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2010 2011 BMW 5 Series Forum F10 BMW 5-Series (F10) Forums General 5-Series Sedan and Wagon (F10 / F11) Forum Soft Close Doors
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      07-05-2010, 08:19 AM   #1
Grizzles
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Soft Close Doors

what are the pros and cons of soft close doors? i have not seen them in action yet.
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      07-05-2010, 09:31 AM   #2
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There is this annoying sound when the door closes. Imo, it's better without the soft close door option.
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      07-05-2010, 11:23 AM   #3
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Grizzles View Post
what are the pros and cons of soft close doors? i have not seen them in action yet.
Pros:

1. Enables the doors to be closed softly and quietly, without having to slam the door shut - as long as the door "clicks" on the latch, the motors will engage and draw the door shut.

2. Helpful with young children, who may not have the strength to shut the doors themselves.

3. Reduces the annoyance of having to open and close the door again when it is not shut properly the first time round, for example, when you attempt to shut the door with your bum when both hands are full of groceries, etc.

4. Adds a touch of luxury (?)

Cons:

1. The doors on the F10 are made of aluminium and therefore unbelievably light - it really doesn't take much, if any, effort to shut them.

2. The motors will engage every time the door is shut. So, it does not matter whether the door is partially shut or fully shut. The motors will still engage and attempt to pull the door shut. Btw, the motors, while not loud, are quite audible when they engage.

3. Another moving item subject to wear and tear and potential failure down the road.

YMMV.
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      07-05-2010, 11:48 AM   #4
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I have a tight fit in my garage. It's very nice not to have to forcefully shut the doors, which is difficult because I can't open the driver door all the way. It's a very nice touch.
Unintended consequences:
1. Other people getting into your 5 and slamming the door will horrify you.
2. I keep forgetting to slam the door on other cars, and leave them half open. Have to open and shut them again.

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      07-05-2010, 01:54 PM   #5
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Our Lexus RX has this feature on the tailgate. There, at least, it's really useful. And trouble free, so far (getting on for 5 years).
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      07-05-2010, 05:25 PM   #6
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Having/getting this option is trivial at best. It's nice to have but not a deal breaker if the car you like (color, other options) doesn't have this feature. If you're ordering from scratch, it's a "might as well" option. If you get it along with a package like the comfort option (in U.S.) you don't really have a choice to opt out but to live with this neat feature.

I think this first appeared on the Mercedes S series way back in the early 90s. Haven't seen this in too many cars since then... Not cool enough to catch on, I guess.

I personally like it a whole lot.
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      07-05-2010, 06:38 PM   #7
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The option is "OK" for me. The soft close doors work fine. My issues:

1) Something else to break
2) Having to remind passengers to take it easy when they are used to slamming car doors closed. I find myself having to talk the feature up every time someone gets in in an effort to try the SOFT CLOSE feature. If it's a new passenger and I forget...SLAM. It's more of a social issue than a technical or feature issue.
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      07-05-2010, 06:53 PM   #8
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Just sounds like more unnecessary weight to me. Motors to close the doors, wiring, clips, etc. I thought this was a BMW not a Lexus.
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      07-05-2010, 07:17 PM   #9
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I tried it out on the showroom floor and seriously considered getting it before deciding against it. For me I concluded that it was over the top technology that would require too much explanation and give the wrong image to employees who ride with me to meetings, our clients, and my golf buddies. The motor has to go back and forth are few times to arrive at the perfect door position which I didn't like. I also thought I would have to continually explain to passengers: "please do not slam the car doors or the trunk". The trunk pops open on a conventional F10 just like the E60. With the soft close option the trunk opens too slowly and closes too slowly for my taste. In my opinion it is a solution to a problem that never existed.
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      07-05-2010, 10:03 PM   #10
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Quote:
Originally Posted by pharding View Post
I tried it out on the showroom floor and seriously considered getting it before deciding against it. For me I concluded that it was over the top technology that would require too much explanation and give the wrong image to employees who ride with me to meetings, our clients, and my golf buddies. The motor has to go back and forth are few times to arrive at the perfect door position which I didn't like. I also thought I would have to continually explain to passengers: "please do not slam the car doors or the trunk". The trunk pops open on a conventional F10 just like the E60. With the soft close option the trunk opens too slowly and closes too slowly for my taste. In my opinion it is a solution to a problem that never existed.
who says you cant slam a soft close door?

i like pressing the trunk button before i get to the car trunk so i can just drop stuff in
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      07-05-2010, 10:11 PM   #11
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Aren't the soft close doors and automatic closing of the trunk 2 separate options in the US? I like it for the trunk but not for the doors.

