Stop slamming my doors!
 

I stayed up late to pick up a friend from bradley airport tonight. As he's loading his stuff into my back seat I said "try not to slam the door it's actually really..*-WHAM-* All too often this is happening! Everyone I pick up is slamming my door back to the stone age. And I don't think I'm being overcritical because often when it happens the person will say "oops" or give me a scared look. This is driving me mad! The doors are exceptionally heavy, and often when I get in I put negative pressure on the door to prevent it from slamming on its own. What can I do? I often have clients in my car and it's hard to say not to slam my doors without sounding pretentious. Is anyone else having this problem? I wasn't able to find any other threads on it.

i do have the same problem, X5 doors are heavy and they think that pushing a little bit harder will not slam the doors. Very irritating, feel you man.

I just read your post out loud to my friend and we're laughing because we know exactly what you mean. I do feel very pretentious asking so I usually phrase it "hey, the doors slam easily, just be careful when closing them"...you know sorta "blame the door" so they don't take any direct offense.

Glad you guys are with me here. In the meantime I think we need to begin putting up flyers or an APB to get the word out there. who's with me?

me too, I am continually telling my wife not to slam the bootlid!

Punch your friend in the face. Then he isn't going to ask for rides and your doors will be safe :rofl:

Agree...all of mine close "differently" and all are heavy, yet some of
them swing like they are counter balanced. And, all four doors are
a bit "clunky" at closing. Piddling thing, but with passengers it drives
me nuts, too.
GL,mD

I need my wife to read this so she knows that i am not the only one! She gets so sick of me saying not to slam the doors...Even my 3 yr old daughter told her not to slam the door one day (daddy's little girl..lol).

Other things that bug me:
When passengers put there feet anywhere but the floor.
Wife sets heavy items on the cup holder door.
Wife always comes to close to the curb.

How she will not drive when i am in the X anymore (or any car)....lol...maybe a good thing for my heart...lol

I totally hear ya! I tell people the same thing....most are catching on...

do this.... open / closed the door your self.. threat your clients like the VIP passenger and you do the job like an LIMO driver. LOL

2 Rules Sweetheart...
 

DON'T touch the paint! and DONT SLAM THE DOOR!!:angryfire
Inevitably she slams door and gets a paddlin'........;)
Just realized, I am encouraging her to slam the door?:bustingup

Oh my god this happens to me all the time too!!. I just simply try to remember if there is ever anyone in my car I have to remember to tell them to shut the door gently! Its such a pain in the ass too because its hard to remember this. I always let my door shut very slowly and easily...But other people just ...WHAM!!! Then i cringe every single time...

This drives me crazy as well. Mostly when the window is rolled all the way down and the passenger slams the door shut. The sound that the door makes just gives me a feeling like the internal parts of the door are suffering. lol

Slamming the doors will cause the interior door trim panels to snap out of place along the bottom edge further causing squeeks. Check yours and I'll bet one or more is not fastned. I check mine at least twice a year and I always find one or more undone.

I hear you.... have the same problem too.....i guess most if not all bmw owners have this issue. It feels bad when some one slams the doors but i guess its not their fault too because bmw doors are so heavy they get slammed easily.... So i just tell my friends that the doors are heavy and to watch their fingers while they are getting in the car. Some smart people get the point but there are a lot of dumbos who dont get it and slam the doors which upsets me....

The doors on my 01 4.4i are heavier and more quality than my Range Rover Sport. I too hate it so much when my kids slam them. The lighter doors on the RRS seem to catch air resistance and it's no big deal when they are slammed. Apply the same amount of pressure to the X, and WHAM!!!! I bet that's why the window regulators suck so bad. The doors shut too hard!

Anyone think of adding some weather stripping to take away some of the force? I don't know where one would apply the said stripping, but It'd probably do the trick (and save the window regs)

oh ya..
 

