X5 M / M package paint chipping issue
 

X5 M / M Package paint chipping issue
Hey guys, new today to the forum!

I have a deal in place for a space grey 2011 X5 M and recently came across a thread pertaining to the rear fender / lower rocker / sandblasting / rock chipping after just a few thousand miles.

Couple questions

- is this a real issue, and do mudflaps + 3m solve this?

- are the dealers aware, and would you use BMW 3M or a thicker product is what Mercedes and Porsche use?

- would this dissuade you from buying again?

- can anyone in a snowy climate attest to the paint chip effects being worse?

- any Canadians having problems?

My salesperson said he has not known of this issue.

If this is a real issue, I may switch to Alpine White.

Your thoughts and input much appreciated!!!

- is this a real issue, and do mudflaps + 3m solve this?
Yes Real issue. Solved, if you cover all the areas with the thick 3M film
- are the dealers aware, and would you use BMW 3M or a thicker product is what Mercedes and Porsche use?
Yes, Dealers and BMW are both aware of this issue. If I do it I will put the thicker 3M product(the one they use for headlights)
- would this dissuade you from buying again?
naah, the driving fun outweighs the chip damage :zoom:


:xoutpost:

Thanks for the reply !! .....
]
The "thick" 3m...have you used it, and how does it hold up??

Can you show a diagram as to where to apply the thick 3m?

Thanks

great forum

The thick 3M protects paint well. All lower areas on side of car should have thick film.
See diagram below. Red area is worst hit.
Also see this thread - http://www.xoutpost.com/bmw-sav-foru...ar-wheels.html

http://www.xoutpost.com/attachments/...ne-damage-.jpg

Do you happen to know how thick the thicker 3M is that seems to be holding up? Is it the headlight film?

I have seen as regular film as thick as 10 mill and headlight film up to 30 mill....

Don't know the thickness.

Over the long term even the thick film will be destroyed & very ugly and need to be replaced. I recently had the M specific mudflaps installed and I actually prefer the look of the car with them - though I know many won't agree with that sentiment. I will send some pics shortly, but for maximum protection I would get these in addition to the film.

Any pics of your truck with the flaps on?

Love to see them

Anyone know the thickness of the
3m to be used?
8mm with 2mm clear coat?
10mm with 2mm clear?

14mm?

Nowhere close to 8-14mm.. that's +/- 5/16th to 1/2 inch thick.

It's also not close to 30mil. 30mil is the thickness of the credit cards in your wallet.

3M or Ventureshield are both about 8 mil - or .2mm

They have to been thin to make the contours around your SUV.

http://www.ppffilm.com/images/ventureshield.pdf

I didn't do VS or 3M because I'm leasing mine.. why pay the $1000?

If I planned to keep it, I would absolutely do what LeMan's suggested.

I have Ventureshield on my Z06 for four years and it's completely saved my paint. Looks like the day it was installed.

Correct...

My math was off...mils was to be used.

I decided to order Rally Armor universal mudflaps. I will test mount them with a mild adhesive before permanently riveting in.

I hope it looks better than stock flaps!!

There is a 14 mil product by 3M (12 mil + 2 mill adhesive).

My installler will give it try.

If not, 8 mil with 2 mil adhesive is next

:D - I've confused those before too.

That should do the trick.

pics
 

sorry they are so bad!!!

:yikes: I'll take my chances with the 3M.

Really hard to tell from the pictures. Letus know when you get some better ones.
M

Hum, do you have a pic showing the whole car with them?

Any more side / iso / front / rear shots of the flaps??

Much appreciated!

Obviously they were painted?

How does the lower flare in front of the rear door look?

Did you 3M down there as well?

I don't think it looks too bad at all!

:thumbup:

BTW, the rally armor mud flaps look OK, but were too flimsy.

I would expect them to flap like crazy at top speeds!!

return to sender!

This is a real issue! I have noticed chipping after 300 miles on my Alpine White X6M. I installed 3M on rocker panels. rear doors, running boards, etc. Also put generic mud flaps. At 9000 miles the 3M needs replacement. Winter driving has greatly increased the problem. Chips on the Alpine White show up as dark specs so they are obvious. Although the vehicle is great and FUN to drive, this cosmetic issue will completely frustrate a car fanatic.

