HOOD NOT LINING UP and BUMPER QUESTION...

[shoei]

alright, so my car is brand new, had it for about a week now... today was the first bath she got, and i noticed that the front hood does NOT line up... also, there's an overhang where the front bumper meets the corner of the side panel... i'm hoping someone can run out to their car and tell me if that is normal?? the hood not lining up, i already know that's not normal, especially considering the other side is lined up correctly...

and no, it's not the hood being properly shut, i opened and closed it quite a few times, and on the last attempt, shut it with more force than one should with an aluminum hood...

[spyderco10]

you gotta twist the rubber bump stops under the hood to adjust the spacing between the hood and the bumper

[McLuVan]

mine's the same man
that fender shit pisses me off
and the hood....my 335i had the same problem so I'm used to it lol

[shoei]

Originally Posted by spyderco10

you gotta twist the rubber bump stops under the hood to adjust the spacing between the hood and the bumper

that's it??!! well that's a friggin' relief... what popped into my head was; "they sold me a damaged car they repaired..."

[shoei]

Originally Posted by McLuVan

mine's the same man
that fender shit pisses me off
and the hood....my 335i had the same problem so I'm used to it lol

i had no issues with hood alignment with 328 and 335, i expect better quality care with M, lol... maybe that's just me...

[McLuVan]

Originally Posted by shoei

i had no issues with hood alignment with 328 and 335, i expect better quality care with M, lol... maybe that's just me...

yeah
I try to just close my eyes sometimes

[consolidated]

My front fender didn't align well either, the dealer adjusted it while I waited.

[STALKER]

Same issue here too.
Little cap on the side of my headlights too, but the dealer said that is normal on all e90 M3s.

[URBAN LEGEND]

Sometimes I still have to push the hood down on the drivers side for it to be flush.

[JohnnyRoaster]

Make sure the hood is latched on both sides.

[VictorH]

Yes, that's the issue, you probably don't have the left side latch on the hood engaged. I had this same problem. Don't push on the hood or the roundel you are liable to bend it. Solution, and I'm not a big fan of "slamming" either but I read somewhere, and this works for me, is to drop the hood from about 20" up. Latches every time for me.

[stryker1]

Hood has two latches on either sides of the hood, that sometimes dont hook up, one must just lean on it and it will catch.

[Leozap]

Originally Posted by spyderco10

you gotta twist the rubber bump stops under the hood to adjust the spacing between the hood and the bumper

I gotta look for this. Does anyone have a picture of this rubber bump stop? I took off the headlight housings twice and never noticed this rubber bump stop.

[White Shark]

you are not alone...

http://www.m3post.com/forums/showthr...light=hood+gap

... & possible solutions.

(1) http://www.e90post.com/forums/showthread.php?t=292548 (not M3)

Originally Posted by David1

The center can not be aligned until you remove the bumper cover and adjust the bumper bar. I was able to move it up about 1/8 of an inch which gave me enough upward movement of the bumper cover to shim the top and close up the gap. When you slightly raise this, you are able to lift up the bumper and place some washers under the 4 bolts up top and this will take care of the gap. If you make it to high, then the rubber seals that on the top need to be cut off the ends so the hood will close. I think sometime in the 08 model run, the mold for the front bumper cover was changed to address this since this.

(2) http://www.m3post.com/forums/showthr...ood+gap&page=2

Originally Posted by elp_jc

The hood is easy to adjust. The 10-point 'torx' rubber adjusters behind the headlights are to align the hood relative to the plastic fenders (they seem okay in your car, but check them closely). What you need to adjust is the front height of your hood, and to do that, screw the round rubber adjusters in front of the latches (on edge of the hood), and leave them all the way in (you can use a flashlight if you insist on them making contact with the hood once aligned, but it's not necessary; you DON'T want them any lower than the latches). Then remove the plastic latch covers by removing the plastic 'screw' with a screwdriver and pulling it out the clip. You'll notice that the latches are just a big screw (nice), so screw the latches in one half-turn at a time, and test by closing the hood after every step, making sure you don't have to apply too much force. If you do with all the rubber adjusters all the way in, something is not right, so I'd stop and let a dealer handle it. You could always let the hood close a bit lower from the fenders to alleviate pressure at the latches; much less noticeable than a big gap at the front IMO. Also make sure the latches do not bottom out on the hood, or they'd dent it when you close it (many cars had this problem, so be careful). I suggest leaving at least one full-turn clearance.

Just play with the adjustment folks. And know that no dealer is going to take the time to patiently and carefully adjust your hood like you will. Hope this helps.

Oh, and ALWAYS CLOSE YOUR HOOD WITH ONE HAND ABOVE EACH LATCH .

Originally Posted by elp_jc

Hey guys, I edited my message to suggest going half a turn at a time, which is the minimum adjustment increment. Forgot that many owners reported dents in their hoods right above the latches (probably by careless factory workers while installing them), which means the latches might be pretty close to hitting the hood already.

But I have a better idea to play it safe: Slowly, and VERY carefully, turn the latches in (while counting how many half turns ) until you feel the slightest resistance, which would be the hood. Then back out one full turn, and THAT'd be your maximum adjustment... in case you need to go that far. I suggested one full turn so latches never touch the hood while being pushed down to close it (it seems pretty flimsy to me, so better safe than sorry, no?). If I remember correctly, I have 2 full turns clearance on mine, and only needed one half-turn adjustment. But OP's hood will probably need several, which is odd indeed. I just don't see how the bumper cover could be installed wrong (which prompted my accident comment). I also don't see how the hood could be defective. Hopefully OP can adjust it properly. Please keep us posted man. And folks, feel free to add any comments (or criticize mine )....

[shoei]

thanks white shark... that was spot on...

[JIO]

The driver's side of the hood needs to slammed a bit more than the passenger side since the hood intake is closing on the air box to make a good seal. I kept driving away with the driver's side of the hood not totally latched.