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

[Mexecutioner]

I called the SA again and left him a clear message about their unacceptable "fix" and asked them to provide a permanent solution to this. He called back in less than 10 minutes and was surprised I had not received the touch up paint yet. I told him not to bother as this was a pointless approach I am not even willing to try since it fixes nothing. He said he will talk to the shop foreman today and get back to me to see what they can do and if they get a BMW engineer involved.
I reminded him that there was another vehicle that day at the service department with the same problem and that this was not an isolated instance, therefore BMWNA needs to own up to it and offer a solution to all of the F15 owners that want this fixed.
We will see what they have to say later today.

[Snow-Kidney]

Originally Posted by Mexecutioner

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.

You're right...there is no way that this is the result of a repair. Many others have this problem. It is clearly a manufacturing issue.

[Neuera09]

I just checked mine. No issues to report. Thanks for posting the issue.

Too bad we can't trace the Quality Control engineer that gave the stamp of approval like in the Honey Bunches of Oat commercial ....

[iconoclast]

Originally Posted by Mexecutioner

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.

just going by the photos. the paint looks blurry and covered in orange peel.

side note, more cars are damaged in shipping and repaired at VPC/port than you would expect. bmw has their own body shop at each of their delivery centers.

[Snow-Kidney]

Originally Posted by iconoclast

just going by the photos. the paint looks blurry and covered in orange peel.

side note, more cars are damaged in shipping and repaired at VPC/port than you would expect. bmw has their own body shop at each of their delivery centers.

Every car from every manufacturer is covered in orange peel. It is not an indicator of body work after it leaves the factory.

[elisiX]

Reported mine yesterday.

Both doors are affected, however this is my drivers door in the same area.

[iconoclast]

Originally Posted by Snow-Kidney

Every car from every manufacturer is covered in orange peel. It is not an indicator of body work after it leaves the factory.

factory orange peel is a bit more common these days (especially on the E9X M3) but that photo shows a completely blurry panel. again it could just be the photo, it could just be me but it was a valid question to ask to help the OP isolate the root cause of their issue.

[Snow-Kidney]

Originally Posted by iconoclast

factory orange peel is a bit more common these days (especially on the E9X M3) but that photo shows a completely blurry panel. again it could just be the photo, it could just be me but it was a valid question to ask to help the OP isolate the root cause of their issue.

It is a valid question. Orange peel is a common characteristic of every car on every marque and more evident on darker colors. Just note that there are four reports and growing of the same problem within a couple of days. This is not a repair issue, it is clearly an assembly line issue.

[MattBianco]

There are a whole bunch of threads on orange peel and the soft paint. The paint quality is not a thing the South Carolina plant can brag about. In fact, take a very close look at any Mineral White under a good sun and you can see the pearl effect mid layer of the paint has not been applied to the door jambs.

Now, proper body alignment and rubbing.... unacceptable for cars that have seen nothing by paved roads.

[iconoclast]

Originally Posted by Snow-Kidney

It is a valid question. Orange peel is a common characteristic of every car on every marque and more evident on darker colors. Just note that there are four reports and growing of the same problem within a couple of days. This is not a repair issue, it is clearly an assembly line issue.

QC is definitely an issue on the F15. i think HQ needs to get over to the plant get strict again.

Originally Posted by MattBianco

There are a whole bunch of threads on orange peel and the soft paint. The paint quality is not a thing the South Carolina plant can brag about. In fact, take a very close look at any Mineral White under a good sun and you can see the pearl effect mid layer of the paint has not been applied to the door jambs.

Now, proper body alignment and rubbing.... unacceptable for cars that have seen nothing by paved roads.

over the past few months i sat in and played with several different f15 and one thing i noticed is there is no constant. it's like everyone of them has one exact panel misaligned. i have seen hoods misaligned, hatch door, interior pieces crooked, rattles in the cargo area on a vehicles with 15 miles on it. etc. it is very difficult to point a finger at what exactly is wrong without just saying overall QC is an issue.

