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Subject: How to fix puckering dash trim near the doors Author: davidc (moderator) : member since December, 2003 : 10074 posts Posted on: 2003-12-27 23:31:46

The plastic trim on the sides of the dashboard near the doors seems to have a tendency to separate from its backing and "pucker up." I've seen this on my '97 740iL and quite a few others as well.

The pictures below show what I'm talking about on the left side and right side.



The wood trim and lower dash cover have already been removed.



After finding out that the cost of replacement pieces were expensive ($140 for the left side, $80 for the right side) and also special-order items, I decided to try to fix mine instead using 3M Super Trim Adhesive and some clamps.



The first step was to remove the wood trim on the left side of the steering wheel to access the two screws beneath. The wood trim is held in place by simple friction on the two metal posts -- its removed by gently tugging straight out on both ends at the same time. There are two more screws behind the wood trim on the right side that need to be removed as well. There are also two more screws in the lower footwell area. You don't have to remove the entire thing, but removing the screws makes it easier to flex the plastic trim enough to work on it.



Once the trim was loose enough to work on it, I sprayed the 3M Trim Adhesive into the space that had separated, between the beige outer layer and the hard plastic inner layer. The directions recommend three light coats, letting the dry enough to be tacky (about 2 minutes). Once that was done, I applied a series of large and small clamps to maintain pressure while the glue dried. The process was repeated for the right side as well.





After a couple of hours drying time, the clamps were removed and everyting was reassembled. The photos below show the results. The left (driver's) side image shows a little bit of dirt along the edge. It looks better cleaned up. The right (passenger) side came out even better, looking as if it never had any problems, which is is good since that's the side that most guests see when they enter the vehicle.





If your E38 has similar problems, I highly recommend trying this solution before going out and purchasing new trim pieces.

www.e38.org has links for everything about your BMW 7-series automobile

• How to fix puckering dash trim near the doors (pic) - davidc 2003-12-27 23:31:46 (15507 views)