Aluminum running boards rust problem.

[hvisser4]

X5 4.8is. Reg March 2005.

Has anyone else experienced this?

Small spots of rust starts forming all over the surface of the entire running board (looks like chicken pox). The spots gradually gets bigger and bigger and it doesn't look very good.

One of the guys at the local dealer stated "off the record" that this is a "known problem" and his "demo is only a few months old and it's the same" . (after I bought mine of course!!!)

Now it is still covered under warranty and I'm getting mine replaced soon, but what happens when warranty expires?

Surely BMW has to do something about this to prevent it from happening. I don't see the running boards as a consumable (like tyres, filters, etc) so I don't expect to need to change it every 6 months.