I have a feeling my hood adjustment is off.

[Kgolf31]

Call me paranoid. But I don't think my hood is lining up correctly with my front bumper.

I've been looking at alot of shots of cars, and mine just doesn't look right IMO.

Pictures are attached. You can see the white lines from the hood to the bumper aren't uniform, and are "broken" so to speak.

The two latch points match up, but then the hood sort of starts heading up and appears to not match up with the bumper at all.

Am I looking at this weird? My dad and I both noticed it, but no one else has ever mentioned it, call me being OCD.

The odd thing is, since the latch points match up, can this even be adjusted if I took it to BMW? I'm still under CPO, so it would be a measly $50 to get it done...and I still need to get my rear trunk sensor looked at...but that's another issue.

So, what do you guys think?

*The best shot IMO, The hood latches match up, and you can see the gap increase as it gets to center*:


The mismatched lines:


Right line distortion:




So, am I crazy?

[Swashplate]

Yup! Better go invest in a self buckling straight jacket.

But actually, I have noticed the same issue with mine and I think it is just a visual thing due to the curve of the front of the car.

[antennahead]

............ and I though I was bad

John

[Kgolf31]

Originally Posted by antennahead

............ and I though I was bad

John

Apparently you didn't see my OCD detail thread either.

I'm very particular on how my car needs to look. You can call that a good thing or a bad thing, most people that drive with me call it a bad thing.

[Jmanscotch]

I see the little gap you speak of, but don't see how that'd be an allignment issue over just a production flaw.

...it might be before 8 AM, but I suggest going and sipping a beer, Kyle

Just have the dealer look at it when you take it in for the hatch sensor or something else, I bet they look at it and laugh for free! (or say they can fix it and take your money).

[Shipkiller]

If you really want to screw up and cause way more issues than you really want to deal with, start playing with your hood adjustments when you don’t need to.

The issue is not the hood but the plastic bumper fascia. You can fix this yourself in 10 min. by loosening the top mounting strip for the bumper fascia and move it in or out and tighten the torx bolts backup.

BMW will tell you the gap is within spec. and most likely not do anything about it.

The missing washer cover is more of an issue than a 1/16" gap mismatch.

[Kgolf31]

Originally Posted by Shipkiller

If you really want to screw up and cause way more issues than you really want to deal with, start playing with your hood adjustments when you don’t need to.

The issue is not the hood but the plastic bumper fascia. You can fix this yourself in 10 min. by loosening the top mounting strip for the bumper fascia and move it in or out and tighten the torx bolts backup.

BMW will tell you the gap is within spec. and most likely not do anything about it.

The missing washer cover is more of an issue than a 1/16" gap mismatch.

I don't want to deal with it. It's under CPO...I'm not touching it. Just was wondering if it was a big enough problem for BMW to deal with it.

Thanks for the tip on the bumper. I'll look at that in the spring.

The missing washer cover has already been taken care of. It broke thanks to good ole crappy plastic. Fuse 40 will be pulled

[tekmoe]

Has the car ever been in an accident? A lady backed into the front of mine and bent the hood ever-so-slightly. The damage was extremely minor but nonetheless, the hood was bent just enough that it looks exactly like yours. Prior to the accident, my hood was even and matched the front bumper perfectly. It bothered me at first but now I don't even notice. Most others will never notice either.

[Kgolf31]

Originally Posted by tekmoe

Has the car ever been in an accident? A lady backed into the front of mine and bent the hood ever-so-slightly. The damage was extremely minor but nonetheless, the hood was bent just enough that it looks exactly like yours. Prior to the accident, my hood was even and matched the front bumper perfectly. It bothered me at first but now I don't even notice. Most others will never notice either.

Not that I know of.

Car was bought last March. Checked through BMW service records, carfax...everything and nothing was shown on the paper. I additionally was able to track down the PO (the car was For Sale at a Lexus dealership) and talked to him personally. Car was always garaged and covered, never drove in rain.

Needless to say, I don't think it was.

[jragan]

Check your buffer stop ejectors. Common failure point from people slamming their hoods.

[Kgolf31]

Originally Posted by jragan

Check your buffer stop ejectors. Common failure point from people slamming their hoods.

Just to make sure we're on the same page. You're saying that the buffer stop ejectors are adjusted too far out, causing the center of the hood to "bulge" up? If they were slammed shut, wouldn't my hood be below the bumper?

I'll take a look when I get home.

[KLH]

I agree with with Shipkiller, I'd look at the bumper first and see if you can adjust it out there. If not, I'd leave it alone. This will turn out to be a prime example of shoulda, woulda, coulda, didn't........SH*T!

[gcochard]

The buffer stop ejectors are on the outside of the hood, so it could be that the hood is too low in those parts compared to the center.

[antennahead]

Originally Posted by Kgolf31

Apparently you didn't see my OCD detail thread either.

I'm very particular on how my car needs to look. You can call that a good thing or a bad thing, most people that drive with me call it a bad thing.

It's ok, I am not that far behind you

[Shipkiller]

Also, BMW has shims that go in between the chassis and bumper fascia to raise that portion of the bumper just a bit if needed. I forgot that one....

My M has two shims on the left side. None on the right.

[Nikki]

Hmm, I can't see what you're referring to but cars looks great! Love that last shot.

[Kgolf31]

Originally Posted by Shipkiller

If you really want to screw up and cause way more issues than you really want to deal with, start playing with your hood adjustments when you don’t need to.

The issue is not the hood but the plastic bumper fascia. You can fix this yourself in 10 min. by loosening the top mounting strip for the bumper fascia and move it in or out and tighten the torx bolts backup.

BMW will tell you the gap is within spec. and most likely not do anything about it.

The missing washer cover is more of an issue than a 1/16" gap mismatch.

Originally Posted by Shipkiller

Also, BMW has shims that go in between the chassis and bumper fascia to raise that portion of the bumper just a bit if needed. I forgot that one....

My M has two shims on the left side. None on the right.

Awesome information. Thank you very much!

[jragan]

http://www.bimmerfest.com/forums/sho...ht=buffer+stop

[Shipkiller]

Just in case you don't know what I mean or have never seen these shims, here is a pic.

The silver shim is circled in RED.

[XMetal]

Thanks for the picture. Do you happen to know the part number for those shims? My car can definitely use them in the same locations!

[Shipkiller]

I don't have a P/N but I have seen these types of shims in most autobody shops. I am going to assume any type will work.

The BMW shims are made from aluminum.

[Shipkiller]

I just arrived back from Harbor Freight. I needed a metric tap/die set....

I also saw a box set of those exact shims. $9.00. All different thickness's in the set.