[bloozemanAZ]

With the somewhat winding journey to end up with my M850i I could not be happier with the outcome. I may even let my SA know that I'm glad BMW screwed up the final order with cerenium as with the eradication program and all shadowline it is more stunning than my initial gut choice of chromeline.

That said there is one thing that is bugging me about the car. I have a seemingly huge panel gap in the hood with a lot of the rubber sealant showing through. Granted I know I'm just going to have to live with it now but it will always be something that bugs me vs the otherwise stellar car. It was hard to get a picture as with the Gtechniq Crystal Serum Ultra ceramic coating the paint is like glass. Kudos to my detailer whom applied it as well as the XPEL Ultimate Plus PPF as there is not a seam to be seen on the front-end as everything outside of the A-Pillers is 100% wrapped.

Does anyone else have this type of gap on the hood and the front fender panels? Just curious if this is standard fare or I somehow ended up with an anomaly.

[x6Hawkeye]

I had the same issue, open hood up and SLAM it shut.

I took mine to the service center and they told me there are three latches- you have to slam it really hard to get it to properly close.

[RJC-1]

I have to slam my hood as well but it's always the psngr side that does not latch (noticed this on another we looked at, but still not as hard to close as mine), so if it were truly due to the latching, either side would not catch. I do not have that large of a panel gap, although the drivers side by the light sits a bit lower than the psngr. If your hood is fully closed with this large of a gap it needs to be adjusted.

I noticed a fuel smell by the drivers side wheel well tonight and have traced it to either the drv side high pressure fuel pump (both sides were replaced under recall prior to delivery) or maybe a slight leak in an injector. Hate to go for service only 700 miles but cant take any chances with fuel smells and will have them address the hood...it should not be this way. Starting to wonder a bit about the QC in BMW's...

[Resjudicata]

Originally Posted by RJC-1

I have to slam my hood as well but it's always the psngr side that does not latch (noticed this on another we looked at, but still not as hard to close as mine), so if it were truly due to the latching either side would not catch. I do not have that large of a panel gap, although the drivers side by the light sits lower than the psngr.

I noticed a fuel smell by the drivers side wheel well tonight and have traced it to either the drv side high pressure fuel pump (both sides were replaced under recall prior to delivery) or maybe a slight leak in an injector. Hate to go for service only 700 miles but cant take any chances with fuel smells and will have them address the hood...it should not be this way. Starting to wonder a bit about the QC in BMW's...

it's the hood latch. if you can't get it, take it to services.

[RJC-1]

Originally Posted by Resjudicata

it's the hood latch. if you can't get it, take it to services.

is it your psngr side as well? FYI there are 2 hood latches not 3, and they are two step latches, this is why you have to pull the hood release twice to open.

[bloozemanAZ]

Thanks for the feedback but pretty sure my hood is completely shut. Will give it a go opening and slamming shut but not sure how that will change the panel gap (which seems large to me vs everything else).

[RJC-1]

Originally Posted by bloozemanAZ

Thanks for the feedback but pretty sure my hood is completely shut. Will give it a go opening and slamming shut but not sure how that will change the panel gap (which seems large to me vs everything else).

Is it just sticking up on the psngr side or flush, with a wide gap? Mine goes in for a fuel leak and will have them address having to forcefully slam the hood...if that's OAD (Operating As Designed) so much for BMW precision engineering. The hood on my SCoupe just had to be dropped from about two feet and it latched perfectly.

Does anyone else have to forcefully slam their hood?

[noushy]

I haven't noticed this on mine but I have only had the hood opened a few times. There is a second latch and you have to push down fairly hard right over the roundel seems to do it.

Noushy

[redhot47fla]

Originally Posted by RJC-1

Does anyone else have to forcefully slam their hood?

I do. I had the coupe for awhile and I now have the 'vert (long story). I've had to slam the hood on both.

[RJC-1]

Originally Posted by noushy

I haven't noticed this on mine but I have only had the hood opened a few times. There is a second latch and you have to push down fairly hard right over the roundel seems to do it.

Noushy

That's the correct way, but unfortunately on mine it will not fully latch and needs to be forcefully slammed.

