Panoramic roof - A Cautionary Tale!

[DmaxBMW]

I've had my brand new X3 for one just month and I parked it near a tree at the golf club for a few hours.

I washed the car the next day after I spotted some bird droppings on the roof only to discover that the rubber seal surrounding the panoramic roof has been pecked and eaten away in several places, there are 6 holes of varying size to be precise.

It took me a little while to make the connection between the bird droppings and the damage but I see from a bit of Googleing that this is not an isolated case.

I visited the local BMW dealer who said that the panoramic roof has to be lifted out before the seal can be replaced, I braced myself for a major bill but was actually relieved when they told me that it was going to cost £370, I was expecting a lot more. An expensive game of golf nevertheless, but I guess it could have been worse.

Based on other examples I've found online of this type of damage, I am guessing that it was caused by crows or magpies, but as I didn't see the little buggers I can't be sure.

So, for any of you that have a panoramic roof, be aware that certain birds like to eat the seal, I suspect that they see their reflection in the roof and perhaps peck away at themselves on the edge, or maybe they just like the taste of a "big black rubber worm".

In any event, I won't be parking near any trees again and I am also going to research a method to protect the seal going forwards (once it is replaced) so if birds are attracted to my car again they won't be able to get to the seal.

I have seen on eBay self adhesive rubber strips in various sizes and profiles that I might experiment with by sticking it over the top of the seals, I will lose the flush appearance but it's a small price to pay to avoid this situation again.

I'd be interested to hear if anyone else has had this issue and also if they came up with a long term solution to protect the rubber seals from these flying vandals.

[R BMW]

WOW those dirty little peckers.

[E46ZHP2]

Looks like somebody caught them in the act...

[a0krn]

Wouldn’t a nice metal tape help? Maybe color it black and tape the rubber seals only.

[DmaxBMW]

Thanks, a reasonable suggestion.

The chances of it happening again might be small, but I would like to come up with someway to protect the seals that can be removed without causing any damage.

Any more ideas would be gratefully received.

[Joralemon st.]

WFT — one car gets attacked by a bear — now this?!