Not sure why the 3M would need to be replaced at 9000 miles. I have 22k miles on mine. The 3M was placed on my truck around 2,000 miles. I had to repaint several parts because it was "sand blasted". Then installed the 3M and no issues. I live in Wisconsin. From history of my other cars, I anticipate 2-3 years from the 3M then it will need to be replaced.

Did you use regular 8mil 3M or the thicker 12+ mil?

Any pics of your 3M job?

Thanks!

I used the thicker 3M material; although the material is still intact, on Alpine White there is the slight yellowing issue and the most abused areas are rough to the touch and discolored. I believe it is a function of miles on the vehicle and road conditions, not time.

JDM....the film is porous. Road grime/snow slugh grime doesn't help.
TRY to keep it as waxed as much as possible to mitigate the *porosity*.....

Thanks for the info; I am getting new film put on this weekend and will start treating it with wax.

Already? Don't you have less than 10k miles? BMW really should solve this

This winter has finished it off at 9k

I feel you, I think I'll have gone through an entire tube of AW touch up pain by the end. How I get chips on the roof above my windshield? Who knows.

It doesn't help that the union truck drivers are trigger happy when it comes to spreading salt. Even today at 43 degrees. What a joke

Curious. Is it replaced OOP or under warranty.....

2nd. I would seal it 1 week after install. There is still *fluid* aka - slip solution under the film that works it's way out. Colder weather doesn't help either. I'd give it a week for it to work it's way out. YMMV

My 3M guy recommended the thicker 3m on lower doors and rockers, and in front of rear wheel add an additional thinner 3m that can just be peeled off and reapplied as time goes on.

Thicker below for max protection, thinner smaller removable strip on top.

Well the snow, salt, and sand has killed the 3M i put on in november. Rockers are pretty beat up and it looks like i will be replacing the film come spring. What a PITA!!!! Northern, did you put on any mud flaps???

fat x5
No flaps yet... Have a set of rally armor universal but they look a little flimsy

If I flap it would be the OEM painted.

My 3M scheduled for tomorrow...can you post pics of where most your 3m damage has occurred?

It would be appreciated!

Sorry, just saw the question. Not sure of the thickness of the 3M. i will have to call the shop that did it.

Not sure when I will be able to get a picture. I have the entire front of the car covered (from front bumper to windshield, hood and front fenders). The entire rocker and part of the rear fender. I am running snow tires with spacers. i have 22K miles and realy no issues with the 3M.

Purchased my new 2011 X5 5.0I with M-Sport package last Saturday 02/05/11. I noticed after getting my car washed today the rocker panels are ALL CHIPPED UP after 6 days & 900 miles of driving. The car does not have snow tires therefore it was not driven in the snow. After I noticed this problem 1 hour ago.. Car is perfectly clean so all the white and black spots you see if missing paint in front of the rear tire!!
Taking to the dealer very soon, already spoke with BMW Customer Service Center....
http://i258.photobucket.com/albums/h...7/photo1-4.jpg
http://i258.photobucket.com/albums/h...7/photo4-2.jpg
http://i258.photobucket.com/albums/h...7/photo3-3.jpg
http://i258.photobucket.com/albums/h...7/photo2-7.jpg

http://i258.photobucket.com/albums/h.../photo1-11.jpg
http://i258.photobucket.com/albums/h...7/photo1-4.jpg

^^Ouch. not good.

The dealership should have recommended 3M film as it is widely known this is a major issue.

You will need to get a repaint, and fortunately it will no be as good az factory.

Wait 3-4 weeks after you repaint to let all gases escape.

Then apply 3m to the rockers and fender flares as suggested earlier in this thread

Based on how much abuse yours took I would recommend the 14 mil headlight 3M film

I used it and it looks great! The 8 mil simply will not hold up. Don't let the stealer apply this, as they use the 8 mil. You will need to seek out someone who can do this

I still have not applied the factory fugly mudflaps, but I will readers the 3m this spring before next winter

i live in the middle east so its very dusty
after having my car for 6 months the paint is so unbearable that i had to paint my whole car because if the paint only worst parts there will be a diffrence in color and im a guy who notices the smallest details so itll kill me, so i painted my car vermillion red still waiting for it to finish though, but im soo excited since there arent any M sport packages in vermillion red :D

Just washed my car and noticed that it is pretty badly damaged in all those areas as well. Too late for the film, I guess I am just going to drive it and paint at a later time or trade in and be done with it.

