BMW E90, 330i, 2006 (240K miles)
I bet every single E90 by now has the Shifter Knob peeling or bubbling, unless you didn't drive it every day like I do, I bet the top of the Shift Knob is starting to show signs of its age, either looks ugly or bubbling or like my shift knob completely bald...lol, it's sad but true...
Sticker or Label, (re-wrap), or Paint?, or Replace:
I've seen on Youtube a few people that decided to re-wrap the shifter knob, but to be different, I plan to paint mine. Black.
New replacement Cost:
New OEM $80 to $130 from
BMW Part number: 25 16 7 570 652
Amazon replacement : $20 dollars
Disassembly:
I don't recommend taking off the plastic part "white" part. Because you will break the plastic tabs holding it to the shifter. I painted mine in place. By now the plastic will be very brittle and it won't survive you praying on the plastic tabs. If you must start at the bottom and pray up.
After removing the Aluminum cover, it took me a solid 2 hours to remove all aluminum foil To get it to this state where all the plastic is white. |
It's very easy. The shifter Knob will come (UP) and out by pressing the shift button, then pulling up on the shift knob (like you are going to shift gears), then pulling up. It's that easy. I like to put mine on neutral and then pressing the button and then pulling up.
My personal Fix:
I almost bought a new one, because they are not expensive. But I wanted to make my own car my own by doing something outside the norm. So i went with Painting it. Its up to you to modify in different ways. You can opt to wrap it, you don't need much material and you can do a funky color if you like. But I like Black and so I went with Black paint.
I used Rustoleum, because it bonds good to plastic. Link at the bottom if you want to do the same.
Spray can I used: Rust-Oleum Universal Advanced Formula: Paint & Primer |
I used tape and printer paper to completely wrap the leather part of the shifter. Then Paint away.
Let it dry in well ventilated area...
Unwrap all paper and reinstall shifter knob.
To Install simply slide in place and press down hard on it, it will snap back in.
It's not perfect, but looks ok
To see more about my E90, go to the top of the Vlog : https://msauceda1.blogspot.com/
Good luck to you, and if you find this post helpful please let me know...
Until next time...
Until next time...