Body trim panel coming unglued

[canuckjc]

While chasing down a rattle in my car, I noticed the plastic trim panel above the passenger windows had come loose near the hatchback. Opening the hatch reveals a black plastic inner piece to the actual panel. Holding the black piece to the CFRP life module is a strip of double-sided foam tape. I know structural foam tape is used a lot in the auto industry for holding on body panels, etc., but it appears something has caused this area to not be holding together properly. Speculation as to the cause might include tolerance issues, assembly process, design defect, etc.
In the pictures, you can see the passenger side has completely separated while the driver side is only partially holding on. I'll be bringing it to the dealer for this issue soon and asking about the KLE correction at the same time.

https://drive.google.com/folderview?id=0B8XoNzUZsGfIWnR6V3lsZml0NTg&usp=sharing

 

[Boatguy]

Please post anything your learn about the KLE fix on the KLE replacement thread.

 

[canuckjc]

Finally got the car to BMW Mountain View to have these panels repaired as well as a couple of other things.
The service people seem to be extremely helpful. My advisor informed me they have 6 trained i3 techs on staff now.

To repair the panel attachment, they are replacing the black inner plastic piece that holds the painted panel and is glued to the CFRP module (shown in this pic)
https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B8XoNzUZsGfIc0tMZ1hjT0NYRVU/view?usp=sharing
Not sure if the part is defective or if this is standard operating procedure for warranty repairs

Also being fixed is the passenger door window mechanism since it was chattering on descent. On previous BMWs I've owned, faulty window regulators were a fact of life. It appears the tradition continues.

The fuel pressure sensor is also being addressed.

No news on a new KLE.

 

[canuckjc]

Picked up the car from the dealer and was told they had to call BMW to get the approved repair procedure for reattaching the panels. My guess is they're figuring it out on the fly.
Unfortunately, the fix was already coming apart by the time I went to pick up the car. My service advisor is now escalating the issue back to BMW.

Can someone please take a look at their panel attachment points and confirm they're either good or bad?

From my cursory inspection, it looks like there's a curvature mismatch between the CFRP module and the black plastic inner piece. This might be leading to shear in the tape and causing it to pull apart. I may just try doubling up the tape in that area...

 

[canuckjc]

Heard back from my service advisor today (BMW Mountain View, CA):

"I spoke with my shop foreman about your vehicle and we submitted a suggested repair solution to BMW which should rectify the issue with the rear panels. Yours is not the only vehicle that has been affected. It is just poor adhesive. There is another type of adhesive we can apply to resecure those panels for you (at your convenience). Let me know what works with your schedule to make an appointment to rectify this for you."

If you're seeing this on your car, you might reference this thread to your service advisor for an improved repair procedure.