e92 M3 Driver Door Doesn't Close Flush

gb007 · 11-01-2009, 06:08 PM

Has anyone else ran into an issue where the door doesn't seem to close all the way. It's noticeable when looking from the rear down the side panel. The door seems to stick out a bit. I'm going to take it into service...wonder if the locking mechanism is a bit loose.

2008 e92 m3.

Any tips or ideas or comments?

dimabimmer · 11-01-2009, 08:54 PM

Yes, I've experienced same problem. In my case, it is the passenger door in my coupe wasn't closing as tight as before, lock was acting a bit rough, and looking from rear, the door was sticking out a bit. Exacly how you describe it. I didn't even notice the problem right away, since I'm a driver not passenger, therefore didn't use passenger door. When I finally noticed roughness of door close, I brought the car to dealer, which boldly said there is nothing wrong with the door. I didn't give up and continued investigating the problem inch by inch. Problem persisted. Brought the car to dealer for the second time, dealer detained the car for one day and at the end of day said its all fixed. When I picked up the car, problem was there,-they haven't even touched the car. Anyway, we all know this is the ususal story with dealers. Next, I brought the car to a body shop. The bodyshop worker said the door is "out of alignment". That was true. When I looked closer, I could see clearly why the door wasn't tight and rough to lock,- it really was out of alignment! The shop worker said,- to fix the problem, he would have to remove the whole door, correct the hinges, and mount the door back on, and it would take 2 days and would cost me $350...oh well, $350 sounded like a lot, but removing the whole door?!! That was strange, so I went to another bodyshop, a very busy one. The shop owner, looked at door, said yes, door is out of alignment he'll correct it for $150 and the whole thing will take an hour. I asked him if he has to remove the door to straighten the hinges, he said,-"NO NO NO! Not removing the door, no way. I have a tool that bends the hinges back to normal". That's it! It was that simple! I asked him, how he thinks this door became out of alignment? He said,- it is a long, wide, heavy door. If you open this door, too wide, too strong, you surely would bend the hinges. And at that moment I remembered when, on a very windy morning, a passenger was getting out of my car, the strong gust of wind blew the door wide open to it's limits, so strong that I almost heard a crack. So, it must ve been then the hinges were bent. Later, after I had the problem completely fixed for $150 to my complete satisfaction, this stupid door came out of alignment again. This time I decided to fix it myself. I went to Sears, bought the whole set of hex wrench and experienced hours of struggling with readjusting hinges,- very hard to be multi tasking by holding door with one arm, working wrench and moving hinges by millimeter at the same time...door is very heavy, and a second pair of hands can be a life saver. However, I managed to move the hinges, re-align the whole door, and move the lock hinge till the lock was smooth again. Also, it was necessary to slightly re-align the front quarter panel. I hope this helps to solve your problem. Don't waist time going to dealer with such issue as door alignment or lock. Dealers don't know and don't care and don't have time, they are only good for maintenance service. Also be careful with body shop, those are not always to be trusted, before you know it they'll take whole door off and give you electrical problems too. So far, your description sounds like a hinge problem. Good luck!

gb007 · 11-22-2009, 04:55 PM

Wow, thanks so much for the lengthy response. I live in the Dallas, TX area. Anyone reputable that could assist with this?

I have no idea how to fix it nor where to bring the car to.

Again, thanks so much for the clear details. This is exactly what happened to me. I can recall the door swinging wide open, but not hard. I guess they are just sensitive???

Any other experiences?

Thanks!

gb007 · 11-22-2009, 05:00 PM

Also, reviewing your explicit how-to:

This time I decided to fix it myself. I went to Sears, bought the whole set of hex wrench and experienced hours of struggling with readjusting hinges,- very hard to be multi tasking by holding door with one arm, working wrench and moving hinges by millimeter at the same time...door is very heavy, and a second pair of hands can be a life saver. However, I managed to move the hinges, re-align the whole door, and move the lock hinge till the lock was smooth again. Also, it was necessary to slightly re-align the front quarter panel. I hope this helps to solve your problem.

hmmmmmm....i will try this out.