I suppose one can slam doors with the function but the hydraulics/soft close function still operates with the annoying noise present.
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      07-05-2010, 10:14 PM   #12
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I first got the soft-close doors on my M6 and now my M5 has the same. This is one of those little features that I've grown so accustomed to that I can't imagine not having them anymore.

In fact, in the M3 and my E39 I always find myself having to re-close the doors a couple of times as I've become so accustomed to gently closing them and letting the car do the rest of the work.
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      07-05-2010, 10:29 PM   #13
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Quote:
Originally Posted by AMP View Post
I first got the soft-close doors on my M6 and now my M5 has the same. This is one of those little features that I've grown so accustomed to that I can't imagine not having them anymore.

In fact, in the M3 and my E39 I always find myself having to re-close the doors a couple of times as I've become so accustomed to gently closing them and letting the car do the rest of the work.
Is there the noise of the motors/hydraulics/pump (not sure what it is) in the M6 and M5? I hope I'll get used to it cos my F10 will have it. I presently find the noise annoying.
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      07-06-2010, 12:25 AM   #14
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Quote:
Originally Posted by bm323 View Post
Is there the noise of the motors/hydraulics/pump (not sure what it is) in the M6 and M5? I hope I'll get used to it cos my F10 will have it. I presently find the noise annoying.
The motors on the E60 and E62 do make a noise as they are pulling the doors in and latching them, but I've never found it to be obtrusive.
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      07-06-2010, 07:33 AM   #15
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The soft close Doors and Trunk are packaged along with the Keyless Entry System as one package. You can get the Keyless seperately, but not the doors or trunk.
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      07-08-2010, 10:07 AM   #16
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Quote:
Originally Posted by gatoman39 View Post
I have a tight fit in my garage. It's very nice not to have to forcefully shut the doors, which is difficult because I can't open the driver door all the way. It's a very nice touch.
Unintended consequences:
1. Other people getting into your 5 and slamming the door will horrify you.
2. I keep forgetting to slam the door on other cars, and leave them half open. Have to open and shut them again.

BTW what car is that next to your new F10 5-Series?
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      07-08-2010, 10:28 AM   #17
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I've seen them and I'm not impressed.Not needed (by me,at least)...money wasted and one more thing to break down.
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      09-28-2011, 08:39 AM   #18
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Quote:
Originally Posted by ghueser View Post
The soft close Doors and Trunk are packaged along with the Keyless Entry System as one package. You can get the Keyless seperately, but not the doors or trunk.
I have the F07 from 2010 with Keyless Entry and Theft Protection.
I saw that in the ETK shows just one part number for the lock system.

Is it possible to activate the SoftClose? But were is the motor placed? In the lock it self?

Thank you

Regards
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      09-28-2011, 10:36 AM   #19
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Quote:
Originally Posted by gatoman39 View Post
Unintended consequences:
1. Other people getting into your 5 and slamming the door will horrify you.
It happens to me all the time.
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Last edited by Mr. Grumpy; 09-29-2011 at 01:40 AM..
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      09-28-2011, 01:15 PM   #20
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Very happy that this option was not included in Canadian cars -- would be a pain in the butt as most people would slam doors -- and really, it seems like such an unnecessary feature.
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      09-28-2011, 01:28 PM   #21
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Good on high end mercs with their heavy ass doors, the f10 door sounds quite good on slamming .. unless you have something loose in it
It may actually be more work to soft close the door, or waste time, you have to accelerate the door then de-accelerate it to avoid the slam, or accelerate slowly so it stops by itself, which wastes time. It's light and sounds good.. soft close seems a totally unnecessary and inappropriate application in this case.
Auto tailgate +close however, I would die for.
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      09-28-2011, 02:04 PM   #22
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Saw them first in my father S-320 back in '96, was very cool and those doors were much heavier. As for the F10, I love it, I open the door just enough where it doesn't lock in place, get inside right before the door starts to close by itself, and the soft close doors do the rest of the work.

Not needed but it's something to talk about that adds a little more class.

I just wish there was a way to close the trunk with the remote instead of pressing the button on the trunk.
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