The Dreaded Peeling Leather Dash - G12 740I

[LuckyW]

It's a pity that he didn't show the repair process...

[Raimo5]

Originally Posted by AJLION

This can happen to Any dash that’s leather

I would figure the same, but I have never seen Dakota dash come apart like this. Only Nappa.

[Opie55]

The reason I was asking OP to take a pic of the backside of his dash material was to see if it is even leather. A poster above referenced a standard Dakota leather dash. I will bet him $100 that he does not have a Dakota leather dash. It's just fake leather - or more likely just vinyl. On an F series 6 series, you could get the standard pebble grain vinyl dash or you could pay extra for what BMW called a leather dash. It looks better because it's smooth and goes better with the nappa leather seats. But it's not real leather. BMW's own technical documents call it "man made leather." But it will also shrink back in the sun, so that is not limited to leather.

[BK28]

Wow I have a 2020 750i and tinted all 4 windows without the windsheild but this makes me now want to put a ceramic tint on the windsheid. Seems like the windshield in mine already has some type of factory tint though since it appears darker than my friends Tesla windsheild when parked side by side. Maybe this is with newer models?

[AJLION]

Originally Posted by BK28

Wow I have a 2020 750i and tinted all 4 windows without the windsheild but this makes me now want to put a ceramic tint on the windsheid. Seems like the windshield in mine already has some type of factory tint though since it appears darker than my friends Tesla windsheild when parked side by side. Maybe this is with newer models?

I wouldn’t risk it, to replace the dash it’s a 5k+ job it doesn’t even have to be tint, you can keep the car legal tint wise because they sell UV ceramic that’s clear

[BK28]

Originally Posted by AJLION

I wouldn’t risk it, to replace the dash it’s a 5k+ job it doesn’t even have to be tint, you can keep the car legal tint wise because they sell UV ceramic that’s clear

My tint shop has ceramic tints but they told me nano ceramic tint offers the best UV/heat protection and is $100 more. The lightest film nano ceramic comes in is 70% which is the legal limit in my state anyways so going to go ahead and get it done since summer is approaching. Sorry this happened to your vehicle but thanks for sharing I would have never known this was possible I only knew about the infamous leather seat cracks.

[AJLION]

Originally Posted by BK28

My tint shop has ceramic tints but they told me nano ceramic tint offers the best UV/heat protection and is $100 more. The lightest film nano ceramic comes in is 70% which is the legal limit in my state anyways so going to go ahead and get it done since summer is approaching. Sorry this happened to your vehicle but thanks for sharing I would have never known this was possible I only knew about the infamous leather seat cracks.

Of course! Would hate to see another beautiful 7 series suffer from this, thing that sucks though is that this isn’t exclusive to bmw, it can happen to any car with a leather dash unfortunately

[henry89trd]

hey guys, I was on amazon and came across this, What do you guys think?? Has anyone used this?

https://www.amazon.com/YNWON-Flannel...BVYZWMD7&psc=1

[LuckyW]

As the saying goes, prevention is better than cure. I was thinking about that too. I'm just afraid it'll look like shit. (first of all I mean the quality of this material)

[Coastboater]

That dash cover doesn’t appear to accommodate a B&W system. I’d be more inclined to put he $ towards a high quality custom fitted windshield reflector.

[AJLION]

Originally Posted by Coastboater

That dash cover doesn’t appear to accommodate a B&W system. I’d be more inclined to put he $ towards a high quality custom fitted windshield reflector.

That’s the thing, bmw sells sun reflectors made to spec for all their cars

[Coastboater]

I bought the items mentioned in the YT video of the corvette dash repair I posted in an earlier reply and did some experimenting today.
The pic of just the cardboard is 1cc of the glue without spreading and another 1cc spread with a squeegee.
I then tried to simulate the dash “ripple” with a paper towel and injected 2cc’s through the towel, anchoring one side of the ripple then spreading the glue with a squeegee on top of the towel. The towel absorbed a lot of the glue, likely more than the leather would.
I’m skeptical that this technique will work and lots of unknown variables, but thought I’d share my tinkering.

[Coslin]

Originally Posted by AJLION

That’s the thing, bmw sells sun reflectors made to spec for all their cars

You able to find one that's G11/12 specific? I've been looking for a little while now and it seems they still sell them for every model *except* the G11/12's.

Strange.

[AJLION]

Originally Posted by Coslin

You able to find one that's G11/12 specific? I've been looking for a little while now and it seems they still sell them for every model *except* the G11/12's.

Strange.

Yeah their hard to find, they aren’t categorized with g12’s you can only find them through part number
82-11-2-458-093 G12 Sunshade 519038

I got mine through braman bmw which has a discount on all parts only $58.92

[Coslin]

Originally Posted by AJLION

Yeah their hard to find, they aren’t categorized with g12’s you can only find them through part number
82-11-2-458-093 G12 Sunshade 519038

I got mine through braman bmw which has a discount on all parts only $58.92

I found one just after I posted this. Shame of me for not doing some more digging.

Thank you!

[The7th]

i have a sunshade and no issues so far.

[The7th]

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/192397471635

[Coastboater]

This came with the car when I purchased it. Fits excellent. Looked it up and it’s ~$106 on sale!

[AJLION]

Originally Posted by Coastboater

This came with the car when I purchased it. Fits excellent. Looked it up and it’s ~$106 on sale!

Found the OEM BMW sunshade from braman BMW (of which always is 10% off any parts) for 59$ lol

[Scrh1]

AJLION any updates to this or resolution? I’m I’m SFL as well and this just started on my 17’ 750i to a very small degree and I have a tinted windshield etc. thanks ! The eBay used dash route looks promising for a long term fix vs repair ….finding the right color combo for me is the hardest part - scrh1

[AJLION]

Originally Posted by Scrh1

AJLION any updates to this or resolution? I’m I’m SFL as well and this just started on my 17’ 750i to a very small degree and I have a tinted windshield etc. thanks ! The eBay used dash route looks promising for a long term fix vs repair ….finding the right color combo for me is the hardest part - scrh1

Unfortunately when I went in for service I asked about it and they said there’s nothing they can do since the car is out of warranty regardless that this is such a common issue and there should be a recall for It…

worse yet rain got on my doors as my father left the windows down and the leather got wet and even though I tried to dry it because the sun it caused the leather to completely shrink like the dash did and peeled off the door window sill
So… now I gotta change two door panels and a dash 😅 thank god I have the mechanical knowledge to do it myself because it will be very expensive to have a dealer do it since BMW dealers in Miami pay their mechanics like $350 an hour (a door panel is 250 each lol)

[Scrh1]

Ha ! Thanks for the update. I will likely go the eBay route and same as you am pretty handy with European vehicles and do the entire dash replacement. I suspect it is a combo of a glue defect and heat. I have always garaged or used a sunshade when parked outside and this still happens. Mine is very small but it is starting. I’m doing an intensive conditioning and will attempt a couple of test repairs in the coming weeks. Once I find the right color combo on eBay or junkyard I will do the dash swap. YouTube videos are pretty good on the process and maybe a couple / three of hours of careful trim removal and re install will do it. Thx - scrh1