[ducati955]

hmmm, if it matches and is nice, iwould do it! someone get a pic of the piece and some pics installed!

[milehigh5000]

Originally Posted by baileythebmw

The battery wont die so easily, because it recharges every time you plug it into the car. You would have sold the car even before the battery dies, i reckon. hehe

thats only for cars not equipped with comfort access..the comfort access battery needs to be replaced over time

[discoboy1]

Can't you just use the cover from the rear door handle on the E90?
do they share the same handles?

[skim7x]

Originally Posted by milehigh5000

thats only for cars not equipped with comfort access..the comfort access battery needs to be replaced over time

if you have comfort access... wouldn't it be easier to stick the key in the car for an hour every month rather than get the rechargeable battery replaced every time it runs out?

[Kiemyster]

the ones @ bimmian.com just slide over and lock. so if ur battery dies, you just use a butterknife to slide its way out.

[milehigh5000]

Originally Posted by skim7x

if you have comfort access... wouldn't it be easier to stick the key in the car for an hour every month rather than get the rechargeable battery replaced every time it runs out?

no..because the battery in the comfort access remotes arent rechargeable..you cant charge them..you have to replace them when theyre dead

[Louie A]

Originally Posted by andrew 330i

a lament that prevents shatter debris.

wouldn't window tints do the same thing? although not their design/purpose, i would imagine that the tint film would help prevent shatter debris

[The Cleaner]

Originally Posted by bmwmike

The security film i got from my tint place is clear (with zero tint) and blocks UV rays. Quite a few manufactures make it including 3M. It's mostly used for residential and business building glass but they promote it for autos too. I got the 4mil thickness, which is the thinnest - any thicker and you will have issues with the door seals in the door.
See example sizes and standards: http://www.securityprousa.com/seprfiforca.html

My understanding is the glass come from the factory with UV blocked. The reason I know this is because I wear glassed that tint (transitions) and they will not tint in cars. I might be wrong so someone correct me if I am. I just got new glasses and the little book that comes with the tint specificly states that the UV is blocked in automotive windows and prevent the glasses from tinting.

[milehigh5000]

Originally Posted by The Cleaner

My understanding is the glass come from the factory with UV blocked. The reason I know this is because I wear glassed that tint (transitions) and they will not tint in cars. I might be wrong so someone correct me if I am. I just got new glasses and the little book that comes with the tint specificly states that the UV is blocked in automotive windows and prevent the glasses from tinting.

i think youre right because someone stated that the front windshield blocks UV-A and UV-B 99.99% and the rest of the windows block both UV-A and UV-B by 60%

[MUNIK-FL]

Originally Posted by Kiemyster

the ones @ bimmian.com just slide over and lock. so if ur battery dies, you just use a butterknife to slide its way out.

The ones on Bimmian require you to remove your lock.

[Ndna Jnz]

stock lock cylinder now. The online install instructions say to remove the lock cylinder entirely. But I bought one last week and the instructions that came with it said that it is actually a better idea to slip the new solid cover over the stock lock cylinder. Then, if you cannot get into your car for *any* reason, you can break the cover off with a screw driver (from your back pocket) and use the actual key from the remote to open the door. Thinking that sounded like a reasonable idea, I decided to do it that way. However, I could not get the new cover to fit over the lock cylinder. It goes over it about 98%, but that last 2 % keeps it from seating against the door properly. I am awaiting an email response from them for help on this.

Also, no one here mentioned that these covers come pre-painted. You order the color of your car. And actually, they do a very good job of painting them.
Well, they should for what these things cost.

Also, by never putting your remote fob into the dash receptacle, the car never has a chance to tell you that the remote battery is going dead.

Also, Bimmian also mfrs/sells the painted front reflectors. Which of course are not really reflectors but are similarly-shaped pieces of plastic that exactly fit the openings in the fender (or is it actually the bumper?). Not exactly easy to remove the stock reflector though. The adhesive is VERY sticky. And even once you remove the reflector itself, you must remove any excess adhesive before installing the painted replacements. THAT part is very tedious and time consuming. But possible. The paint quality on these reflectors was not as good as that on the keyhole cover. Not terrible, but quite a bit of orange peel. Not really that noticable once installed on the car. And it makes a huge difference in appearance without the unsightly orange beacons!


