Interior Door Handle Coating

[Fifty150hs]

So, I don't know what genius at BMW thought the rubber coating on the interior door handles was a good idea, but that's what they did. And being rubber(ish), of course it deteriorates and peels off and looks terrible. I've looked into replacement handles, but at $100 a pop for new I'm looking for an alternative. At a minimum I'm going to pull the handles and complete strip the remaining coating so they don't look so bad. I'm wondering if anyone knows if it is possible to get the coating material so I could respray it? If not, they will remain the underlying beige plastic color.

[upallnight]

I believed that BMW was replacing the interior door handles when the problem first appears, but like their lifetime ATF, that is only covered under the life of the original owner.

You can always cover them with 3M film.

[Fifty150hs]

Originally Posted by upallnight

I believed that BMW was replacing the interior door handles when the problem first appears, but like their lifetime ATF, that is only covered under the life of the original owner.

You can always cover them with 3M film.

Was there a recall? We are the original owners.

[jsoto]

We're coming up on 15 years with ours....no peeling issue at all on the handle. LOL ,I did not even realize it was rubber coated.

NOW, the center console is a whole nuth'a story ...

[BigBody]

Originally Posted by jsoto

We're coming up on 15 years with ours....no peeling issue at all on the handle. LOL ,I did not even realize it was rubber coated.

NOW, the center console is a whole nuth'a story ...

I'm an original owner as well and also haven't experienced problems with the door handles. The center box was getting sticky and nasty though, and the console around the hazard/unlock button scratches like crazy. Isopropyl alcohol removed the soft touch rubber for me, and left the black under plastic, with no stickiness... something you may want to try before replacing or wrapping.

[Fifty150hs]

Originally Posted by BigBody

I'm an original owner as well and also haven't experienced problems with the door handles. The center box was getting sticky and nasty though, and the console around the hazard/unlock button scratches like crazy. Isopropyl alcohol removed the soft touch rubber for me, and left the black under plastic, with no stickiness... something you may want to try before replacing or wrapping.

Thank you for that. I'll give it a try.

[1BADM6]

3rd owner, 133k miles and mint interior except around the shifter base. I noticed some bubbling on the drivers side. I wonder if that's what you are referring to? I've never looked close enough to see what type of coating it is but I thought it odd for plastic to delaminate. Maybe it is rubber or a polymer coating. It's on my list of things to fix which are minor cosmetic or functional items.

[upallnight]

Originally Posted by Fifty150hs

Was there a recall? We are the original owners.

No recall, covered under the goodwill policy of the dealership. This was occurring during the first two years of ownership. Should have gotten a Toyota. They covered crack dash that was 10+ years old.

[Fifty150hs]

Originally Posted by upallnight

No recall, covered under the goodwill policy of the dealership. This was occurring during the first two years of ownership. Should have gotten a Toyota. They covered crack dash that was 10+ years old.

Figures. Thanks

[bcredliner]

You could spray them with plasti dip. I just removed the coating when they showed wear. It's shiny black but at least it doesn't look like it needs to be replaced.