Serious · 11-22-2009, 05:43 PM

If its like the e46 m3 which im sure it is... you can simply take the cover piece off the striker bar and adjust it.

dimabimmer · 11-22-2009, 08:08 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by seriousm3

If its like the e46 m3 which im sure it is... you can simply take the cover piece off the striker bar and adjust it.

yeap and that too... a couple of millimiters

gb007 · 11-25-2009, 07:01 PM

Cover piece off the striker bar? On the frame of the car, it is a solid mounted bar. On the door side, however, it looks like the screws have been re tightened once before. I dont see a cover piece inside this however, just two black screws. Not much wiggle room.

This slight misalignment of the door to the back quarter panel, when viewing from the rear, is driving me nuts!

gb007 · 11-25-2009, 07:40 PM

Nevermind, I got it working again. There is the latch on the door that can be adjusted, but barely. The actual striker bar on the frame of the car can be loosed and shifted around quite a bit. I retightened by hand this time around, but I have vibration lok tite if need be. It helps strengthen the thread where vibration or movement is around.

For now, I'll see how long the hand tight method is. I'm just glad to see my edge of my doors line up again!

11-01-2009, 06:08 PM	#1
gb007 Private First Class 9 Rep 107 Posts Drives: 2008 E92 M3 Join Date: Jun 2009 Location: Dallas, TX iTrader: (0)	e92 M3 Driver Door Doesn't Close Flush Has anyone else ran into an issue where the door doesn't seem to close all the way. It's noticeable when looking from the rear down the side panel. The door seems to stick out a bit. I'm going to take it into service...wonder if the locking mechanism is a bit loose. 2008 e92 m3. Any tips or ideas or comments?
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11-01-2009, 08:54 PM	#2
dimabimmer Lieutenant Colonel 148 Rep 1,885 Posts Drives: '11 E92 M3 ZCP 6MT Join Date: Apr 2009 Location: Brooklyn to SoHo NYC iTrader: (0)	Yes, I've experienced same problem. In my case, it is the passenger door in my coupe wasn't closing as tight as before, lock was acting a bit rough, and looking from rear, the door was sticking out a bit. Exacly how you describe it. I didn't even notice the problem right away, since I'm a driver not passenger, therefore didn't use passenger door. When I finally noticed roughness of door close, I brought the car to dealer, which boldly said there is nothing wrong with the door. I didn't give up and continued investigating the problem inch by inch. Problem persisted. Brought the car to dealer for the second time, dealer detained the car for one day and at the end of day said its all fixed. When I picked up the car, problem was there,-they haven't even touched the car. Anyway, we all know this is the ususal story with dealers. Next, I brought the car to a body shop. The bodyshop worker said the door is "out of alignment". That was true. When I looked closer, I could see clearly why the door wasn't tight and rough to lock,- it really was out of alignment! The shop worker said,- to fix the problem, he would have to remove the whole door, correct the hinges, and mount the door back on, and it would take 2 days and would cost me $350...oh well, $350 sounded like a lot, but removing the whole door?!! That was strange, so I went to another bodyshop, a very busy one. The shop owner, looked at door, said yes, door is out of alignment he'll correct it for $150 and the whole thing will take an hour. I asked him if he has to remove the door to straighten the hinges, he said,-"NO NO NO! Not removing the door, no way. I have a tool that bends the hinges back to normal". That's it! It was that simple! I asked him, how he thinks this door became out of alignment? He said,- it is a long, wide, heavy door. If you open this door, too wide, too strong, you surely would bend the hinges. And at that moment I remembered when, on a very windy morning, a passenger was getting out of my car, the strong gust of wind blew the door wide open to it's limits, so strong that I almost heard a crack. So, it must ve been then the hinges were bent. Later, after I had the problem completely fixed for $150 to my complete satisfaction, this stupid door came out of alignment again. This time I decided to fix it myself. I went to Sears, bought the whole set of hex wrench and experienced hours of struggling with readjusting hinges,- very hard to be multi tasking by holding door with one arm, working wrench and moving hinges by millimeter at the same time...door is very heavy, and a second pair of hands can be a life saver. However, I managed to move the hinges, re-align the whole door, and move the lock hinge till the lock was smooth again. Also, it was necessary to slightly re-align the front quarter panel. I hope this helps to solve your problem. Don't waist time going to dealer with such issue as door alignment or lock. Dealers don't know and don't care and don't have time, they are only good for maintenance service. Also be careful with body shop, those are not always to be trusted, before you know it they'll take whole door off and give you electrical problems too. So far, your description sounds like a hinge problem. Good luck!
	Appreciate 0 Quote

