X5 doors sound/feels cheap and hollow?

[Alan l.]

This is something that's always bothered me about BMW suvs. They don't have the same solid sound as the sedan counterparts when you close the doors. My E46 sounded like a vault when you closed the doors. My E90 and F10 isn't as solid sounding but they don't feel cheap either. I've noticed that with the X5's....the doors just flat out feels hollow and cheap when you open/close them. Not a solid thump you'd expect from a 70K+ car. Sounds more civic like than BMW to me.

I sat in a F15 yest. and I was just shocked at how the doors sounded when you closed them. The rest of the interior was much nicer and somewhat on par with the F10 compared to the E70 which to me didn't even look/feel like a proper BMW from the inside.

Alan

[Rene_Fonck]

I agree -- my 2010 e61 had solid sounding/feeling doors. My F15's front doors feel particularly "cheap" when reaching out to the door handle from the front seat to close the door. The plasticy feel, makes it seem like i'm going to rip off the door handle in the process.

[Alan l.]

I wonder if adding some sound proofing on the interior door's sheet metal would make it feel more solid and substantial. Back in my younger years I had a subaru that felt like it was make out of soda cans. I added several layers of sound proofing directly to the sheet metal behind the door and it helped tremendously.

Alan

[Kzang]

I may be wrong but it may have to do with the weight reduction... It seems like every model BMW tries to reduce weight as much as possible to improve fuel and mileage...
My 2010 E60 had a nice solid door closing... my current E70 also has a nice solid door closing... I have not tested the new F15 yet..

[jlstyle]

World is asking for better gas mileage in smaller engine displacement.
And they are serious about this.

Only way to achieve this?
1. Lose weight
2. Saving cost in parts to spend more in R&D
3. Roll out more variant models to cover any hit and miss.
4. Shorter cars (lower roof lines)

And you are experiencing #1,2.

[xDrive35i]

My X3 is the same way. It's more of a nicely damped "clang" than a solid "thunk" or a nice "whump." Chalk it up to less door insulation and weight-overmatched hinges, as well as more rigid rubber seals.

[dhirm5]

I don't agree; the doors on our new F15 feel very heavy/solid to me, especially as compared to my F10 M5. I was surprised how heavy they feel - it's actually hard to close them lightly enough for the soft-close doors to be relevant.

[Sean_250]

They feel ok to me - not out of proportion with the car.

[igorsvrub]

Originally Posted by dhirm5

I don't agree; the doors on our new F15 feel very heavy/solid to me, especially as compared to my F10 M5. I was surprised how heavy they feel - it's actually hard to close them lightly enough for the soft-close doors to be relevant.

I do not own f15 yet, but when I did test drive i felt same-it is solid and heavy.
So agree with that

[Clifton]

To me the doors feel as if they were intend for self-closing. I did not want that feature so I skipped the prem package. However, every time I close the door I feel like it is dampened in some way so as to facilitate a pick-up point for a mechanical closing. It feels like this is preventing the closure from being more of a solid connection. Could just be in my head, but that's my $.02.

[ictx5]

I do not have any issues at all with the door feel. I think they are solid. More so than my 2011 5 series, and much better than Lexus RX 350!!!

[Alan l.]

Interesting....I have my F10 (with soft close doors) and its def. more substantial feeling compared to the X5 I sat in.

My E46's doors felt like you just closed a vault. Seems like the doors are getting lighter and lighter making them feel/sound cheap to me.

Alan