[RJC-1]

Car is at dealership now and they checked out the hood, they are saying they all need to be forcefully slammed and recommended placing your hands on each side of the hood then slamming from about 2 feet or so. They blamed the double latching, but most every newer vehicle has this for safety reasons and I've never needed to do this before with any of our other Euro vehicles.

[Ozzie8]

No gap for me. The force required to slam the hood is off the Richter scale. From the 6 to the 8 series at least we got motorized boot closure. Why not a power close button for the hood too?

[RJC-1]

Hey OP (bloozeman), was your hood just not closing properly like so many here, or do you actually have that poor of panel fit?

[bloozemanAZ]

Originally Posted by RJC-1

Hey OP (bloozeman), was your hood just not closing properly like so many here, or do you actually have that poor of panel fit?

Yes, my hood is definitely closed but rather it is the large panel gap that is bugging me. All the rest of the panels have close gaps (perhaps not as good as my Lexus GS430). Can you check yours and see if you have something similar and can see the rubber seal as well?

[RJC-1]

Originally Posted by bloozemanAZ

Yes, my hood is definitely closed but rather it is the large panel gap that is bugging me. All the rest of the panels have close gaps (perhaps not as good as my Lexus GS430). Can you check yours and see if you have something similar and can see the rubber seal as well?

Mine's in service currently, but when the hood is forcefully slammed (and I mean forcefully) it's the only way it will sit flush on the psngr side, there is also no large gap. If your hood is sitting flush and there's that big of a gap it should be adjusted for you as that's way out of tolerance and should have never made through QC.

[bloozemanAZ]

Originally Posted by RJC-1

Mine's in service currently, but when the hood is forcefully slammed (and I mean forcefully) it's the only way it will sit flush on the psngr side, there is also no large gap. If your hood is sitting flush and there's that big of a gap it should be adjusted for you as that's way out of tolerance and should have never made through QC.

Thanks for the info and yes the hood is definitely sitting flush. I will add this to the list (now 2 items) when I take it in for the first service. There should be at least a few 8-series on the ground at the dealer when I do so which I'll use as a comparison to either prove the point or discover I'm just anal and will need to let it go.

[RJC-1]

Originally Posted by bloozemanAZ

Thanks for the info and yes the hood is definitely sitting flush. I will add this to the list (now 2 items) when I take it in for the first service. There should be at least a few 8-series on the ground at the dealer when I do so which I'll use as a comparison to either prove the point or discover I'm just anal and will need to let it go.

It's not you...I don't think any of us would want that kind of gap...it is not normal and way out of spec.

[Wristdoc]

Here are some pictures of mine...it does seem a bit wide but no more so than most of the seams elsewhere, such as on the trunk, and it seems symmetric.

I will say that closing the hood the first time was quite hard!

[redhot47fla]

Originally Posted by bloozemanAZ

Thanks for the info and yes the hood is definitely sitting flush. I will add this to the list (now 2 items) when I take it in for the first service. There should be at least a few 8-series on the ground at the dealer when I do so which I'll use as a comparison to either prove the point or discover I'm just anal and will need to let it go.

I just rechecked mine and it seems fine. If your hood truly is hatched, I agree - something ain't right. The gap seems a bit out of spec right at the forward edge and, though it's hard to gain perspective from the photo, you probably should not be seeing that much rubber sealant.

[bloozemanAZ]

Originally Posted by redhot47fla

I just rechecked mine and it seems fine. If your hood truly is hatched, I agree - something ain't right. The gap seems a bit out of spec right at the forward edge and, though it's hard to gain perspective from the photo, you probably should not be seeing that much rubber sealant.

Thanks and much appreciate the double check on your end and confirmation that something is not right. I think the telltale sign ignoring the rubber sealant is the difference between the hood and fender panel up by the headlight in my pic vs yours. Mine is 3x wider easy and there is a "gap" between my rubber sealant and the headlights that does not exist in yours.

[RJC-1]

How the hell did a panel gap that large get past BMW QC?

[DRA]

It's tough to close the hood in M cars for a reason. Under no circumstances it should open while you are going 180 mph.