Slamming the doors, food and drinks, trash, are all heavily regulated in my car....people give me a hard time about how anal I am with my X, and especially if the doors are locked, and they have never been in my X they try to rip the door handle off trying to open the door from the inside,:yikes: I always have to tell them pull it once it will unlock the door, pull it twice and it will open...DO NOT rip the door handle off, there is a reason the door didnt open... this is not your '89 honda civic....

I agree about the door handle thing as well. It gets me so mad. Instead of trying again they just keep pushing on the door and tell me my door isn't working.

They fixed this on the E70, but you don't get that reassuring "clunk", and you need to put a bit of force on them to close. I liked the way the E53's doors closed.

yeah! I'm wondering if it isn't the source of all our window regulator problems. My dad says he had this problem with his old mercedes SD. People sense the heavy door and all of a sudden they think it's like a mack truck door and pulverize it. The sound is frightening. :(

This even happens in the X3, especially with the bootlid. People don't realise that there are handles under the bootlid itself, and if you yank it halfway, gravity will do the rest. But no, they slam the thing down with so much force it's like an earth-shattering BAM!:rant:

I'm just waiting for the window to come shooting down on the next person who slams my passenger door. As much as it will suck for me I bet that person never slams my door again.

I posted my agreement beef, 2 pages ago, but this fairly amazing long
thread, (that so many of us have the same prob.), reminds me of an
X5 review way back in early 2001, from Automobile mag. Jean Lindamood
had Carly Fiorina'd herself to Editor then and after a semi-long term test,
gave it passing grades with beefs about "the clunky doors...", among
other gripes.

Good to read BeamER still hasn't really fixed them, or mine.

Try telling my CEO and friends not to slam the freakin Vette door:
it's 'glas over a thin candy shell as the M&M story says, and it weighs
about 40 lbs max...

Good to read we are all in group agony, lol!
GL,mD

Interesting.

I never had a problem with doors slamming in my X5, over the four plus years I drove it. The possibly related problem I had was that the doors didn't close nicely, there wasn't that nice BMW latch sound. It was unrefined, instead of like a precision machine. It was unlike other models of BMWs I drove, but it seemed that all X5s had the same issue given the ones I tried out. I put it down to the latch and weatherstrip combination, more than the weight. Heavier doors on an iL, but they close nicely.

One of my regulator broke after a family friend slammed my rear driver door, the glass came shooting down :(!

Oh this thread is funny. My sister STILL slams my door every time she gets out of the X. She realizes it as soon as she does it and apologizes saying she "forgot." :banghead:

HAHAHA! As soon as someone unbuckles their seatbelt I go through my "pull the door handle twice to get out - once to unlock it, once to open it" speech. :banghead:

Wouldn't it be easier to just hit the unlock button on the center console, or program the autolock feature off?:dunno:

Nope. :p:

I rarely have someone with me. Plus I'd go nuts if I didn't have the autolock feature turned on.

I think getting the auto feature might not be a great idea.... but i have started hitting the unlock button on the centre console as soon i park the car.... so people who are with me in the car dont panic if the doors dont open the first time.

It would be a lie for any member not to post in this thread LOL

Either the door slamming...or the 'pull the handle twice' ...some of my friends have gotten used to...but I depending who is in my car i usually press the center unlocking button to save myself 'infamous fraze' hehehe

I don't see the point of auto-lock, and thus it is not activated on either of our BMWs.

Haha, the only explaining I have to do is with the X3 and unlocking as you approach the vehicle. Sometimes, it gets tempermental and only will unlock the driver door, no matter what you do with the fob or even the central locking button. I have to relock the car and then unlock it again for the other doors to unlock. Hence, the prepared "Oh yeah, its a bit tempermental.......gotta try it a couple times......."

This is too funny and I must admit I feel your pain. I have the same problem. My 9 yr old daughter always has a rough time opening the door and never gets it shut on the first swing. I live in Boston and when you park in many of the public parking garages they ask you to pop the trunk for a security inspection. Numerous times I've yelled out "Don't slam it...just let it catch"..which is normally follwed by a loud thump and a "Sorry sir, what did you say" as they appraoch the driver side window. Just can't win.

