A Refresh for my E39 M5 Interior

This weekend I refreshed my 2002 BMW E39 M5 interior.  The car recently ticked over 100,000 miles and has yet to surprise me with any unexpected repair issue (knock on proverbial BMW wood). It’s as exciting a car as when I purchased it in 2011, and after seven years it deserved a few interior tweaks.

I replaced four pieces of the interior. I went with a nice set of CocoMats, black with blue dots.  These mats are handmade and a big upgrade from the all season mats I’d gone with since my OEM BMW mats wore out. The M pedal kit that had come with the car was looking worn, and I replaced it with a new set courtesy of an Ebay provider in China. That’s the only place I could find  them, I assume because BMW M is a trademark and these are not sanctioned by Munich HQ.

U.S.-spec E39 M5 interiors came with a sliding center console that was pretty useless other than as a receptacle for an old style cell phone. A popular upgrade is the euro console/armrest that opens to a compartment where you can store small items. A guy on the M5Board, with the handle Sriufke, has a side hustle making these padded consoles out of Lithuania. I ordered black leather with M stitching, and am happy with how much better it looks.

Then I changed the interior trim. There was nothing wrong with my titanium (BMW-speak) trim, which was standard on sport models like my 2002. But I thought a darker color would go better with my black interior. Another M5Board member, Dking078, has made a business selling replacement trim pieces. I purchased a set in a color called technical graphite, which looks like a dark shiny blue with subtle highlights. I never used my cupholders, so I removed them and covered the space with a piece of trim.

I did my due diligence researching the installs, and things went more or less according to plan. The euro console was very simple – a couple of plastic pieces and two screws removed, and simply replace. Due to the iPod integration that came with the car, I had to break the end of the old center trim piece to remove it. The front door original trim pieces were a bit difficult to pull off, and when they came loose they took the fasteners with them. I just removed them with a needle-nose pliers and put back into the door slots to accept the new pieces.

Surprisingly the pedal kit was the most time-consuming part of the job. The pedals were an exact match in size and of course the holes were already drilled, but you have to put a washer and nut on the back of each screw. You can’t see the back of the screws as you’re leaning into the footwell of the car. You need to do it by feel behind the clutch pedal, brake pedal and accelerator. Full disclosure – I had Gabriele help me with the accelerator, her small hands were much better suited. It’s a team effort in our house!

My E39 M5 interior has always been a nice place to spend time. Like the car itself it is a great blend of sport and luxury – check out this video from Doug DeMuro that explains why the car is so respected. (He also warns against the cost of deferred maintenance.) Here’s a later 2020 video in which he calls the E39 M5 “the greatest BMW sport sedan of all time.”

It’s the car that launched the super sedan category, and is still lauded by car publications today. Hagerty says that the E39 M5 was “peak BMW,” and says now is the time to buy one.

It was time for a few changes and these tweaks kick my E39 M5 interior up a notch. Judge for yourself below, apologies for phone pic quality. And have a nice Fourth of July.

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