Bubbles forming on airbag liner
 

I just noticed some seperation of material on the passenger side airbag. It seems to be growing! Anybody else have experience with this? Thanks!

I saw this on a car for sale about a year ago? have you ever had a crash in your car or have the airbags ever gone off? because this car that i looked at had had a crash and the car was fixed at some crappy dealer and the airbag covers wernt put back on properly so they looked like that but much worse. Other than that cant help you

Me too.
 

Mine look like that too.

I've just noticed this happening as well. I bought my 01 X5 used, but the carfax history reported no accidents. Any thoughts on fixing this?

My 01 looks like that on both sides

my 2000 4.4 the same thing carfax reported no accidents

Its not because of any accident. It a recall on some X5's. Its very common. Something about water leaking around the A-Column.... I might be wrong with the wording, but its very common. Not to worry.

I have the same issue on my 01 X5. It seems to pull tight when it's hot outside and then have those bubbles in it once it cools. I suspect the adhesive on the material has failed and only the expanding plastic underneath tightens it up once it's hot.

recall?
 

This was a recall on some X5's? Do you know any more about that BimmerDude? I'm not really worried. It just looks crappy!

Could be sunroof drain tube leaks.

That looks like just bad glue were used on the liner. My brother's ML is much worst. The liner is so bad that he simply peeled off the cloth liner from the pilar altogether. That's mostly cosmetic...so I doubt that BMW will do any recall on it as it isn't a safety issue.

Water leaking around the A column is definately something to worry about. I've got the same issue. I've got a can of spray adhesive, I'll have to pry them off and see if I can fix them. I wonder if steaming them will make the glue re-adhere and fix them instead of removing them and possibly screwing them up more.

they can also be caused by those steam cleaners, the steam screws up the existing glue and they go floppy

It is normal wear and tear - it has happened on both my 2001 X5 and my 2004 325CI. Fotunately, the 325 was still under warranty when it happened and the dealer covered it

agreed with JohnD. water leaking could cause that, but if your car is more that 4 years old, chances are the heat from the sun cause this.

I have this too on both sides!! I was actually embarrassed to bring this to discussion.

It's more embarrasing when passengers get into the car and make comments about it.

Its not a leaking water issue that causes the A pillar panels from bubbling up like that. Exposure to heat will cause the material to lift off over time. I've removed the panel from the car to try and peel the material off to re-glue it, but found out its not that easy. The material is super thin and makes me worry that I might over stretch the material while peeling it from the panel itself.

I've yet to try this, but an upholstery guy I know suggested I use a steamer to warm up the fabric and panel safely, then apply pressure to the troubled area. In most cases, it'll make the adhesive and material stick back together.

Worst case scenario, dealership wants 89 bucks a piece to replace.

Oh, and zerochief... You think your panels are bad...boy you should see mine...=\

Per Willy on post 13, he's under the belief that the steaming will screw it up more. I just want it fixed, but not at $89 a piece.

Yeah $89/peice is excessive. Mine are worse than the pics above.

RealOEM.com shows these trim only costing approx. $44 a piece. Dealers seem to be making about 100% profit on them.

Has anyone tried to simply do away with the thin fabric on the trim piece? Meaning just peeling off the thin fabric altogether, thus eliminating the problem from ever happening again. If the glue color (under the fabric) is not very appealing, a coat of paint could easily cure that...just a though.

The BMW AG part costs $30.89, it needs to be shipped to America through customs, then shipped to the distrubution center and then stock piled. and then to the dealer when out of stock. when the parts arrive, then needs to be stocked on the shelf, or special order bin, and then the post card goes out to the customer saying we have the part in stock now. When the customer arrives, he is handed the part, and walked up to the cashier and with a invoice. $89 is excessive, but the dealer is not making 100% profit, with overhead costs ive listed above.

According to the rep at the parts counter, she said that I could probably get the parts for less elsewhere since each dealership is independantly owned. I found that to be unusual for a dealer employee to suggest.

Tischer BMW has them for 36.88 and 40.10 for both sides in grey. Looks like I might just pick up replacements and fiddle with the worn ones to find a cure when I find time.

Do you know if grey the correct color for a non-sport with black interior? The trim I have seems to be so light that I can't tell if it's light grey or light beige :dunno:

2004 x5 3.0i Non Sport w/ Black interior = Grey headliner/pillar covers/sun visors etc...

At least thats in my case. But its more than likely the same for yours as well. Tan on black would really only suit the car if the leather was tan or brown IMO.:cool:

http://i69.photobucket.com/albums/i8...icture1002.jpg

http://i69.photobucket.com/albums/i8...icture1001.jpg This is how bad my pillars have become....

Mine aren't far from yours. Someone in a warmer climate...try heating them up and fixing them :)

What I did notice in So.Cal during the summer afternoons, the panels would almost look like they fixed themselves. No more bubbles or loose fabric. Come back to the car at night, sure enough back to sagging fabric.

Ive tried ironing them back on but it doesnt do anything. I wonder what better a steamer would do in this case?

Mine are just as bad as yours, but it doesn't bother me anymore until it completely start flapping around. Only then would I start consider to either replace it or just rip it out altogether.

At times, I've even considered re-wrapping all the upper panels and headliner in grey microsuede. Might cost the same as just replacing the 2 panels and is easier to repair if similar wear occurs in the future.

Mine are actually seperated completely on one side. (2001 x5 4.4i) They hang open. Its sun/heat damage and common down here in Florida. I am going to get a quote from a local headliner shop to replace all the pillars and probably the headliner, too. My guess is that using non-BMW parts will make it a pretty reasonable fix. I'll let you know what I find out.

Suede is sexy...i've seen it done a handful of times on the 5/7/M5 boards and it looks great.

So while removing the A pillar cover to run the mic wire for my AVIC install, I decided to try and steam iron my pillar. Worked like a champ!! I set it on the lowest steam setting then started running it across and the wrinkles came right out. I'm not sure how long it'll last, but for 5 minutes of my time, I'm happy. Don't forget there is a bolt behind the HPS badge when trying to remove these :)

Had both of the liners for my front pillars replaced. $40 total and the guy came to my office to do it. Look like brand new. He also does freelance work for the local dealership, so I'm sure mine were done with left over material. Very happy.

m5james, How did it turn out? Did it last over the summer? I have the same issue on one pillar.
Kevin

I had the same same problem. Guess its the sun and the heat here in the south west. Anyways, I went and got a can of 3M spray adhesive. carefully peeled the cloth off and sprayed them both with it. Waited for a moment until the glue started to dry and applied the cloth pieces again. Looks like new and lastet all summer in the texas heat :)

Just make sure to not apply too much glue, so the cloth dosen't get soaked.

Patrick

Ehh, its been quite a while but it's back. I've considered peeling the fabric back and using a quality spray adhesive, just havent gotten around to it.