2010 BMW X5 Rear Bumper Problems - Quality Issue

I have a 2010 X5 35D (3 months old) and am having recurring problems with the rear bumper popping out of the clips, thereby wrinkling the top of the bumper under the lower tailgate, and making it impossible to open the tailgate without scratching the paint. We first noticed the problem when we went to open the tailgate one day and it was rubbing. Then you notice the bumper is loose. So we took it to the dealership and they told us the car had been hit (and suggested by the garage people who park our car and that it happens often) even though there is not even a scratch on the bumper. It cost us $500+ to have them reattach it. We tried to get reimbursed by the garage but they claimed no way they did it.

Well, now it has happened again. Not a scratch on the bumper. If it has been hit while parking it is incredibly light or on something soft as absolutely no visual evidence. We flagged it to the garage parking attendants and took it to the dealership again (remember we have had this car for less than 3 months and barely driven it). Same story...they told us it has been hit. We pressed...this is a bumper after all...no scratches. Well, come to learn they are seeing a lot of these but don't seem to be doing anything about it. The BMW dealership says it was run into something so its our problem. I decided to do some watching and found another X5, same bumper style parked in the garage, and sure enough it has the same problem (I can see this on the bumpers). I have a feeling the owners don't even know it as the only way you really spot it is when you lower the lower tailgate. Then I started looking around at other X5's and found another one parked on the street (we live in NYC, plenty of X5's around) with the same problem.

I find it unbelievable I'm being asked to pay another $500 out of pocket for this. Many people have commented that these black plastic bumpers look crappy. I can put up with the looks, but to have a bumper on a $50K+ car that pops out of place every time it is bumped forcing you to either wreck your paint job or pay $500 is ridiculous.

Advice?

Do you kinda feel like since you live in NYC, and pay for a parking space in a garage, that there is an expectation that you'll just pay money blindly and without complaint?

Sorry, no help on the bumper- I'd demand they show you precisely HOW a bump that does not leave a mark will dislodge the bumper...

Oh, and you paid $500 to reattach the bumper?!?!? No wonder they treat people like crap when people allow it....

A

Wow, my brother (2010 X5 4.8, Nov 2009 build) has the exact same problem, and he does not park in the garages... The service dept/body shop told him the same BS story... And I saw another 07+ X5 with the exact same problem this past Sunday parked on a street in NJ...

I dont have any problems with my 08 X5, so it could be a build quality/bad batch or something like that.

Originally Posted by JJBMW

I have a 2010 X5 35D (3 months old) and am having recurring problems with the rear bumper popping out of the clips, thereby wrinkling the top of the bumper under the lower tailgate, and making it impossible to open the tailgate without scratching the paint. We first noticed the problem when we went to open the tailgate one day and it was rubbing. Then you notice the bumper is loose. So we took it to the dealership and they told us the car had been hit (and suggested by the garage people who park our car and that it happens often) even though there is not even a scratch on the bumper. It cost us $500+ to have them reattach it. We tried to get reimbursed by the garage but they claimed no way they did it.

Well, now it has happened again. Not a scratch on the bumper. If it has been hit while parking it is incredibly light or on something soft as absolutely no visual evidence. We flagged it to the garage parking attendants and took it to the dealership again (remember we have had this car for less than 3 months and barely driven it). Same story...they told us it has been hit. We pressed...this is a bumper after all...no scratches. Well, come to learn they are seeing a lot of these but don't seem to be doing anything about it. The BMW dealership says it was run into something so its our problem. I decided to do some watching and found another X5, same bumper style parked in the garage, and sure enough it has the same problem (I can see this on the bumpers). I have a feeling the owners don't even know it as the only way you really spot it is when you lower the lower tailgate. Then I started looking around at other X5's and found another one parked on the street (we live in NYC, plenty of X5's around) with the same problem.

I find it unbelievable I'm being asked to pay another $500 out of pocket for this. Many people have commented that these black plastic bumpers look crappy. I can put up with the looks, but to have a bumper on a $50K+ car that pops out of place every time it is bumped forcing you to either wreck your paint job or pay $500 is ridiculous.

Advice?

Interesting. I had the same issue on my 2010 but I just assumed someone in the lot at work backed into it. My dealer's body shop only charged me $250 for the fix. That's cheaper than $500 but $250 more than I should have to pay for a defect.

Originally Posted by Marshotel

Interesting. I had the same issue on my 2010 but I just assumed someone in the lot at work backed into it. My dealer's body shop only charged me $250 for the fix. That's cheaper than $500 but $250 more than I should have to pay for a defect.

By the way, mine is a late October build.

Unbelievable.....I opened my tail gate this morning and it is rubbing again. It isn't as bad as it was before but it is off again. I am sure I will have a fight on my hands.

guys, like my bro (alexmish) said, I am having this issue as well.. the dealer (JMK BMW in Springfield NJ) said I was hit from behind and mentioned that when they took the bumper off to inspect it, "some clips were broken and the some metal brackets pushed in".. i was speechless cause the car is spotless with no scratches or anything like that.. funny thing is when they put the bumper back on, it's seems fine (for now).

my theory is that water got under the plastic bumper cover, froze during winter and expanded the cover thus breaking the clips..

how do we bring this as an issue to BMW NA Customer Service as a group?