Question: Someone mentioned earlier in this thread that if the battery is dead, you can't open the trunk. Does that refer to the car battery or the remote battery?

[Volfan615]

Originally Posted by Ndna Jnz

stock lock cylinder now. The online install instructions say to remove the lock cylinder entirely. But I bought one last week and the instructions that came with it said that it is actually a better idea to slip the new solid cover over the stock lock cylinder. Then, if you cannot get into your car for *any* reason, you can break the cover off with a screw driver (from your back pocket) and use the actual key from the remote to open the door. Thinking that sounded like a reasonable idea, I decided to do it that way. However, I could not get the new cover to fit over the lock cylinder. It goes over it about 98%, but that last 2 % keeps it from seating against the door properly. I am awaiting an email response from them for help on this.

Also, no one here mentioned that these covers come pre-painted. You order the color of your car. And actually, they do a very good job of painting them.
Well, they should for what these things cost.

Also, by never putting your remote fob into the dash receptacle, the car never has a chance to tell you that the remote battery is going dead.

Also, Bimmian also mfrs/sells the painted front reflectors. Which of course are not really reflectors but are similarly-shaped pieces of plastic that exactly fit the openings in the fender (or is it actually the bumper?). Not exactly easy to remove the stock reflector though. The adhesive is VERY sticky. And even once you remove the reflector itself, you must remove any excess adhesive before installing the painted replacements. THAT part is very tedious and time consuming. But possible. The paint quality on these reflectors was not as good as that on the keyhole cover. Not terrible, but quite a bit of orange peel. Not really that noticable once installed on the car. And it makes a huge difference in appearance without the unsightly orange beacons!


Question: Someone mentioned earlier in this thread that if the battery is dead, you can't open the trunk. Does that refer to the car battery or the remote battery?

You are reading the instructions wrong. You have to remove the lock to replace the cover.

[ArmyBimmerDude]

Originally Posted by Volfan615

You are reading the instructions wrong. You have to remove the lock to replace the cover.

Dude his post was over two months ago. Let it go

I'll be damned if I'm taking out the lock for a 2 inch cover.

[Ndna Jnz]

Well, first of all, I purchased from **********s since their price was a few dollars less than Bimmians own website (which seems odd to me, but whatever...). I contacted Bimmian via email and they explained to me that the online instructions were no longer valid and that I should follow the instructions that came with the cover, of which there were none (from **********s). But in essence, they said the new keyless cover will not fit over the lock. Which leads me to believe that: (1) either this cover was originally designed to fit over or replace the E90/91 lock and was not tested on a E92/93 before adding these cars to the fitment list; or (2) that the end result of the molded piece did not turn out exactly as designed. In either case, just to try it out, I replaced the entire lock assembly with the new cover parts. As mentioned in my o/p, the paint quality on this new keyless cover is actually quite good; no runs, no orange peel, no color variations. Of course it is a very small piece to judge. So once I got it mounted on the car, it actually looks great - just a nice added touch. I was happy. And I did a dry run crawling through the trunk and fold-downs to get into the car in the event of a Comfort Access failure. Okay, the crawl through wasn't that difficult really, but then, I am 5'6" at 150lb, so it may be more of a challenge for average height people.
THE PROBLEM: The next day I was parked in the sun and noticed that direct sunlight caused the new keyless cover to look reasonably lighter than the door handle and the door. After a few days of consideration, I decided this was too much of a color difference and would probably bother me every time I looked at it. So I have now removed it and put the original back. The Monaco Blue Keyless Cover is now for sale at a substantial price reduction, and I expect there is a good chance it will more closely match another Monaco Blue car out there somewhere. Interstingly, the curved side reflector replacements are about a 99% color match and I am quite happy with them, even though they do exhibit more orange peel (probably just too much paint) than the rest of the car. Here are some pics I took with the new cover still installed. Although Web colors are of course not exactly true (and can sometimes be quite a bit different from real-life color) the difference between the new cover and the door handle is still quite evident.
P.S. Sorry to bring this up again after 2 months but I thought I should provide "closure".

[FaintReality]

Oh, wow. That color difference would bug the crap out of me.

I purchased mine from Long just last week, but I can't compare since I don't have it yet, nor do I have my car, lol