I just got my X5M two weeks ago and before I could get an appointment with the 3M guy, I was told I had 2 chips on the car already by the installer when he finished; one on each side near the front of the rear wheels. I am going to put flaps on it too.

Wow, this thread is pretty unbelievable! Obviously a major and consistent issue with the X5///M (and X6///M). So I guess it begs the question: are any of you doing the "3M" as a good will gesture from the dealer, or is this all fully out-of-pocket outside of BMW's domain? Maybe I'm not getting something here, but seems to me that if one already spends $90 K on a premium high-performance SUV, one should not be expected to spend thousands of dollars on top of that to correct a blatant BMW design flaw. BMW should be fully responsible for the costs of 3M-ing..and then 3Ming again....and again....and again...these vehicles.

Wow. Just wow. Doesn't BMW do long-term tests on all their prototypes? It is stunning to me that they let this issue slide past their QC. Or perhaps they did see it and figured "the buyers will just swallow it". I guess now that it is so obvious and everyone is seeing it on their less-than-1-year-old X5///Ms, the real question is: when will BMW issue a genuine recall for this? Or will they just assume that the average buyer of an X5///M has nothing better to do than to keep 3M-ing their vehicle every year until the cows come home...:yikes:

Is this an issue that affects only X5 Msports with 20in wheels? I've got a 40d M Sport coming in a few weeks, but with 19in wheels, and would really appreciate feedback as to whether 3M'ing the car is still necessary?? I've spoken to 2 X5 m sport drivers recently, also with 19in wheels, who don't suffer chipping. All feedback very much appreciated!!!

Does anyone have more information on the M specific mud flaps mentioned in this thread? Part number - photos? I did not know they had them, though I know that the standard flaps will not fit the M Sport....

I'm still waiting to hear back from BMW if they are going to fix my car or not.. I cannot believe the amount of time this is taking.. It looks so much worse now!

Did you hear back from BMW yet?

Met a guy at the stealership and this is what happened after one Canadian winter!

oh my god!!

Wow that is bad! At least it shows very clearly the point of impact and the need to get the 3M.

holy crap thats awful. the 3m on my new m is starting to look really bad too (at only 5k miles) when they took the tape off my old M i thought for sure that there would be damage but it was clean as new...amazing stuff,even if it does look like ****

Ouch!

Try using the 14 mil 3M - the stuff they use on the headlamps and see if it makes a difference on the flares. That's what I did, and haven't seen much issues, but my truck is a garage queen.

Yeah the 3M on my M Sport is pretty bad too.

It's been on a little over a year. I'm going to replace in a couple months.

Also both my M sport and my M have squeaky drivers side seats and a rip in the leather at the pretty much the exact same place.

I love both of there's cars; but when I combine the problems I've had with these cars with the continuing decline in the quality of BMW service.

I'm seriously considering making these the last BMW's I own after many, many years of BMW ownership.

Wow! I'm 1500 miles in and not ONE rock chip (..and mine came with 20's, but is now on 22's); a fair amount of road tar though. That stuff is a bitch to get off! I wonder if this issue is mostly topographical. I live in So.Cal and just can't see my X getting battered like that over the long term. Even my M3(s) - wide, lowered, spacers, etc. - never had chipping issues.

I see this thread dates back about 2 years, is this problem still prevalent on new X's?

Its car design issue and the design has not changed, so the problem is still there.

I suppose it is, but it's not happening to my X5.

For sure if you lived on a part if the country that doesn't see snow you may not see an issue..

Up here in Alberta they use gravel in the city (Edmonton) and gravel + salt on the highways during winter

Take a look at the sandblasting effect seen on the Alpine White truck up in a previous post - that was after one winter!

Even if you live in a place without these conditions you will end up seeing your clear coat fade slowly over time - just a lot slower than up here !