where it touches and it too is damaged.

My solution when I noticed the drivers door was to apply touch up paint to cover a stark white patch (black car), however it's a really poor job and you can see the damage pretty clearly.

Need to speak with my dealer about this - not only to address it on the M50d, but to ensure this is not a problem on my new X5M which arrives next week. To say I'm pissed off would be an understatement.

Aside from making adjustments to the hanging of the door, what can be done? Re-paint a relatively new door? It'll never be the same and it's the last thing I would want to do to a new car.

After seeing the other F15 with the same issue I had a feeling it was not a coincidence. I noticed it first while washing the car and wondered how the hell a paint chip happened in that particular spot, it seemed unlikely. Then I looked at the other side and the inside of the panel and it was obvious that it is an assembly problem.

[Mexecutioner]

Originally Posted by Doanster

You said you're in LA right? Can't imagine there isn't another dealer to go to first and get treated properly before going to corporate.
Remember, people will sometimes treat you how you allow them to. I'm not saying to go off the deep end or make a scene, but I never would've left the dealership accepting the touch-up paint solution for something so blatant. Panel tolerance adjustments should be normal work for a body shop.

This is true. I will try another place first and see how far I can get. If they are unwilling to help I have no problem making a big deal out of it. The SA suggestion itself was asinine: "apply the paint and if it comes off again an engineer will have to take a look at it". I won't touch it up, as it is obvious it will happen over an over again until the problem is corrected.

[saigonpaul]

Originally Posted by Mexecutioner

There is a problem with either the front door hinge alignment or the panels in my X5 that causes the very corners of the doors to rub against the body when the door opens. The tolerance is very tight on both sides, but if you take a look at both of the doors top views, you can clearly see the driver side door protrudes a bit and it is not flush with the rest of the body as is on the passenger side. The paint chip is more pronounced on the driver side.

Both of them have the marks, however there is a significant difference between the two, the driver side being more pronounced.

While I don’t mind having the paint touched up, I am afraid that even a new additional thin coat of paint will rub and peel off over and over again becoming a never ending problem leaving that area exposed to the elements which is not good thing. This leads me to think that the hinge or bracket the door sits on needs to be adjusted in order to match the way the passenger door is. I ignore if there are additional ways of modifying the fit or clearance the door has.

The bothersome part is that I took the car to the dealership and they seemed shocked by the news. They didn’t really know what to do, or how to adjust it. They said that they’d rather not adjust the panels above the front wheels (which BTW are plastic, and according to the SA are designed to expand and contract with temperature fluctuations) because those would be signs of the car having body work done and would lower its resale value.

While I was at the service department one of the SA saw that another X5 parked in front of mine had the exact same issue on both front doors.

Since they don’t have an in-house body shop, the SA offered to mail me some touch-up paint, which I have not received after more than 2 weeks, and could have bought online myself. I know that it is pointless to touch it up since it will most likely peel off again, especially as the weather gets warmer and the panels “expand”, but I guess I have to go through the motions.

The SA has not returned my emails, or my calls, and this is getting frustrating. For those of you living in the Los Angeles area, do you have a reliable dealer with a decent service department so I can take this problem to before contacting BMWNA?

I am including some photos of my actual vehicle and a stock one to show the location of this problem in case some of you want to check your own cars for this issue, as I have seen more X5’s with this problem.

Your feedback is appreciated.

just check in at the service department, and have them do something, warranty.... then after thats complete, you will receive contact from BMW AMERICA wanting a rating... give them a VERY LOW GRADE... that should do it!! They LIVE for the high rating and will (usually) contact you (the dealer) and ask you to change the rating to 10.... thats when you can talk apples and apples to them... be a HARD ASS..... you paid for it!!!

[MattBianco]

I wonder if this is caused by poor body rigidity and excess torsion. Are you guys with the problem on bumpy or dirt roads, or parking on curbs or doing anything that would want to twist the body/frame?

[elisiX]

Absolutely not.

Highway and suburban driving exclusively.

[Snow-Kidney]

Thanks to this thread, you can add two more to the list. My neighbor and one of my employees both have this problem. I figured, "what a coincidence that both of them have a rock chip in the same place."

I didn't say anything to them because I didn't want to point out a rock chip however, now it will be BMW's problem to remedy so I let them know and the same problem on both front doors are very apparent.

I figure that there are many with this issue and don't even know it.

[Snow-Kidney]

Originally Posted by MattBianco

I wonder if this is caused by poor body rigidity and excess torsion. Are you guys with the problem on bumpy or dirt roads, or parking on curbs or doing anything that would want to twist the body/frame?

Both of the affected X5s that I know of are city cars in Los Angeles. No body twisting, etc.

[Snow-Kidney]

Originally Posted by Mexecutioner

Forgot to mention my F15 had less than 2000 miles when I took it in, so I don't see how this is acceptable by any stretch of imagination, even at 100K miles.

Which LA dealer did you go to? My neighbor will take it to Santa Monica or Beverly Hills.

[elisiX]

Like I said before, aside from a realignment to prevent it reoccurring, how are the affected areas going to be fixed, better than a half assed touch up job. It's Sunday evening here now but I'll be onto BMW first thing in the morning.

[Snow-Kidney]

I am skeptical that an elegant fix will be made available. No way would I accept touch up paint. It's also quite a shame to have to paint several panels on such a new car.

And once the doors or fenders are realigned then will it create uneven body panels elsewhere? Hopefully BMW has a clean solution and takes care of the paint chips properly. I'll keep everyone posted on what my neighbor and employee experiences with BMW.

I urge owners with this problem to chime in here and call BMW so that they can be directed to a larger sample of cars with this issue.

[Mexecutioner]

Originally Posted by Snow-Kidney

Which LA dealer did you go to? My neighbor will take it to Santa Monica or Beverly Hills.

North Hollywood

[Mexecutioner]

Originally Posted by Snow-Kidney

I am skeptical that an elegant fix will be made available. No way would I accept touch up paint. It's also quite a shame to have to paint several panels on such a new car.

And once the doors or fenders are realigned then will it create uneven body panels elsewhere? Hopefully BMW has a clean solution and takes care of the paint chips properly. I'll keep everyone posted on what my neighbor and employee experiences with BMW.

I urge owners with this problem to chime in here and call BMW so that they can be directed to a larger sample of cars with this issue.

Probably not a bad idea to raise awareness on this issue so proper action can be taken by BMW.

[iconoclast]

is it me or does this body look like it was repainted?



if so it may have been in an accident and the panels are misaligned from the repair.

[Mexecutioner]

Originally Posted by iconoclast

is it me or does this body look like it was repainted?



if so it may have been in an accident and the panels are misaligned from the repair.

It is you.

I bought the car with 3 miles on it so unless they crashed it on the way out of the truck and repaired it within the 3 weeks from production date to purchase I don't see it being in an accident, but you never know.

[Kzang]

Just checked my X5 and thankfully, mine is not having this issue.