2011 335i convertible leaks in carwash

Originally Posted by anE934fun

You sir, are one of the lucky ones. Maybe you should go and purchase a lottery ticket? I am not being snarky; if your E93 doesn't leak even a drop when you go through a touchless car wash, you are truly lucky.

I take it to a soft glove car wash. I have never taken any of our cars to a touchless, like the ones that just spray water to clean your car? IMO, they don't take any dirt off other than what's loose.

If the touchless is the ones that just sprays high pressure water, then I can see how that would make a car leak.

Originally Posted by anE934fun

Not at all. My ex-E93 would leak like a sieve in a rain storm. Run the car up past 35 mph in a rain storm and the water flowed like little streams off the A-pillars and where the top attached to the windshield frame. After the 4th failed repair attempt, I filled the gas tank and dropped the car off at the dealer and said to have at it (as in run the car through rainstorms to test whether the latest repair attempt was successful). About 2 weeks later, the SA called me to come pick up the car. They had had enough. The gas tank was down to maybe 2 gallons left and they had put something like 400 miles on the odometer chasing storms. A week later BMW NA was faxing me the repurchase agreement.

Well I'm glad I bought the coupe then..

Originally Posted by beden1

I take it to a soft glove car wash. I have never taken any of our cars to a touchless, like the ones that just spray water to clean your car? IMO, they don't take any dirt off other than what's loose.

If the touchless is the ones that just sprays high pressure water, then I can see how that would make a car leak.

What is a 'soft glove' car wash?

I had a cabriolet back in the day and was told not to take them through a carwash. Why would it be any different now? Of course it's going to leak if you put a high pressure stream to it, why would I expect any less?

I've taken my E93 through both touch and touchless carwashes many times and not a drop comes in the car. I'll count myself lucky.

Originally Posted by beden1

I take it to a soft glove car wash. I have never taken any of our cars to a touchless, like the ones that just spray water to clean your car? IMO, they don't take any dirt off other than what's loose.

If the touchless is the ones that just sprays high pressure water, then I can see how that would make a car leak.

Originally Posted by Thunder Dump

I've taken my E93 through both touch and touchless carwashes many times and not a drop comes in the car. I'll count myself lucky.

Do either of you have tinting on your windows? I'm perhaps dreaming, but it seems like ever since I had the tinting done, I get a few more drips than I got without them. I'm also trying to balance this with the car being subjected to a 6 week hiatus from the normal rubber seal conditioning regimen during the last hot part of the summer.

TIA

Originally Posted by Nordic_Kat

Do either of you have tinting on your windows? I'm perhaps dreaming, but it seems like ever since I had the tinting done, I get a few more drips than I got without them. I'm also trying to balance this with the car being subjected to a 6 week hiatus from the normal rubber seal conditioning regimen during the last hot part of the summer.

TIA

No tint on the windows other than the factory tint. The factory tint on the 335is seems to be darker than what I have noticed on other cars?

Originally Posted by anE934fun

What is a 'soft glove' car wash?

Soft glove/white glove. They don't use bristle brushes on their automatic equipment. It's a soft spongy pad like material. It's your typical full service car wash that they have in just about every suburban area that I have ever visited.

Originally Posted by beden1

No tint on the windows other than the factory tint. The factory tint on the 335is seems to be darker than what I have noticed on other cars?

Thanks, Beden.

Excuse me but I'm not washing a friggin car. We either take our cars to a touchless car wash or a hand wash. The '09 vert has never leaked a drop nor has the new 335is.

Finally fixed the leak myself after dealer could not help and all he would say is
to lemon the car if we cannot fix the water streaming into the car after 3 repair
fixes. The top roof seal for the driver and passenger door window is the problem.
Its the side that goes into the roof pillar that needs blocked off. We also filled the
v shape seal on top for driver and passenger window with flexible 1/4 inch tubular
foam insert that takes up space and makes for better top window seal. It was a
very easy fix, my car doesn't leak a bit in car wash when before water just streamed
in like a waterfall on both sides. Someone from BMW should be fired over this!!
We loved the car and raised and lowered the roof several times before finding the
problem that anyone can fix if water is coming in at the corners where the top meets
the front window. Good luck with your fix if you need it...

Whoa. Wait. I'm stunned that nobody's responded to this yet.

This is fantastic news. Is there anyway you can post a picture to show us non-technical folks how you fixed it? My wife is in the process of getting a 2008 E93 and this will make her decision much easier.

