I have a 2003 E46 325i sedan and was driving yesterday with a few family members in the car. I drove through an intersection going probably around 30-35mph, went through a puddle and a normal bump that we thought nothing of. The next thing I know about half a mile up the road I hear a dragging sound behind my car. I stop, get out and find out the right side of the rear bumper had come off.
- Nobody had hit me and there is no evidence that I hit anything. The bottom of the car shows absolutely no scrape marks and the rear bumper is in perfect condition cosmetically except for the crease on the left caused by it hanging off the car. The tires, and rims are all in perfect condition. The only damaged section that I can see on the bumper is the right passenger corner which was being dragged along the road for a few hundred feet until I stopped.
- The clips on the inside of the bumper have been what looks like torn off, and after hoisting the car up at my local dealership they proclaim it somehow got ripped off. They refuse to do any warranty work on it and I'm meeting the local BMW Rep in the next few days to get his oppinion.
- The only attached portion of the bumper was on the left driver side, coincidently where I had them rebolt it on because it was almost falling off months before this happened. This is on my record at the dealership.
I still can't explain how this happened (thoughts):
- It was raining heavily and I drove through a medium size puddle at the slope of the intersection with a passenger in the rear of the vehicle. This momentum lowered the back of the bumper a bit and might have scooped up some water. There may have been excess water trapped inside of it and my acceleration after the intersection could have caused the weight to snap the clip(s). I've had issues of this bumper being loose in the past.
- Although nobody recalls going over any large object, there may have been some way that something we drove over that didn't touch the bottom of the car, went passed the passenger tire and caught the lip of the bumper and yanked it off. The tire shows no marks, and the undercarrage shows no marks.. no idea what the chances of that are. If this is the case, I certainly can't believe the whole bumper ripped off the car. They certainly aren't on there very well.
Any suggestions, anybody have a past experience with poorly manufactured bumpers, etc? btw this car has never been in an accident (that I know of, ran a carfax and bought it used) and is under full factory warranty.
Pictures available at:
FULL CAR PICTURES
- Nobody had hit me and there is no evidence that I hit anything. The bottom of the car shows absolutely no scrape marks and the rear bumper is in perfect condition cosmetically except for the crease on the left caused by it hanging off the car. The tires, and rims are all in perfect condition. The only damaged section that I can see on the bumper is the right passenger corner which was being dragged along the road for a few hundred feet until I stopped.
- The clips on the inside of the bumper have been what looks like torn off, and after hoisting the car up at my local dealership they proclaim it somehow got ripped off. They refuse to do any warranty work on it and I'm meeting the local BMW Rep in the next few days to get his oppinion.
- The only attached portion of the bumper was on the left driver side, coincidently where I had them rebolt it on because it was almost falling off months before this happened. This is on my record at the dealership.
I still can't explain how this happened (thoughts):
- It was raining heavily and I drove through a medium size puddle at the slope of the intersection with a passenger in the rear of the vehicle. This momentum lowered the back of the bumper a bit and might have scooped up some water. There may have been excess water trapped inside of it and my acceleration after the intersection could have caused the weight to snap the clip(s). I've had issues of this bumper being loose in the past.
- Although nobody recalls going over any large object, there may have been some way that something we drove over that didn't touch the bottom of the car, went passed the passenger tire and caught the lip of the bumper and yanked it off. The tire shows no marks, and the undercarrage shows no marks.. no idea what the chances of that are. If this is the case, I certainly can't believe the whole bumper ripped off the car. They certainly aren't on there very well.
Any suggestions, anybody have a past experience with poorly manufactured bumpers, etc? btw this car has never been in an accident (that I know of, ran a carfax and bought it used) and is under full factory warranty.
Pictures available at:
FULL CAR PICTURES