[batmanken]

I would contact BMWNA right away about this, this is totally unacceptable. build quality and fitment is not all that great on the F15's as lot of ppl have mentioned already. I looked closely at the body panel fitments and it's pretty bad, there's areas where the panels are not flush and it sort of sticks out like it's misaligned, for instance, my rear tailgate and lower panel doesn't fit perfectly, and also noticed front fenders are not perfectly flush.

[Mexecutioner]

After apologizing profusely for ignoring me for the past 2 and a half weeks, and promising he would be on top of this, the SA didn't call me back yesterday, like I was expecting.

I am tired of it and will be contacting BMWNA later today or tomorrow at the latest as my schedule allows.

[elisiX]

Heard back from the service department today.

As expected, they don't read internet forums nor pay attention to them - each case would be handled in isolation.

In a nutshell, if I pursued it with my M50d (which I won't cause it'll be gone in a week), they would have to respray.

Praying to god that it's not an issue on the incoming M. I'll be making sure the alignment is checked.

If the car is damaged already on delivery, I won't be accepting it which will be incredibly disappointing.

[Alan l.]

Mine doesn't have this yet with 6K miles. Upon opening the doors I do notice that the area in question does come VERY close to the front fender. I suspect slight variation during assembly at the plant could be the reason for some cars having it and some don't.

Alan

[Mexecutioner]

I just got off the phone with BMWNA and expressed my frustration with my dealer and my disappointment on BMW service due to the lack of communication and unwillingness to correct this issue properly and permanently. I demanded a solution as this is unacceptable. They mentioned they will call the dealer today and ask them to fix the problem; a real fix, not just the touch-up paint joke I could have bought myself on Amazon for $30.

I asked what would happen if that particular dealer doesn't do anything about it and keeps dragging their feet, and they said they cannot force the dealer to fix it, so if the dealer refuses, or is unable to provide a solution, they suggested me trying another dealership. Not what I wanted to hear, but I will take this one step at a time.

I hope the dealer where I bought the car is willing to play ball and takes this seriously because I don't want this to become a crazy time consuming issue.

[roadkillrob]

I am thinking for those of us that have not had this problem, a little clear door edge guard on the front edge of the door might be a good investment or something on the fender **** where it rubs to make contact before the paint. Think I will be proactive and put some Xpel door edge guard on the front edges

http://www.amazon.com/Clear-Universa.../dp/B003EP3ACS

[elisiX]

That is ridiculous Mexecutioner

This is a BMW problem - not the dealer.

My service guy also said the issue may sit with pre-delivery, however this issue could present post delivery.

At the end of the day, it should not even be possible for something like this to occur.

Keep us in the loop.

[CrEsT]

Wow, big concern. I'll be checking this when I take delivery of the car.

[Alan l.]

I am wondering if its possible that if someone's car bumps into your front bumper hard enough that it would shift the fenders back just enough to come in contact with the door? Looking at how the bumper is attached to the car it might be possible and explain why some cars have this and some cars don't. It really doesn't take much because even on my car which doesn't have this problem if the fenders moved just 1-2mm it could cause it to hit the door at that location.

[Snow-Kidney]

Interesting theory however bumper covers tend to be quite pliable and are designed to absorb shock. The two people that I know personally both had the paint chips within the first month. In addition it is on both sides of their X5. It has to be a manufacturing problem.

[iconoclast]

Originally Posted by Alan l.

I am wondering if its possible that if someone's car bumps into your front bumper hard enough that it would shift the fenders back just enough to come in contact with the door? Looking at how the bumper is attached to the car it might be possible and explain why some cars have this and some cars don't. It really doesn't take much because even on my car which doesn't have this problem if the fenders moved just 1-2mm it could cause it to hit the door at that location.

the would probably crack before they shifted. the bumper would absorb most if not all the impact from a hit of this kind at a low speed. if you wanted to quell any curiosities there are so many mounting points on the fenders where you could look and see if the fenders shifted. easiest would be lifting the hood and looking along the engine bay where the fender mounts inside the bay on both sides.

i would go more with assembly line / qc issue over anything else or worst case scenario poor hinges causing the doors to sag prematurely.

[geroz1]

Could it also be wind related? I.e., the door was opened at a high wind place that caused it to shift a bit and hence this issue?