Originally Posted by nosteiner4me

Finally fixed the leak myself after dealer could not help and all he would say is
to lemon the car if we cannot fix the water streaming into the car after 3 repair
fixes. The top roof seal for the driver and passenger door window is the problem.
Its the side that goes into the roof pillar that needs blocked off. We also filled the
v shape seal on top for driver and passenger window with flexible 1/4 inch tubular
foam insert that takes up space and makes for better top window seal. It was a
very easy fix, my car doesn't leak a bit in car wash when before water just streamed
in like a waterfall on both sides. Someone from BMW should be fired over this!!
We loved the car and raised and lowered the roof several times before finding the
problem that anyone can fix if water is coming in at the corners where the top meets
the front window. Good luck with your fix if you need it...

So far so good. I never take my car to a car wash though. Hand wash every time. N4S

Will see what i can do for pictures, Its a super easy fix that can help
all those 328/335 convertibles that leak inside whether from rain or at
the car wash. These cars should not leak water like a waterfall on both
sides where the top meets the front windows in the corners. Mine hasn't
leaked at all now and i take to high pressure car wash weekly and let it
drip dry. Only other thing is i'm on my second set of 30 day tags since
somehow the title is lost and the dealer trying to get new one from BMW.
Paid cash for the car so would like to get the dealers name plate off my
car for good.

Originally Posted by nosteiner4me

... Someone from BMW should be fired over this!!
...

Can we sue?

The General Manager told me straight up that they would talk
to BMW about the problem and see what they can do with the
seals, They said nothing wrong with the seals and that if he
could not fix the problem that to lemon the car after 3 fixes.
We were going to go that route until i really looked at the roof
and the seals and new i could fix it since i loved the car. A new
designed window seal that is mounted on top part of roof should
not have any hole in the end, it should be a solid end. I can see
a recall for a new seal if enough people have water entering
at that point in the seal. The water is leaking not from pressure
alone but from a poorly designed seal and gravity.

Ok, took some pictures and as you can see the flexible foam tube that
is inserted just pull the seal down and push in the whole length of the
window seal and cut off.This will give the window a better seal.
Then we sealed the end off with some black
flexible super sticky stuff that BMW used on parts of the retractible
roof....we just picked a little bit here and there and filled the hole in
the window seal end..think anything that remains flexible and will adhere
to the window seal will worWk. Then glued a small pc of rubber to the end.
This in water tight now...we only sealed the front part of seal that sits into
the little cradle on both sides of car. The rear part of seal as shown is
not sealed shut showing the foam tube end...good luck

USING a brushless car wash is bad idea period.

My Mercedes SLK 350 AMG (invented the retractible hardtop on this model) would leak at 80MPH in a hard rain.

I did get a leak and it was a CPO, with 50K miles, they replaced the roof seal from the A pillar to the rear window, and it did the trick, these tops are tricky, lots of moving parts and pressure points..

Originally Posted by beden1

BMW seems to make excuses for nearly everything! I just brought my wife's 535xi in for service. It's funny that I just a saw the detailing department at my BMW dealer spray washing a car with a power washer!

Oh, and the gas they sell in the US gets blamed for everything else!

beden1...if you saw the same knuclehead drink a gallon of 93 octane...would you try it too?
people read your owner's manuals from cover to cover. Follow the manufacturer's recommendations and remember they are just that.....recommendations aka (official ORDERS TO NOT SCREW UP YOUR RIDE).

Originally Posted by wdparker

beden1...if you saw the same knuclehead drink a gallon of 93 octane...would you try it too?
people read your owner's manuals from cover to cover. Follow the manufacturer's recommendations and remember they are just that.....recommendations aka (official ORDERS TO NOT SCREW UP YOUR RIDE).

Not me. I'm old school. Just fix it, I say....wrench, hammer; air gun.

If that's not workin', I like to post for help under an assumed name. Yo! Gotta rep t'protect.

If no luck, and here desperation is an element, I Google! Yup, gotta be bad, but hey....

Even that may be of no assistance. I know! Suffering terrible and lasting defeat, I open my manual. My Bentley manual. If it's not there, I must give up, for all resources known to me are explored and I am left wanting. I go to my Indy.

But I do not, under any circumstance, read my owner's manual! That's a move for young players, and I am no noob.

I'm no noob at all.