Plastic parts crack in cold weather?

Hi Gang,

I have a 2000 528i.

Last week I got in the car to go to work. I noticed a big crack in the
plastic "woodgrain" trim that covers the cassette player. I was confused as
to how this might of happened, then I had realized it may have cracked
because the termperature has been too cold. Here in Pennsylvania it was 4F
that morning!

Has anyone else experienced this? Last year, I noticed a hairline crack in
the gear shifter handle. I'm pretty sure this happened the same way.

Has this happened to anyone else? Any tips to avoid this? (Besides keeping
the car in a garage?)

Also, does anyone know how to replace this spring-loaded door that covers
the cassette player?

Thanks!
Jeff

"Jeff" > wrote in message
...
> Hi Gang,
>
> I have a 2000 528i.
>
> Last week I got in the car to go to work. I noticed a big crack in
> the
> plastic "woodgrain" trim that covers the cassette player. I was
> confused as
> to how this might of happened, then I had realized it may have
> cracked
> because the termperature has been too cold. Here in Pennsylvania it
> was 4F
> that morning!
>
> Has anyone else experienced this? Last year, I noticed a hairline
> crack in
> the gear shifter handle. I'm pretty sure this happened the same way.
>
> Has this happened to anyone else? Any tips to avoid this? (Besides
> keeping
> the car in a garage?)
>
> Also, does anyone know how to replace this spring-loaded door that
> covers
> the cassette player?
>

Jeff,

It gets a lot colder than that up here in NH and my parts aren't
cracking. I don't think it is the low temp unless the plastic parts
are somehow defective.

-Fred W

"The Malt Hound" <Malt_Hound@*no spam please*yahoo.com> wrote in message
news
>
>
> It gets a lot colder than that up here in NH and my parts aren't
> cracking. I don't think it is the low temp unless the plastic parts
> are somehow defective.
>
I have seen -50F couple of times in Finland, and no plastic part has ever
cracked thanks to that. Of course, in those temperatures you do not want to
kiss another car with you bumber

BR:Z

"Jeff" > wrote in message
...
> Hi Gang,
>
> I have a 2000 528i.
>
> Last week I got in the car to go to work. I noticed a big crack in the
> plastic "woodgrain" trim that covers the cassette player. I was confused
as
> to how this might of happened, then I had realized it may have cracked
> because the termperature has been too cold. Here in Pennsylvania it was 4F
> that morning!
>
> Has anyone else experienced this?

4°F?, No. Brrrr

Jeff wrote:
> Hi Gang,
>
> I have a 2000 528i.
>
> Last week I got in the car to go to work. I noticed a big crack in the
> plastic "woodgrain" trim that covers the cassette player. I was confused as
> to how this might of happened, then I had realized it may have cracked
> because the termperature has been too cold. Here in Pennsylvania it was 4F
> that morning!

Not that cold.. the plastic "woodgrain" trim IS wood over plastic.. a
thin veneer with a heavy coating of polyurethane. I'd guess the coating
is what cracked.

> Has anyone else experienced this? Last year, I noticed a hairline crack in
> the gear shifter handle. I'm pretty sure this happened the same way.

What way is that? Cold? I sort of doubt it.

> Has this happened to anyone else? Any tips to avoid this? (Besides keeping
> the car in a garage?)

Nope.

> Also, does anyone know how to replace this spring-loaded door that covers
> the cassette player?

The wood has to be matched to what you have now.. (since it isn't really
plastic wood-grain).. I believe if you take the MID and the radio out
(which is actually what lives behind the cassette slot) it will become
rather obvious. IIRC - it just pivots on two points, and has a small
cylinder to damp it closing... BTW - what most people think is the
radio isn't.. the thing with the stations and all the buttons - is the
Multiple Instrument Display. It is strictly a display unit for various
functions in the car, such as the radio, OBC if you have one, integrated
phone, etc.

> Thanks!
> Jeff

I have driven my BMW's,no matter the weather in central BC Canada.The only
crack I recall was the dash of an E28 expensive but the temperature was
about -35 celsius the road was gravel under the ice and snow and the round
trip was about 400 miles in one day.

Usually the crack in the laminate is from heat/sun.
Richard
"Jeff" > wrote in message
...
> Hi Gang,
>
> I have a 2000 528i.
>
> Last week I got in the car to go to work. I noticed a big crack in the
> plastic "woodgrain" trim that covers the cassette player. I was confused
as
> to how this might of happened, then I had realized it may have cracked
> because the termperature has been too cold. Here in Pennsylvania it was 4F
> that morning!
>
> Has anyone else experienced this? Last year, I noticed a hairline crack in
> the gear shifter handle. I'm pretty sure this happened the same way.
>
> Has this happened to anyone else? Any tips to avoid this? (Besides keeping
> the car in a garage?)
>
> Also, does anyone know how to replace this spring-loaded door that covers
> the cassette player?
>
> Thanks!
> Jeff
>
>

As Don has already pointed out - your plastic wood is actually real
wood. You should be able to glue it back together. If you use the
proper glue and technique the glued joint will be unnoticeable and
actually stronger than the wood. You should use a good carpenter's
glue (the yellow stuff will make a stronger joint than the white
stuff). You'll need to clamp it tight for 24 hours to be on the safe
side. Test the mating of the cracked joint with the clamps so you end
up with a stable flush joint after you apply the glue. Only use enough
to coat both sides of the joint with a very thin film. A strong joint
has to have the minimum amount of glue. After drying you may need to
refinish it with a fine polish.

I've never heard of anyone else having your problem though. Wood
usually cracks from excessive heat, not cold. Any chance someone put
something hot on the panel while it was rcold? We get -13=B0F here for
extended periods every Winter and other folks will tell you even that
isn't really cold.

"Michael Low" > wrote in message
ps.com...

I've never heard of anyone else having your problem though. Wood
usually cracks from excessive heat, not cold.

Wood cracks because of low humidity. Warm or hot air has lots of moisture
and will make the wood swell, not necessarily crack (usually not). Cold, on
the other hand, is very low in moisture, that's why when you live in cold
climates you might need to add a humidifier to keep the relative humidity up
and NOT crack wood. Heating the air is irrelevant. If there is not enough
moisture in it it will not pick up any as it warms, and the house becomes
very dry.

The walnut and redwood burl used in the E39 are very stable and very
dense woods by nature. That's partially why they are good for
inlaying. They would have been thoroughly dried before even being
selected for inlaying. The pieces would have been finished with a
varnish to protect the surface from dirt as well as moisture. It's
true you can crack wood if it is green and you dry it quickly but it's
unlikely to be the case with thoroughly dried dense burl hardwood
that's properly finished.

What we were referring to as heat is when you subject the wood to
glaring sun. This can happen in the Summer or Winter but in the Winter
the temperature differential between a very hot surface and the cold
backing in contact with the car may be much greater. If there is a
flaw in the grain of the wood, a severe heat differential may crack it
right there because the wood is not that thick. One should always use
a sunshade for the windshield.