WOW!!! I know exactly what you mean - the next person who slams my door is getting their feet run over. I know the doors are heavy but you can securely shut them without the follow through motion of an MLB pitcher. Seriously, it needs to stop.

this happens all the time! It kills me... that's why i love the soft-close doors on the 7-series. it works great!

Right there with you. I carpooled neighborhood kids last year, and by the end of the school year, I said no mas. Every single time it was my turn to carpool, I'd find myself telling the same kids over and over again: Don't slam the door. To no avail. Now my wife carpools the door slammers:nanana:

:D:D:D:D the doors are set to lock once the car go over 5-10KMH - prevent carjacking!!! :bustingup:bustingup. All the other doors will stay locked after you get out of the driver's door. Been religiously "educating" the other half to check, check, and check again, that the door is unlock before pulling the door handle to get in.

This drives me CRAZZZZZY as well. I had a 2002 745Li with the doors that close by themselves. It was sweet. People knew and would gently close the doors and the BMW assist would take over. In my X5 I cringe when people get in and out. I am waiting for the glass to fly out one day!!!

it makes me mad too when my friends come into the car and ignore when i say to them "DONT SLAM THE DOOR" however i really cant tell if its bad for the car.

No "HIJACK" intended but Isn't it nice to know that no one
slammed the door on this 11 month old thread.......:rofl:

OBTW I agree with the door slamming thing......:D

Can we slam the door on Tambs least favorite cars thread?:D

If your talking about "GHETTO-ized X" I thought it was still going.

Just drove my wife, mom and mother in law to Baltimore and the three of them drove me nuts. BLAM. WHAM. Finally I was just like look please stop slaming my doors. ERR. I can understand it once but over and over. By the end of the day I wish I had drove the Lexus. When I had the Benz it was th same thing. I just don't get it and it pisses me off. I feel like putting stickers on the windows saying please shut carefully.

Thanks I am so glad I am not the only one.

Wow, I never knew this thread existed.

Most people are pretty good about having to pull the door handle twice to get out, but I have to remind them sometimes. I just say, "You gotta do it twice, its a German thing."

However, the door seems to be the big issue. Probably what drives me nuts the most is that she opens the door with her foot too! So I have dirty shoe prints on my door where the storage bin is. So, I wait until I leave and then go out and clean it. Drives me insane. She tells me to take it to the dealership and see if they can take some weight out of the door. I tell her that weight is gonna keep her safe!

Plus her kid gets in on one side of the X and then scoots all the way over to the other side and sits there. I am just waiting for the day he puts a gash in my back seat. Plus he kicks the front seats so there are dirt marks everywhere. AND he plays with the rear window shades, and they snap back into place very loudly. I tell him to stop, but he's 9. He ain't going to listen to me.

I think I would be happiest if nobody ever rode in my X but me and other X5 owners.

True dat :thumbup:

I usually make sure I get to the door handle for my mother in law, when letting her in. Fortunately we don't have too many rear passengers to worry about. Maybe a great big friggin hydraulic ram would do the job :yikes:

My brother, who is a long time 7 guy with the soft close option, is the biggest culprit. He slams the door so hard, my brain rattles :rant: And no one seems to get the double pull to open.

I hate passengers :rofl:

My wife understands and does a very good job. But my son accuses me of having OCD because I tell him every time not to slam the door. He also loves to CONSTANTLY adjust the seat when he's sitting up front. Drives me crazy.

I was driving my niece and nephew around over the weekend and heard a loud slap from the window shade. Needless to say, we took a time out to learn about how to properly (and with love) raise and lower the shades.

And I've gotten into the habit of using that little door unlock button in the center console whenever I have passengers in the car.

*sigh*

John

hehehe, same here:

1) Door slamming. the thing is that when you open the door, you feel it sooo heavy and robust (ny 8 y.o nephew can barely pull it open) so they tend to think that such a heavy door needs a strong slam... well surprise: this door heavy to open has a mechanism that pulls it close soooo easily!!! by the way, don't you like the way you open your door with a precise swing in a way that it shuts closed by itself when you get in just in time??? try to exercise it, very cool... feels like a VIP

2) the double click as i call it!! I tell my passenger: it's a double click door, designed my microsoft :).. soemtimes i open the central lock... it depends...

