[eric_gm]

Realoem.com doesn't show them as part of the door, but uselessly all together in one subcategory: https://www.realoem.com/bmw/enUS/sho...diagId=51_4686

I took one off, it has no markings, so measured its diameter and it's about 22-23mm, hard to be precise because it's soft rubber, so it's either #4 or #5 whether I round up or down, but none seems to be identical when I look up photos in ECS or FCP (that dip in the center is not there). Example: https://www.fcpeuro.com/products/bmw...mm-51717175886

My driver's side door is missing 2 for some reason.

[Joe-BMW33]

With obscure stuff like this that is hard to identify and isn't listed on realoem, I take a ride down to the parts department at the dealer. Those guys generally can find any part.

[eric_gm]

Thanks, yeah. Makes sense. I hate my dealer but I guess it's worth a shot.

[Joe-BMW33]

Originally Posted by eric_gm

Thanks, yeah. Makes sense. I hate my dealer but I guess it's worth a shot.

I’ve found the parts department isn’t representative of the overall dealer. I have a parts department I love, but I would never go there for service. Sales on the other hand I will go anywhere that has the car I want, even if the sales process and approach wants to make me puke. My dealer of choice for service is a last resort for sales! One of these days there will be the perfect dealer.

Good luck!

[Qsilver7]

Ditto what Joe said. The parts department can many times be totally different than the service & sales departments. They all have different agendas, purpose, and outcomes.

Some BMW parts departments will also kind of price match if you bring in info from other vendors. If it's an online vendor...they may not be able to match the price...but can sometimes beat them due to only having to pay local taxes vs shipping and handling. Or, may come close but not having to wait since they have the item in stock...and you can walk out with what you need in hand.

And if you're a BMW CCA member...don't forget to inquire if they give a discount to members. That could be an additional 5%-20% off depending on the individual BMW dealership and how much they discount for BMW CCA members.

[Joe-BMW33]

Originally Posted by Qsilver7

Ditto what Joe said. The parts department can many times be totally different than the service & sales departments. They all have different agendas, purpose, and outcomes.

Some BMW parts departments will also kind of price match if you bring in info from other vendors. If it's an online vendor...they may not be able to match the price...but can sometimes beat them due to only having to pay local taxes vs shipping and handling. Or, may come close but not having to wait since they have the item in stock...and you can walk out with what you need in hand.

And if you're a BMW CCA member...don't forget to inquire if they give a discount to members. That could be an additional 5%-20% off depending on the individual BMW dealership and how much they discount for BMW CCA members.

Yep, forgot about pointing out the BMWCCA discount. I recently got winter mats for the X5 at the parts department of a dealer in NH. I honestly got them for almost $100 less than anything online, including dealers that sell online.

[eric_gm]

Thank you! Funny how BMW dealers seem to be so similar even in completely different countries. I would never take my car there for service. There are horror stories not only of insane bills but also poorly executed repairs. Heck, more than 20 years ago my old man took his E34 there and they couldn't even fit the original BBS wheel caps properly. They broke a couple. It's common for dealership mechanics to be badly trained apprentices. They learn by breaking and misplacing stuff. I'm sure my missing plugs are a result of a dealer visit (car was never taken anywhere else for service). It's evident the door card was removed at some point, perhaps to fix the ambient lighting strip and someone thought there would be screws behind those rubber caps.

I rarely go to the parts dep. since nothing beats the convenience of things coming to you. IIRC, last time I went was for my E39's volume knob which became a sticky mess as it aged. BTW, I can already see the steering wheel rotary knobs ending up the same way in the not-too-distant future.

What I normally do for small, non-critical stuff like these sealing caps is waiting until I need something important and adding a bunch of small items to my order. I noticed that in the F30 realoem.com diagrams those 25mm plugs are identical to the ones I have, so it appears BMW just changed their design a little bit. They're like $1 each so I'm ordering a couple along with some parts that I need for the E39. I'll update this for future reference if those were the right ones.

[Joe-BMW33]

Originally Posted by eric_gm

Thank you! Funny how BMW dealers seem to be so similar even in completely different countries. I would never take my car there for service. There are horror stories not only of insane bills but also poorly executed repairs. Heck, more than 20 years ago my old man took his E34 there and they couldn't even fit the original BBS wheel caps properly. They broke a couple. It's common for dealership mechanics to be badly trained apprentices. They learn by breaking and misplacing stuff. I'm sure my missing plugs are a result of a dealer visit (car was never taken anywhere else for service). It's evident the door card was removed at some point, perhaps to fix the ambient lighting strip and someone thought there would be screws behind those rubber caps.

I rarely go to the parts dep. since nothing beats the convenience of things coming to you. IIRC, last time I went was for my E39's volume knob which became a sticky mess as it aged. BTW, I can already see the steering wheel rotary knobs ending up the same way in the not-too-distant future.

What I normally do for small, non-critical stuff like these sealing caps is waiting until I need something important and adding a bunch of small items to my order. I noticed that in the F30 realoem.com diagrams those 25mm plugs are identical to the ones I have, so it appears BMW just changed their design a little bit. They're like $1 each so I'm ordering a couple along with some parts that I need for the E39. I'll update this for future reference if those were the right ones.

Ha! I have an E39 as well (with 16*9 NAV) and I know exactly what you mean about the sticky gooey volume knob. I did source that online pretty easy though.

[eric_gm]

Update: well, don't buy 51717175886. That's definitely not it. Rolled the dice, no luck this time.

[Warp Ten]

It might be the kind of little thing, like tire valve stem caps, that one of the mechanics simply has in his toolbox. If you have a good relationship with them you might ask.--Bob