'Bubble' Under Passenger Carpet

[Fetch]

Noticed something odd on my 530 today,
In the passenger side foot well, the area the floor mat lays over, is not flat, it kind of has a raised bubble like section.

For example, if you are sitting in the passenger's seat, your left foot would be raised up a little bit higher due to the large bubble area.

I could take a picture, but it might not show up very well.

Pounding on this bubble/plateau area with my fist makes a different sound than the lower part of the foot well.

...What say the forum?


Have a Merry Christmas and/or Happy Holidays

[632 Regal]

heatercore leak swelling the insulation??? Never heard of something like this...til now.

[shogun]

There are a lot of rubber plugs in the floor from painting of the chassis. The cjassis went thru a paint 'bath' and after it came out the excess paint drained thru these holes and then they put plugs there.
Maybe one of the plugs is not exactly inside it's seat. That is damgerous, as it could corrode there as water will come in from bottom.
Here some pics from my parts car
http://www.bimmerboard.com/forums/posts/270025

[Alexlind123]

The floorpan could be dented. Take a look underneath.

[BMWCCA1]

Anyone put a jack or a lift under your car recently? New tires? Quickie oil-change?

[Fetch]

Nobody but me has jacked the car under my ownership, and I haven't jacked it there.
Thanks for those pics shogun, as much as I suspect possible rust/water damage due to the leaking windshield (I put a towel on the dash when I park to absorb anything that drips down the inside of the windsheild) I can see a very similar looking plateau in shogun's pics. Notice the raised left half of the passenger's footwell, compared to the driver's side.

I will have to double check the shape of mine, and hope that it is 'standard'.......

[dt8068]

I think that "bubble" is natural, its just the way the car is made. I noticed it one day on my 540 and couldn't figure out where it came from. Then I realized it has always been there and I just never payed attention enough to notice it. The bubble is on the left side of the passenger footwell along the side of the footwell.

[splower]

Yeah, both of mine had that too, except being UK it was on the drivers side.
It used to bug me because the carpet mats never laid flat.

E39 has it too, but looks more rectangular...