1. Or maybe bad design?
2. (hey co-member can you take to the park with my family?-:D)


i have noticed that they dont realize they slam it .(i have also noticed the door doesnt have to be push- just with a simple tap it closes itself because its so heavy )

seriously

Yea, I am probably going to have to have a class about window shade usage as well.

Hopefully nobody also suffers from the OCD complex of having to have the driver side and passenger side temperatures the same number. Plus the settings have to be on a 0,2,5,or an 8. So, 60,62,65,68,70 and so on. No odd numbers besides the *5.

I admit, I do the same temp on driver and passenger sides but YOU my friend have some serious issues :rofl:

Oh my!
I'm not the only one?! I don't have to have both sides at the same temperature, but they do both have to be even numbers. No 5s at all for me.

:bustingup:bustingup:bustingup

AWESOME Jeff! Just AWESOME!:thumbup:

Also, remember: you're not allowed to turn the steering wheel ALL the way to the 'stops', and wipers should naturally be operated only in 'windshield sensor mode', otherwise what is the point of having it?

P.S. Step on a crack, break your mother's back...

Thanks! I won't even get started on my OCD-ness with all of the windows! :popcorn:
Looks like I got a little bit of everybody's "X5 OCD." :wow:

On my mother's 325i which has dual zone climate automatic, I also prefer to set the temp equal on both sides when no one is in the vehicle. As for Temperature, it doesn't matter to me; it's set in metric. Usually its 22,5°C on both sides when the AC is on, full automatic mode and auto recirc.

Slamming doors, and riding with me.
 

There ARE others like me. I thought I was alone in the universe. Door slamming is just the tip of the iceberg.

This is just an open letter to my passengers:

Sure, I may demand obsequious and respecting passengers who do not question my preferences for passenger behavior. Passengers who will not question my neuroses or try to pronounce the names on my prescription bottles.

So, if I have decided to drive to our destination, it is most likely because I have no desire to ride in your vehicle amidst 3 or 4 weeks of fast food wrappers, which may also serve as supplemental restraints.

I like my X, and I enjoy driving (not riding).

That being said, I just want to make sure that you understand how much I appreciate you slamming my doors, placing items on the hood and sliding them off, and especially asking countless times if you may smoke in my car, the answer will not change.

I control the radio, the climate, and our route. If I didn't know where we were going I would have used GoogleMaps, and I would know before we left. I have successfully driven to destinations all over the country without you, and I can do it today.

In addition, I am incredibly ecstatic that you decided to bring that filthy, snot covered, obnoxious, rancid child of yours without hesitation. I think that child actually oozes sticky goo, and yes, the windows are a perfect place for him to wipe his hands.

I didn't realize my X had such perfect stowage locations. For example, the pouch on the back of the front seat is perfect for half of a cheeseburger and some french fries. The side pockets on the doors? Perfect for the wrapper of the ice cream sandwich complete with the parts his sticky little fingers weren't able to shovel into his mouth. The floor is a great place to leave half used ketchup packets.

Just to be clear, yes the sunshades on the windows are definately designed to be pulled all the way out and snapped back as hard as possible.

The shoe prints on the back of the front seat are so cute. I didn't realize that your child worked in the oil fields. Most permanent inks are not that indestructible.

I do apoloigize that the cargo cover cannot support the weight of your snot covered overweight child. I know he simply wanted to look at the 'purty clouds'.

So again, I thank you for riding with me.

--Troy

Wow, that WAS theraputic. Where are my meds?

This happens with EVERYONE who gets in my car on the front passenger side and its SERIOUSLY annoying. One friend has a big-ass Tahoe with doors that are difficult to close so my poor babies take the brunt of her poorly-developed habits (I assume most others who slam my doors have similar stories). I've just gotten into the habit of telling everyone, everytime, to close the door carefully.

