Have you seen vinyl "bubbling" on interior plastic parts? How to fix?

[Flycaster]

In two areas on my '05 Z4, I have "bubbling" vinyl...with no reasonable explanation. What is "bubbling" vinyl, you ask? Well, it appears that my tan interior vinyl, is really a fine coating of tan vinyl over the tannish plastic base. This thin covering of vinyl is now bubbling and peeling off the plastic structure that it is on. And, there appears to be no way to stop it or repair it.



What makes this interesting is that the two places that are bubbling, are not really high wear areas. One place is the vertical door frame to the left of about where the driver's left shoulder is. It first bubbles and then a very thin layer of vinyl peels off showing the plastic base. The other area is the plastic console just below the aluminum trim that outlines the console. It doesn't appear that the vinyl was glued on but rather "heat-shrinked" on.



My only thought as to why this is happening is that it may be related to the use of sun-screen lotion. I live in SoFL and play a lot of tennis. I also have had quite a few skin cancers, so I use a sun-screen lotion. The damn lotion does impart a yellow stain on the tan leather and I'm wondering if it it the cause of the bubbling, too. Although, the two areas where the bubbling occurs, doesn't seem to be where contact would be made with the lotion, nor does the vinyl areas where lotion makes contact show any staining?







Another forum replied that BMW became aware of this with the '06 330i

 

[Bill D]

If it's a BMW manufacturing related issued, hopefully they can do a recall. I know some Audi interior components are susceptible to shrinking and cracking.



The yellowing may come out with a product like Leatherique Rejuvenator Oil or something from the Leather Master's line of products.



Since you brought up the suntan lotion, do get in the routine of regularly cleaning the seats with a good leather cleaner or vinyl cleaner.Woolite 10:1 with water works well also. Since you mention you have to use a lot, I'd suggest even once a week. I bet you'll have to reapply conditioner more often too.

 

[katotter]

A few years ago I saw a 2007 Audi 2.0TDI, all the buttons and surrounding trim started bubbling and peeling,when they phone up Audi, the tech team said that it might be from lady's perfume. I have a 2006 VW Jetta, and most of the trimming around the radio and hazard button in the center console has come off, also on the door trim around the electric window controls is peeling.

 

[Flycaster]

As for the yellowing due to the sunscreen. When I play tennis or go fishing, I cover the seat and the arm rest with a towel. I also do clean and condition my leather. Nonetheless, i srill get the yellowing on the arm rest, the seat is OK.



I haven't tried any leather cleaning product on the arm rest, yet. But I do note tht my wife used Oxyclean on the sunscreen yellowing of my tennis hat and it worked. Although it may have been due to Oxyclean's bleaching effects, I'm going to try it on yellowed spot tht is out of the way.



Spoke with BMW service manager and he told me to bring the car in for evaluation. Will do so this week. BTW, from another BMW forum got a reply that the bubbling/peeling of vinyl was noted and repaired under warrantyin a '06 3M.



EDIT: Went to BMW today and got lucky. On inspection, the service manager kept saying kept saying that the bubbling on the vertical panel was due to my using the seat belt. And i kept showing him how the seat belt didn't come near the defect...Yeah, I kept calling it a defect and telling him I knew BMW was aware of this. Bottom line, although the correct fix is to lift out the whole plastic shield behind the driver's seat and replace it, they will AT NO CHARGE repair the peeling areas. Their repair woman is very, very good at repairing vinyl and leather and I ahve no doubt that although I will be able to see the repair, it will nonetheless be an excellent repair.



Here are two before pics of the problem; on Tuesday I'll post the repair.



In this pic I had tried to prevent further peeling by scraping off the bubbling. But as you can see, it is starting to bubble again.

In this pic I left the bubbling as is. If you look closely, you can see how the bubbling is speading our laterally.

 

[Flycaster]

Well, I've got to hand it to my stealership. They surprised me and fixed the bubbling/peeling vinyl...with no charge, although out of warranty. As you can see from the "after fix" pics below, the fix was perfect. Personally, I never thought it would come out so good. BTW, my stealership is Braman BMW (West Palm Beach), and I do very highly recommend that if you need some repair for your vinyl or leather, Joanne -their specialist, doe s a great job.



Here's the fix on the arm rest:

Here's the fix on the panel to the left of the driver's shoulder:

 

[Bill D]

Wow, that sure was peeling! And big kudos :bigups to that BMW dealer! Now that's good service! I keep all my vinyl and hard plastic regularly protected with 303. I doubt it would've helped in this situation, but whatever it can defend against, I have it on there just in case.

 

[Flycaster]

Wow, that sure was peeling! And big kudos :bigups to that BMW dealer! Now that's good service! I keep all my vinyl and hard plastic regularly protected with 303. I doubt it would've helped in this situation, but whatever it can defend against, I have it on there just in case.

Speaking of 303, I do use it. I even use it on my leather, as counterintuitive as it may sound, not only does 303 say it is safe/good for leather protection (covered leather that is), but many others, like yourself, use it. However, I don't think it would be useful to let a dealer know if you come to him with a leather problem. I'm just about 100% certain they'd tell you to walk and put the loss of warranty on 303's shouldeers, eh?