Interior material quality?

[RPM90]

I want to do a poll, but I don't know how to set one up.
Anyone got instructions?

Why?
Following various threads and posts, it's odd that some owners have certain interior parts that are wearing fast and of poor quality, yet some owners with those same parts report having no issues.

Specifically:
In a recent thread, I posted that my leather seats and steering wheel look just like new after a year. Then another poster said that after only a year his leather is peeling at the seams.
Some have posted that their steering wheel leather is not holding up.

I find this to be very odd, and I wonder if it's due to different vendors putting out various levels of quality?
So, I'm wondering if this happens with specific model years and within specific build months, which could mean there are batch problems?

Is the 1 built in only 1 plant or in several?
That might be a factor.

Are there other interior parts where the part is falling apart, or the material is not holding up?

What about the dash indentations? Is that happening to 1's in a certain build date range, or is it random?

Anyone got any interior bits that are falling apart and/or not holding quality? Post it.

[Dackelone]

Originally Posted by RPM90

Is the 1 built in only 1 plant or in several?
That might be a factor.

All our 1-er (ie the coupes e82's & e88's) are built in Liepzig. Liepzig also builds all the X1 and (some) e87 two door hatch too.

All four door hatch (e81) and some e87's are built in Regensburg.


Btw.... I have noticed when I've have been to the German dealers... the leather used on German spec cars is different then the "dry" leather that our cars come with. I suspect this must be something that BMW NA specs out. The leather used on the German spec cars feels softer and nicer than "our" leather. It looks more classy too with better stitching.

[NewYearsBoy]

I have had horrible problems with the interior... The dash has a indentation and my speakers suck... The speakers pop right at the point where it starts to get loud... I went to the dealer and put the cars side by side and my car sounds like crap compared to another one on the lot... Also just to let you guys know the car was brought in 1 and a half ta 2 weeks after I got it because of the quality of the speakers... They now told me today (after being in for another week) that they can't do anything about it but a system upgrade (whatever that means)... They also still cant figure out the popping noise in the right dash area.. RPM90 you have heard me complain many times I just want to get the word out and see if anyone else is having the same problems..

[BrokenVert]

June 08 build with 41k miles

My seats are wearing like crazy and the stiching around the plastic lever that you pull to get to the back seat has failed twice. I'm on my third steering wheel and my dash is being replaced in two weeks.

I have a bunch of rattle that started the second month that I owned the car and the dash has been out of the car 3 times already fixing mistakes that were made in production that caused rattles such as missing bolts or misplaced sound deadening, etc

[shodanusmc]

Have the Dash Indentation for the Pass Air Bag, but the seats, doors, wheel, etc are still looking new on an 09 135 Vert. Had some creaking on the pass front door at the armrest, but sprayed a little spray between the door and the armrest, and the sound has been gone for months.

Overall, satisfied. Now, if I could just stop the windows from going down on their own ......

[FJUNO78]

2010 Sept build....

very, very slight dashboard indentation, I noticed it 2 weeks after delivery after I read a thread about it. Probably would not have noticed it otherwise. thankfully, it has not worsened.

About 7000 miles later, not a rattle, hiccup, or issue otherwise (like it should be). Interior feels as good as on my last car the e92 coupe. I actually prefer the Boston leather to the Dakota leather.

The only thing I had to do so far is add 1qt of oil around 5500 miles. I'm sure that is more my fault than the cars.

The only negatives about the interior, are the sun visors seem cheap, and the floor mats are a bit thin compared to the e92 I had.

[BrokenVert]

^ mine drank a quart intue first 5k too

[RPM90]

Originally Posted by BrokenVert

^ mine drank a quart intue first 5k too

At around 9600 miles I was exactly 1 quart low.
My E46 was about a quart low at about 12k.
So, not bad for a twin turbo, as turbo's tend to "use" more oil.

After the first oil service at around 14k, my E46 only used about 1/2 quart per 14k miles.

Man, the quality variance in the interiors is amazing.
My 1yr old 135i interior still looks like new, well, once I vacuum it.
I've cleaned and conditioned the leather only once since new. I think it did some good as the leather felt more supple and didn't look as dry.

Our leather does look dry as mentioned by Dack. That's interesting that German/Euro market BMW's get a better quality leather. I wonder why?
Does it have something to do with the chemicals used to tan the leather?
Meaning, do they use something in the Euro leather that is not allowed in the states?

I'm surprised at this becasue my 1 interior still looks new, with none of the issues cited here among the various years.
The only thing I have that's odd is the my coral red leather appears to have something black over it. I wonder if it's the red coming off or something getting on it? Weird.

[magalhaes]

Originally Posted by FJUNO78

2010 Sept build....

Cool! How much was the flux capacitor option?

[FJUNO78]

Originally Posted by D4n13L

Cool! How much was the flux capacitor option?

lol Sept 2009...