MY GF BROKE THINGS THAT SUPPORT WINDOW SHADES.i was angry but what can i say to her:nothing
she said SORRY and continued talking as nothing happened

She was probably pissed off that you made her sit in the back seat! :rofl::rofl:

also yesterday my neighborhood s kids who are 8 yro played with the back drink container and putted their feets in it.i told them to stop but their father said that it is just a car like a toyota carina or corolla.i didnt want to get into trouble so i shut my mouth up.
next time i will put a paper on the back of my the driver seat that said

also yesterday my neighborhood s kids who are 8 yro played with the back drink container and putted their feets in it.i told them to stop but their father said that it is just a car like a toyota carina or corolla.i didnt want to get into trouble so i shut my mouth up.
next time i will put a paper on the back of my the driver seat that said : KEEP UR HANDS IN UR POCKET

LOL. my mother was sitting beside me

sorry for the double post; thats because of my ***** internet connexion

Sorry, are you saying that the kids were playing in 'your car' but you were afraid to tell the father it was not a carrola?

Ditto with the door-slamming like others noticed, along with the tailgate. I don't know about the X5, but with the X3's one-piece tailgate, everyone treats it like an American car...........they hurl the tailgate down like it weighs 1000kg (it doesn't) and the resulting BANG is enough to shake the chassis and send shivers up my spine :thumbdown

Please......BMW designed it so if you bring it halfway, it self-closes with gravity. They're not idiots like American engineers. Conversely, it takes me 4-5 tries to shut the tailgate of an American car.

What about the inverse-syndrom?? when i get in a regular car, I always get out of the car and give the door a little push and stand there like an idiot waiting for it to slam by itself with the driver looking at me puzzled lol ... it's hard to mix the X5 world with the other cars' world :)

:rofl:

put down some training pads and blankets down next time they ride - if they aren't going to treat your car with respect, might as well return the favor. if the father asks, just say the kids are like anything else I'd put in the rear that you'd have to protect from mess and damage.

LOL NICE idea; then the father who has got always a gun in his belt (he
is a milishia member)(ONLY IN LEBANON!!!:dunno:)SHoOts me
like that i keep my x clean :D

I have that same climate control illness too..... Always has to be set at even numbers on both sides, or a number ending in 5. Heated seats have to be in use on both sides as well, with the same level of heating. This is frustrating for the passenger because I only turn my side on to the lowest level of heat since I found out 3 lights = burn marks on my thigh and in the leather.

Dood.. I feel like you read my mind when I read what you wrote.. everyone slams mine too especially the trunk lid.. HATE HATE HATE. and theres nothing that can be done except hand out bus passes.. prob cheaper than the repairs. lol

I can handle the heated seats on different levels, and there are times I turn on the passenger heated seat as well.

I am also bad if the windows are going to be cracked, the front and back windows have to be even and the driver side and passenger side have to be at the same height as well.

Oh, plus the passenger seat has to be in the same position as mine if nobody is riding in it.

What else? If I am not charging my iPhone through the cigarette lighter than the charger has to be in the storage bin and the door to the ashtray/lighter must be closed.

Okay, I have a lot of issues....

Slightly off-topic but on the idea of pet peeves.......what about y'all in Oregon and NJ where its full-service only? I've had idiots fill up the car with regular petrol even though I told them "Ultra" or "Premium".

As a result, I put a obvious sign on the inside of the filler cap door: "Only fill with RON 95-98 (91 octane)!" And if they can't understand English, I was prepared. I typed the same message in German, so there's no excuse for not understanding my point. "Hinweise: Tanken nur RON 95-98 Benzin"

Luckily I am in Washington most of the time so I get to pump my own gas. But there have been a few times I needed to fill up in Oregon, I pull up to the pump, and I get out of the car and try to pump my own gas. Then I get pissed off because I am in Oregon and I can't pump my own gas.

I watch them like a hawk when they are pressing the button for which octane, I think they sense me watching them; so they know better. I hate it when they try to clean my windshield also. No I don't want that dirty mop rubbing against it getting my window all streaky!