11-22-2009, 04:55 PM	#3
gb007 Private First Class 9 Rep 107 Posts Drives: 2008 E92 M3 Join Date: Jun 2009 Location: Dallas, TX iTrader: (0)	Wow, thanks so much for the lengthy response. I live in the Dallas, TX area. Anyone reputable that could assist with this? I have no idea how to fix it nor where to bring the car to. Again, thanks so much for the clear details. This is exactly what happened to me. I can recall the door swinging wide open, but not hard. I guess they are just sensitive??? Any other experiences? Thanks!
	Appreciate 0 Quote

11-22-2009, 05:00 PM	#4
gb007 Private First Class 9 Rep 107 Posts Drives: 2008 E92 M3 Join Date: Jun 2009 Location: Dallas, TX iTrader: (0)	Also, reviewing your explicit how-to: This time I decided to fix it myself. I went to Sears, bought the whole set of hex wrench and experienced hours of struggling with readjusting hinges,- very hard to be multi tasking by holding door with one arm, working wrench and moving hinges by millimeter at the same time...door is very heavy, and a second pair of hands can be a life saver. However, I managed to move the hinges, re-align the whole door, and move the lock hinge till the lock was smooth again. Also, it was necessary to slightly re-align the front quarter panel. I hope this helps to solve your problem. hmmmmmm....i will try this out.
	Appreciate 0 Quote

11-22-2009, 05:43 PM	#5
Serious 1M advocate 214 Rep 878 Posts Drives: 2018 S4. 2011 M3. 2012 S1000RR Join Date: Mar 2008 Location: Seattle iTrader: (0)	If its like the e46 m3 which im sure it is... you can simply take the cover piece off the striker bar and adjust it. __________________ 2012 BMW S1000RR 2011 BMW M3
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11-25-2009, 07:01 PM	#7
gb007 Private First Class 9 Rep 107 Posts Drives: 2008 E92 M3 Join Date: Jun 2009 Location: Dallas, TX iTrader: (0)	Cover piece off the striker bar? On the frame of the car, it is a solid mounted bar. On the door side, however, it looks like the screws have been re tightened once before. I dont see a cover piece inside this however, just two black screws. Not much wiggle room. This slight misalignment of the door to the back quarter panel, when viewing from the rear, is driving me nuts!
	Appreciate 0 Quote

11-25-2009, 07:40 PM	#8
gb007 Private First Class 9 Rep 107 Posts Drives: 2008 E92 M3 Join Date: Jun 2009 Location: Dallas, TX iTrader: (0)	Nevermind, I got it working again. There is the latch on the door that can be adjusted, but barely. The actual striker bar on the frame of the car can be loosed and shifted around quite a bit. I retightened by hand this time around, but I have vibration lok tite if need be. It helps strengthen the thread where vibration or movement is around. For now, I'll see how long the hand tight method is. I'm just glad to see my edge of my doors line up again!
	Appreciate 0 Quote