[NYF32DRIVER]

...on drivers side. I have a slight version of the dash indentation as well.
(Sorry about the double post)

[Gimlet]

^^My '08 Build Coral Red is doing the same thing in the same spot. Also have the dash air-bag sag and have had the center console replaced due to squekyness/vibration.

[Rayeth]

Wear in that location makes sense to me, as that is probably the place on the seat where your rear end brushes by when you enter and exit the car. Assuming that like all of us, we love driving our cars, then some wear there would make sense.


Not sure if that much is normal or not, as my 2011 doesn't have any of it yet and I haven't owned leather seats before.

[michifan]

I have the black interior and it looks like new.

I do, however, clean the car regularly and apply leather conditioner because of the Florida heat (also have a 30% tint).

I never liked the lighter

[bradleyland]

Originally Posted by RPM90

Our leather does look dry as mentioned by Dack. That's interesting that German/Euro market BMW's get a better quality leather. I wonder why?
Does it have something to do with the chemicals used to tan the leather?
Meaning, do they use something in the Euro leather that is not allowed in the states?

I used to build interiors in private aircraft (Piper aircraft to be specific), where I learned a thing or two about the design and quality of an interior. There is a great degree of variability in the way you can spec leather. There are tons of different grains, thickness, flexibility, etc. For example, some leather is specifically designed to show creases as it wears, rather than disguise them. Other leather is treated and sanded in a way that makes it smooth as a baby's bottom.

The leather in the 135i (mine at least) is similar to the leather than Piper used to install in their 4 and 6 place non-pressurized aircraft. It's a little bit more stiff and more grain presence (looks to be top grain), but you'd have to assume that they'd want a more durable leather for something that is going to get daily usage, versus an airplane that might get flown once a week. Overall, I'd rate it at about 6 out of 10, which is better than it sounds. It's very expensive to get top grain leather without flaws. When you sand the crap out of leather, you can hide a lot of things. Having said that, I sometimes think the leather looks a little bit too perfect. There's a good chance they're applying artificial grain to repairs. That's nothing out of the ordinary though. Some cars use really shitty leather, or they use leather that has been so sanded and treated that it can hardly be referred to as leather. IMO, leather used in a "working" environment (like seating, as opposed to ornamental) ought to retain its character, or you should just go synthetic.

I spent a while fitting and interiors, but quickly moved on to final inspection. It was my job to resolve flaws that the customer would be unhappy with, so I have consider myself to have a good eye for details. There are a lot of little things about the BMW interior that impress me, but like anything short of a Rolls, Bently, or a Gulfstream , there are flaws. Most things at eye-level look really good. It's when you get to the fitment in areas you don't see every day that things quickly get ugly. Still, this applies to every car, and BMW goes the extra mile covering everything in sight and out of sight with some kind of panel... no matter how poorly fit. Stick your head down in the foot well and look around. Now, do the same in a non-luxury brand car. Non-luxury brand manufacturers will install kick plates on the exterior walls, but that's about it. When you look up, there are a lot of "innards" hanging around. That alone says a lot about the choices made when designing the interior.

Another good area to look is the way major panels fit together. Have a look at the way your A & B pillar meet the headliner. The A pillar in my 135 is a beautiful example of a well fit overlap fit. There are no gaps, and there isn't an excessive amount of foam, which can be used to conceal gaps, but results in a "billowy" appearance that just looks cheap. The B pillar is a perpendicular butt-joint, but there are no gaps. You couldn't tell it wasn't an overlap joint unless you pushed on it. They didn't commit any atrocities like soaking up gaps with foam here either. The seat frames are fantastic as well. They're engineered to provide a lot of lumbar support, and there is very little gathering, without overstuffing the seats. The broad, flat seat panels are difficult to achieve. Even the headrests have minimal gathering. This is tough for something as small as a headrest, and there are no visible enclosures. Good work in there.

The major ugly points I noticed right away were:

* Ridiculously poor quality inner door-sill-plate finish (shiny and cheap)
* Lackluster fitment of three panels at dash-side panels (areas that are exposed when the doors are open)
* The front-rear carpet seam at seat track outer (visible on ingress egress)
* Not-so-well-thought-out seams on center arm rest

Some "I wish they had done that differently" points:

* B & C pillars are coated plastic; wish they were upholstered like the headliner
* C pillar panel engineering was obviously ignored due to it's proximity

I'm sure there are more, but I try not to focus on that stuff too much or I'll drive myself crazy. I've owned 5 VWs prior to this car, and they're known for having good quality interiors in affordable cars. I was generally happy with them, but they had a far greater number of "shortcuts" taken compared to my 135i. I cannot stand the interior in many cars where the manufacturer doesn't make it a point to put interior quality high on the priority list. I can spot a "corner cutting" measure a mile away.

I'd be curious to see the result of the poll. BMW, like a lot of manufacturers, are using plastics that rely heavily on coatings to make them look attractive. The alternative is shiny or textured plastic, both of which are unacceptable in today's market. It's really hard to tell the difference in durability of these coated plastics just by feel or observation. VW went through several iterations, with the MkV GTI being a really great balance of soft feel and durability. I had very few scuffs on my door panels because of their durability. I've notice a scuff or two on my 135i already, but I'm not sure if I just fat footed an exit. Time will tell.