Gene
genemish@yahoo.com

Guys,
this is a clear case of bad design and bad build Quality I'm afraid !
Your US bumper law says those bumpers have to withstand a 5 mph (no damage) hit.
That is American design regulations;
Your dealers are bul ****ting you. But worse than that, they probably have previous experience of BMW refusing to pay warranty claims, because some lazy Engineer refuses to believe that his design is crap.
i assume all these incidents are on teh standard bumper.
Has anyone with a M Pack dress up kit been suffering this ?

or has anyone with a 2011 suffered this yet ?
You needto all get togther as a group listing VIN numbers and take it up with BMW.
Force them to recognise it, an dafter that, force them to reimburse you multiple payments of $500 to reattach it.

I know your pain, I had it on a Volvo S60 a few years back. In total I had refitted 3 times, but that was as teh result of some drunk kicking it hard. Turns out he damaged the bracket under the skin. The fourth time I insisited they replacethe bracket, end of problem.

In these BMW cases, it's probably the brackets under the bumper. Whichever, BMW should be paying, not you guys.

Welcome to the BMW experience

Thanks for the replies everyone. I found another X5 on the street with the same problem. I think this is very wide spread, and the comments from the dealer suggest so. Unless you open the bottom rear tailgate, you might not notice it. Then you try to open the lower rear tailgate and it rubs the paint job, and you realize the bumper is loose. I'll probably put a card on the guys BWM who parks in our garage.

We are currently fighting with the dealership on this now. Also have put a call into BMW customer service. The dealership has agreed to fix this second time for free but we want the last $500 back and coverage for the future as well.

The suggestions on the Bumper Law got me looking and I also noticed that NY State has a bumper quality law where a sticker is supposed to be attached and certify the quality of the bumper (looks like it was put in place because consumers were getting gouged for bumper repairs). The combination of the national and state law basically say, a bumper is for bumping into and it shouldn't leave a mess or fall off if done at low speed. It even mentions clips.

If you own an X5 with the black plastic rear bumper, check the top of it just under the tailgate and make sure it isn't wrinkled or loose. You will have a real serious problem if it falls off as then the costs run into the $1000's. And post your problems here.

This should be fun.......I just spoke to teh body shop and without looking at it they said "bumpers don't just pop off so we will have to charge you for the repair". The service advisors are useless, they just defer to the body shop.

Any pictures???

This is exactly what happened to me. I tapped a hydrant while parking and boom clips broken. Also happened to my neighbor.

There needs to be a recall. I have 2 other BMWs and this is the shoddiest quality I have ever seen from them.

A photo will be very helpful

Here is a picture of the shoddy bumper that BMW has installed on the 2010 X5s.

Originally Posted by palazzino

There needs to be a recall. .

Recall?!?

Explain how this will result in a dire safety consequence to the public and we can talk 'recall'...

Can't tell from your picture but is that water marks or multiple ding marks on the bumper??

Originally Posted by palazzino

Here is a picture of the shoddy bumper that BMW has installed on the 2010 X5s.

Of course its gonna look like this AFTER you hit something with it.

I had the very same problem - most likely garage valet at work backed into a wall. However, I did manage to put the bumper back in myself. It's not the easiest job - you have to pull hard the upper edge, while guiding the clips back into the slot by pressing them down (use a flat screwdriver from the kit). Took me few minutes of struggling, but one of the advantages of 2010 is you cant scratch an unpainted bumper.

Can you please post a picture of yourself?

I've had mine for 7 months, including in freezing weather, and never had anything resembling this issue.

Originally Posted by Cdnrockies

I've had mine for 7 months, including in freezing weather, and never had anything resembling this issue.

I have had mine for almost 8 months and have had the problem 3 times. Not a single mark on the bumper so I doubt it was hit like I originally thought. Last time it happened I was just leaning on the bumper taking someting out of the cargo area. It is getting very frustrating.

Good luck getting that fixed and STOP taking it to the dealer for bs like that

Same thing happen to my 2010 x5, took it back to the dealer, and they re-align the bumper for free.

Originally Posted by cychen1

Same thing happen to my 2010 x5, took it back to the dealer, and they re-align the bumper for free.

When was yours built? Just curious to see if it is happening on all 2010's or just a certain production period.
No such luck here. I am fighting with them now to get it done. There is no was the clips should pep off just because I leaned on the bumper for leverage as I was taking something out of the cargo area.

Picked up the truck at the end of Oct - 2009.

I have the same issue. I never have sustained any major damage to the car. My rear bumper looks exactly like the picture previously posted. I took it to bmw of manhattan today. They said that my bumper needs to be replaced without even looking touching my car. The service specialist told me it would cost $928!!!! I could not believe it. I tried to push the tabs back in. I saw one of the plastic tabs broken, and the others were just dislodged. I was unsuccessful after fiddling with it for a half hour.

I called bmw of north america, gave them my VIN, and reported the problem. They said they never have heard of this rear bumper issue before and that I should take it to another dealer for a second opinion. I suggest that anyone having this problem report it to bmw of north america (1800-831-1117) with your VIN. It seems ridiculous to me that little or no trauma to a vehicle can cause a problem costing near a thousand dollars!!!! If enough people bring this to BMW's attention, hopefully this can be addressed.