E70 Rear Bumper Issues

[WCM3]

Has anyone compiled a list of forum members that have been plagued by the almighty rear bumper clip problem? We bought a 2011 X5 M-Sport a few months ago and the bumper was fine. After a month or two, we noticed the clips have gone out of place, and we can't successfully lower the rear flap without it deforming the bumper. Took the bumper off last weekend and realigned the clips. All was good. Looked yesterday and they came out AGAIN! I'm not going to be able to deal with this..

Wanted to approach BMW about it if possible, but want to first understand how many members have this issue. Also, if you were able to fix it yourself, how did you do it?

Thanks in advance,
Mike

[Z3grape]

never heard of this. pls post pics

[Kakalika]

Bumper clip problem? Do you mean the bumper is warping?

[P1]

I have an idea what you mean, but cannot say I've seen this in the three E70s my family has owned.

[bmw_4.8_e70]

Yes i had the same issue on my e70, bmw was able to change the bumper under no cost

[BoB-O]

Bumping a super-old thread. This recently happened to me. Wife barely tapped something with the backend of the car. No visual damage whatsoever, but the clips popped out. Paid (out of warranty) for the dealer to reattach. A few weeks later, popped out again with no instigation. Do I really need to remove the bumper to re-attach? It feels like one could press in on the bumper hard enough to reattach, but I'm not strong enough to do so.

[ryansbmw]

I believe BMW changed the design of how those clips attach. In earlier models, I believe the clips pressed in. In later models, there is a slot they slide into. My '13 has the slots. When I bought the car back in Dec, the PO had backed into someone and a few of the clips poped out. I just pulled the bumper and realigned it and they have been fine for months now.

[arciga18]

My old e70 had this. I thought someone smashed my bumper parking but this makes more sense now

[ryansbmw]

Originally Posted by arciga18

My old e70 had this. I thought someone smashed my bumper parking but this makes more sense now

Someone did bump into it. There are impressions in the bumper. Luckily it didnt break the clips and I just needed to realign it

[arciga18]

Originally Posted by ryansbmw

Someone did bump into it. There are impressions in the bumper. Luckily it didnt break the clips and I just needed to realign it

What happened to the front. Brian said he got a nice order ?

[ryansbmw]

Originally Posted by arciga18

What happened to the front. Brian said he got a nice order ?

Ice happened haha.

[arciga18]

Originally Posted by ryansbmw

Ice happened haha.

jk.

[heatmizr]

BoB-O - did you get your bumper straightened out? (literally)
I have same issue, with great difficulty (and partially opening lower trunk hatch) I was able to mostly line the clips back up, but I think something has been slightly deformed from the bump it took, so its not perfect...

ALSO - does anyone have experience replacing the corner reflector (2012 M sport bumper)? I am afraid it looks like the entire bumper has to come off??

Its part #3 in this pic (actually the passenger side, same diff):
http://bmwfans.info/parts-catalog/E7...m/m_trim_rear/

[ryansbmw]

Originally Posted by heatmizr

BoB-O - did you get your bumper straightened out? (literally)
I have same issue, with great difficulty (and partially opening lower trunk hatch) I was able to mostly line the clips back up, but I think something has been slightly deformed from the bump it took, so its not perfect...

ALSO - does anyone have experience replacing the corner reflector (2012 M sport bumper)? I am afraid it looks like the entire bumper has to come off??

Its part #3 in this pic (actually the passenger side, same diff):
http://bmwfans.info/parts-catalog/E7...m/m_trim_rear/

The bumper does not need to be removed to replace the reflector.
This video shows how to remove them. Skip to 1:26 mark

[heatmizr]

THANK YOU
This is what Forums are for!

[frederickhsu]

Originally Posted by bmw_4.8_e70

Yes i had the same issue on my e70, bmw was able to change the bumper under no cost

Bumping an old thread.. but my 2013 X5 with m package’s rear bumper is doing the same thing. Did your dealer fix under warranty ? My dealer apparently has never heard of this issue..

[ryansbmw]

Originally Posted by frederickhsu

Bumping an old thread.. but my 2013 X5 with m package’s rear bumper is doing the same thing. Did your dealer fix under warranty ? My dealer apparently has never heard of this issue..

Havent heard of dealers fixing it under warranty but its a pretty easy fix to do yourself or take to a body shop to have done. You just need to the pull bumper out a few inches so the clips can slip into the slot. Took me 2 hours to do myself learning how to take everything apart myself. I couldnt imagine a body shop taking any more than 1.5 hrs to do the same.

[frederickhsu]

Originally Posted by ryansbmw

Havent heard of dealers fixing it under warranty but its a pretty easy fix to do yourself or take to a body shop to have done. You just need to the pull bumper out a few inches so the clips can slip into the slot. Took me 2 hours to do myself learning how to take everything apart myself. I couldnt imagine a body shop taking any more than 1.5 hrs to do the same.

I looked at my clips and all of them are broken.. not sure how it broke. I see where it should have slid in though.

[ryansbmw]

That blows. Looks like you'll need to replace the bumper. Or if you could find a used bumper in the junkyard, you could try cutting the clips off and JB weld/ epoxy them to your bumper.

[heatmizr]

frederick it was probably a bump in a parking lot. The bumper flexes in enough to damage the clips, then bounces back out.

[frederickhsu]

Originally Posted by heatmizr

frederick it was probably a bump in a parking lot. The bumper flexes in enough to damage the clips, then bounces back out.

Lame.. thanks !