I need a plastic bubble for my X to drive around in. So nobody or anything can touch it!

I do the exact same with the windows, cigarette lighter, and ashtray. :rofl:

Maybe there needs to be an X5 self-help group. Like where we all have to ride around in an X5 with stuff that makes us go crazy, but we can't change any of it!

That won't be necessary. See, part of the problem is that our vehicles drive so well on a normal basis, we end up fussing over the details.

Just go to Hertz-Alamo-Enterprise and rent a Chevy Trailblazer. You'll be so scared of the braking distance and the loose steering, you won't notice the rubbish interior details like "setting climate automatic at the right temp" or "windows at the right level".

So are you able to simply refasten these on your bi-annual check-ups? that would be awesome. Are they just some type of pop-rivet?

For me this is the real issue. Slamming the doors by those who don't know the X like we do is understandable, albeit annoying as hell. However, when my passenger rear door became so "loose" (ie rattles like hell when you close it now...other 3 doors are still tight as a drum) when being closed it really hurts. I also hate to feel that the guts of the door are being shaken each time you close the door.

Dealer says they will address a door/panel if it become loose under CPO but I'm not sure how "official" that level of coverage is. I hope to have it fixed soon.

Anyway, good luck all.

u especially hate it when the windows are opened and they slam the doors.it feels like the windows are about to crack. i make sure i close the windows in time before they shut the door.

HOly shit this thread hit home.

Every SOB that gets in my car plays with the window shades. The crafty ones play with the shades in the quarter windows too (whatever you call em).

The door handle thing yah that happens too but mostly that's a non issue.

However, the door slamming well I'm replacing a regulator today. I'm not sure it was caused by a door slam but last week took out some guys to lunch and one of them slammed the door so hard i almost wanted to punch him in the face. So I dunno but he may be the reason why my window rolled down on its own.

oops i revived the dead. sorry..but i was doing a search for regulators.

After bringing up this whole slamming issue to my wife's attention, now she closes the door so slowly that it doesn't fully close at one attempt, so she has to open it up again and close it again. Now instead of 1 door slam, I get 2 slow door closings, each and every time! :)))

:bustingup:bustingup:bustingupDo the gentleman thing - go open and close the door for her. That way, all problems solved. You are happy and she is more than happy...........no sleeping on the sofa. :thumbup::thumbup::thumbup:

Sorry, no pun intended.

:rofl: Exact same thing with my mom. Before she slammed it too hard now it's way too light

same problem with my father-in-law until I told him how much would cost to fix it. I've never seen anybody to close the door that soft since

oh this thread is epic. btw, replaced my window regulator and my window works again. WOOT. Thx xoutpost for the docs.

simple solutions - the fools who cant respect the truck , dont get in it.
i had to do it. now if its a lady friend , open the door for her , you'll win both ways...

^^Couldn't say it better lol. What annoys me more than the doors is the trunk being slammed.

I took a couple friends home after they got abandoned by their carpools. As they exited, the usual request... "Please do not slam..." as I turned my head I could see the right rear passenger outside 'winding up' and blam!!!

Next day - different friend, BLAM!!!

When she saw me cringe she said - "yea, but you are a big strong guy." (I am.) So, I came to her side, reopened the door, then gave it a little shove to let it close itself.

Then asked her to try it again.

Click!!

"Oh!!!"

I just learned to deal with it.

I have the same issues in my 7 and X. I also wish people would use the pull handles on the inside of the lid instead of touching the paint. I've trained my kids to close the doors via the trim instead of paint...easier cleanup of finger prints :)

The 7 has a motorized trunk and new shocks, so it practically pops open all the way when you slightly lift it. The flipside is that its harder to close, but once it reaches the halfway point, it becomes easier....but by then people are already slamming it.

My X has an issue where it sounds like the glass is rattling slightly when the windows are down and closing the doors. I think they've been slammed so many times from the PO that I need to take the doorpanels off, throw a little bit of red threadlocker and retorque all the bolts. :(