[Ash83]

Originally Posted by FJUNO78

2010 Sept build....

very, very slight dashboard indentation, I noticed it 2 weeks after delivery after I read a thread about it. Probably would not have noticed it otherwise. thankfully, it has not worsened.

About 7000 miles later, not a rattle, hiccup, or issue otherwise (like it should be). Interior feels as good as on my last car the e92 coupe. I actually prefer the Boston leather to the Dakota leather.

The only thing I had to do so far is add 1qt of oil around 5500 miles. I'm sure that is more my fault than the cars.

The only negatives about the interior, are the sun visors seem cheap, and the floor mats are a bit thin compared to the e92 I had.

+1

[MarkR171]

Originally Posted by Rayeth

Wear in that location makes sense to me, as that is probably the place on the seat where your rear end brushes by when you enter and exit the car. Assuming that like all of us, we love driving our cars, then some wear there would make sense.


Not sure if that much is normal or not, as my 2011 doesn't have any of it yet and I haven't owned leather seats before.

My 2011s have some light staining in that spot after I saw NYCE90DRIVER's thread and checked my seats. No wear yet though, I was able to clean it off. It was probably only noticeable since I have lemon leather. Now, I'm more careful when I get in and out of the car and try not to rub on that spot too much.

[plasar]

Bradleyland, awesome reply to post, thanks for sharing!


NYCE90DRIVER, I was gonna make some rude comment about losing 10 lbs in your posterior region (), but you could have a supermodel scrawny butt, and still get wear on the bolster. Same thing happened on my E36 M3 conv.

Of course, the solution is to be extra careful on ingress (especially) and egress to not rub your bum against the seat side bolster. When you enter, you should get right up against the steering wheel, and then sit back after entering the car, not touching the bolster at all. Yeah, it's like holding the iPhone 4 wrongly, but it's the reality.


RPM90, when you start a New Topic, look at the bottom of the screen in the Additional Options section, and you'll see the option to Post A Poll. This is only for New Topics, not Replies. (See attached pic.)

[MOCKBA]

Quality is poor. When I returned to 135 after driving 535 I felt really sorry for our cars. Cheap, cheap, cheap, although I paid for my 135 $51,000. It is something in range of base 535.

[NYF32DRIVER]

Originally Posted by MOCKBA

Quality is poor. When I returned to 135 after driving 535 I felt really sorry for our cars. Cheap, cheap, cheap, although I paid for my 135 $51,000. It is something in range of base 535.

A little more "austere" perhaps, but hardly "CHEAP". Besides... which car would you rather DRIVE, the 5 or the 1 ??

[bluefly]

Agreed with comments above saying it is not a cheap interior at all compared to many competitors and that the dynamics of the 1 versus the majority of BMW's current oversized bloat-mobiles more than makes up for the clean simplicity and basic interior materials. I, for one, don't WANT an interior like a 5-series, or even like a 3-series, in my sports coupe. It would be a turn-off, not a selling point! Then again, my fave BMW interior is still the e30.

I think some magazine reviewers see a very simple and clean (austere) interior - which is rare today, but used to be the hallmark of a euro brand, incidentally - and conflate lack of "gee whiz" features and avoidance of clutter with "cheap". The sparing design aesthetic used in the 1 is a bit out of fashion with many people today (but not all, I gravitated to the 1 partly because the dash is so clean and driver-oriented compared to other euros out there).

By the way, in the veedub world we call people that overly obsess about interior quality, whilst overlooking more important dynamic advantages of a given car, "dash strokers". I used to run a mk4 1.8T GTI, of famed interior "perceived quality" but boy was the handling poor (until the modding started, and even then it never quite "gelled")... not even getting into how many mk4 interiors ended up peeling after 5 years on the road in all the "soft touch" places.

Putting aside aesthetics, some of the durability issues noted by owners above are bothersome... the airbag indentation, seat bolster wear on the leather, etc. I know BMW leather has a reputation for not wearing well in all their cars... looking at CPO cars with friends in the past it was always nice to find a leather interior but the driver's seat was typically a cracked and wrinkled eyesore compared to leatherette cars, which looked essentially new after a quick detailing.

[warmtoes]

The quality of our 1's is not bad but it's not as good as the higher level models. It doesn't have the seem feel or quality as the 3 and obviously not as good as the 5 especially the new one.

Overall my interior is wearing well after two years. But, I had the same problem with the driver's side left bolster getting worn by ingress and egress. Since it's a lease I went back to my dealership and asked them if they felt this was normal wear because if it is I don't want to be dinged for it when I return it next year.

They took pics and sent it up the ladder to BMW Canada and BMW approved a new leather cover. Had it installed about a month ago so it's essentially a new back for my seat.