[Elk]

Originally Posted by DrivenByE30

... as opposed to having a lighter Accord door that does not reassure me in terms of quality... all plastic... how is that for safety in a side crash??

A BMW is no safer in a side crash. The thin metal skin of the door doesn't protect you any more than plastic or glass reinforced.

The side impact door beams in the doors protect the occupants- as both Hondas and BMWs have had for many years.

[jpa74]

Ok guys. I spent a good 15 minutes opening and slamming my drivers see door. Now it seems it is closing much better. Guess I had to break it in a bit.

Thanks for the tips. It does feel more solid now. With more of a WHUMP sound. Before it was a bit tinny.

[Raspartan]

Originally Posted by jpa74

Ok guys. I spent a good 15 minutes opening and slamming my drivers see door. Now it seems it is closing much better.

lol And as an added bonus YOU feel better too.

[Propagator]

As far as I'm concerned, the whole "heavy closing door" is one of those "marketing driven engineering" thing. As Elk said, there is no real safety advantage of having a door that sounds and feels heavier to close. It's that a lot of people THINK that the two are related, so the Germans capitalized on that misinformation before the Japanese did.

It's not that I don't like the sturdy feel of the BMW door. It's nice, in the same way that it's nice to have a car that doesn't have interior rattles. It makes the car feel more refined. But just like not having interior rattles, it is of little practical value.

[RPM90]

The reason why the doors need a good healthy push is not because the doors are too light or too heavy, or because of structure for crashing, or the moons alignment with Saturn and Planet X.

It's because modern cars, especially luxury and near-luxury models have become much quieter over the decades. Seals are better, and HVAC systems uses filters to bring fresh air in only through certain areas.
That means that the interior is pretty well sealed to the outside when all doors and windows are closed. It's too help keep things quiet and sealed.

So, when you push to close the door, air is being pushed into the car/cabin.
Since the interior is so well sealed that incoming air creates pressure inside the cabin, and with no where to EASILY escape, the pressure pushes back and the door may not close fully if you didn't use enough force.
Fix: Push harder on the door when closing it.

TEST: Open your drivers window and now shut your door. Notice how much easier it closes? If you use the same heavy force as when closing the door with all windows and doors closed, it may now sound like you just SLAMMED the door shut. That's cause the windows open and there is a space for the air to go.

If you latches are misaligned you should hear a harsh sound like a "bang".
If you have that take it to your dealer to have it fixed.

In the olden days when more metal and weight was though to protect one better, doors on Mercedes or higher end cars were heavy. So when you push to close them they would slam with a solid thud. But, in those days the cabins were not as sealed as they are now and the air had plenty of places to go and escape through.

The modern sealed design is better as it helps keep the interior quieter, and provides better climate control when you're inside.
Don't fret, rejoice, and enjoy!

[DrivenByE30]

RPM90 deserve an award today for resolving once and for all this problematic issue !

Props to you !

[JoeyO]

My VW New Beetle had a hard time closing the hatch door because it was so well sealed the air had no where to go when slamming the hatch door. Open a window slightly and it was a piece of cake.

[Enduro963]

Wait till you get used to closing your doors...then you will get on a friends (non German) car and SLAM the door shut, he will not be happy, hahahaha. Happens to me all the time!

[RPM90]

Originally Posted by DrivenByE30

RPM90 deserve an award today for resolving once and for all this problematic issue !

Props to you !

And I thank you.
I graciously take this award and say...nah nah!

[yerffejleahcim]

Originally Posted by RPM90

The reason why the doors need a good healthy push is not because the doors are too light or too heavy, or because of structure for crashing, or the moons alignment with Saturn and Planet X.

It's because modern cars, especially luxury and near-luxury models have become much quieter over the decades. Seals are better, and HVAC systems uses filters to bring fresh air in only through certain areas.
That means that the interior is pretty well sealed to the outside when all doors and windows are closed. It's too help keep things quiet and sealed.

So, when you push to close the door, air is being pushed into the car/cabin.
Since the interior is so well sealed that incoming air creates pressure inside the cabin, and with no where to EASILY escape, the pressure pushes back and the door may not close fully if you didn't use enough force.
Fix: Push harder on the door when closing it.

TEST: Open your drivers window and now shut your door. Notice how much easier it closes? If you use the same heavy force as when closing the door with all windows and doors closed, it may now sound like you just SLAMMED the door shut. That's cause the windows open and there is a space for the air to go.

If you latches are misaligned you should hear a harsh sound like a "bang".
If you have that take it to your dealer to have it fixed.

In the olden days when more metal and weight was though to protect one better, doors on Mercedes or higher end cars were heavy. So when you push to close them they would slam with a solid thud. But, in those days the cabins were not as sealed as they are now and the air had plenty of places to go and escape through.

The modern sealed design is better as it helps keep the interior quieter, and provides better climate control when you're inside.
Don't fret, rejoice, and enjoy!

This makes perfect sense and it is true. Amazing smart guy. Hehe

[dangthe]

So, when you push to close the door, air is being pushed into the car/cabin.
Since the interior is so well sealed that incoming air creates pressure inside the cabin, and with no where to EASILY escape, the pressure pushes back and the door may not close fully if you didn't use enough force.
Fix: Push harder on the door when closing it.

What you are saying suggests that car cabins are almost hermetically sealed, which is really not true, since if it was, a person would suffocate if they spend enough time in a parked BMW with the windows closed. And for the record, the doors on my E90 close equally bad no matter if the windows are open or closed. A modern car door should close easily with a light push on the door from a close distance, the fact that BMW doors don't do that is bad engineering, plain and simple. There might be a REASON for it, but in the end, other car manufacturers have equally good sound-isolated cabins and their doors close just fine, so it's not an excuse

[BMRSEB]

Interesting topic.. However, I found out that the door closing on my past 2007 X3 closed more solidly than my 2016 328i. I have had friends "slam" my doors because they expected more effort to close them. I have had to tell them not to..

IMO, I find the F30 door closing a little light and less satisfying - if we equate a solid closure/thunk to better quality??

[jd_perspective]

why are people resurrecting all these old topics...wth

[upsidedownfunnel]

Originally Posted by dmontic71

Don't BMW's have double seals, and Accord only has single?

X5 and 7 series I know have triple seals. I'm pretty sure most modern cars these days over $25k have at least double seals.