After washing my F30 a couple times now and trying to get the bad boy dry...

...I'm convinced that BMW secretly wedged one of these behind each side mirror:



Seriously, it's

• Wipe
• Open/shut door
• Wipe
• Open/shut door
• Wipe
• Open/shut door
• Repeat x112
• Come back in ten minutes
• Wipe
• Open/shut door
• Wipe
• Come back in an hour
• Streaks under the mirror -- arrrrgh

LOL?

i just fold and unfold the mirrors a few times to get the water out

Originally Posted by Orient330iNYC

i just fold and unfold the mirrors a few times to get the water out

Yup. Just did this once, and a bunch of water poured right out.

The car has many annoying, water holding nooks and crannies. A leaf blower or similar is very useful.

I just take mine for a quick spin around the neighborhood, stepping on the brakes a few times to dry out the discs. Also pull up on the handbrake while starting out to dry that as well. The quick drive blows out water residue which I then simply wipe off with a microfiber.

Same with the weep holes in the bottom of the doors. Water always seems to run from them and down the side below the doors no matter how many times I wipe it down.

Originally Posted by AndDown

I just take mine for a quick spin around the neighborhood, stepping on the brakes a few times to dry out the discs. Also pull up on the handbrake while starting out to dry that as well.

All that does is shorten the life of your parking brake shoes. The parking brake assemblies are inside the hats of the rear rotors. Unless your wash routine includes rinsing the wheels by driving through a shallow creek, you're not getting a drop of water in there when you wash it.

With regard to water trickles the E90 is just as bad...wing mirrors and the rear license plate are the worst spots. All the options suggested here work well--if you don't do something to force the water out, you didn't get it all!

I now wash my car with the mirrors folded for just this reason. If I don't and go on a drying run, almost the whole side of the car gets rained on!

I would recommend a blower for the crevices. Griot's Garage has a nice little vacuum/blower unit with just the right attachment for the nooks and crannies on my E93.

I would NOT recommend a ride around the neighborhood to dry things off as this will pick up dust and dirt which will then create swirl marks when you come back with your drying towel.

Just my 2¢

Agree with those who use air blower. You can use the electric kind for putting air in tires, basketballs, etc.

Don't give your manservant the weekend off, problem solved.

BJ

Originally Posted by AndDown

I just take mine for a quick spin around the neighborhood, stepping on the brakes a few times to dry out the discs. Also pull up on the handbrake while starting out to dry that as well. The quick drive blows out water residue which I then simply wipe off with a microfiber.

+ 1 Exactly. Just to many nooks and crannies to hold water without getting the water out one way or another. On page 64 it tells you to pull up on the parking brake to prevent corrosion Some just don't know what there talking about.
cheers
vern

Originally Posted by vern

+ 1 Exactly. Just to many nooks and crannies to hold water without getting the water out one way or another. On page 64 it tells you to pull up on the parking brake to prevent corrosion Some just don't know what there talking about.
cheers
vern

Thanks, Vern. I don't pull up hard on the hand brake for very long, just while backing up and driving off for a couple of seconds. I've found on my E46 that if I don't dry the hand brakes that they will stick from corrosion by the next morning. BTW, the advise on drying the brakes to prevent corrosion is on page 212 on my manual.

Originally Posted by AndDown

Thanks, Vern. I don't pull up hard on the hand brake for very long, just while backing up and driving off for a couple of seconds. I've found on my E46 that if I don't dry the hand brakes that they will stick from corrosion by the next morning. BTW, the advise on drying the brakes to prevent corrosion is on page 212 on my manual.

212 is entertainment in my manual.I've been doing the parking brake thing like you ever since driving BMW's many years ago without any problems.
cheers
vern

Originally Posted by vern

On page 64 it tells you to pull up on the parking brake to prevent corrosion Some just don't know what there talking about.

Yes but what it leaves unstated is that doing so is unnecessary if one uses the parking brake regularly--namely, every time one parks the car, as one should. It is also unnecessary after washing, because the design of the parking brake and the rotor splash shield is such that water intrusion from a normal wash is negligible to non-existent. Also, dragging the parking brake for a few seconds doesn't dry anything but the friction surface of the shoes, which likely had not a drop of water on them in the first place. It won't do any harm but it really isn't necessary.

The suggestion in the manual is aimed at people who have automatics and rarely, if ever, set the parking brake. In that case, corrosion on the shoes, backing plate, pivots and/or cables can cause binding and partial engagement. The heat and torque generated by applying the parking brake lightly while driving helps prevent that situation from developing. So does using the parking brake often and not neglecting it (i.e., clean, adjust, lubricate) when servicing the rear brakes. If the brakes stick to any significant degree the morning after a wash, they are in need of maintenance.

Those of us who have completed more successful brake jobs than we can remember actually do have some idea what we're talking about.

Originally Posted by Zeichen311

Yes but what it leaves unstated is that doing so is unnecessary if one uses the parking brake regularly--namely, every time one parks the car, as one should. It is also unnecessary after washing, because the design of the parking brake and the rotor splash shield is such that water intrusion from a normal wash is negligible to non-existent. Also, dragging the parking brake for a few seconds doesn't dry anything but the friction surface of the shoes, which likely had not a drop of water on them in the first place. It won't do any harm but it really isn't necessary.

The suggestion in the manual is aimed at people who have automatics and rarely, if ever, set the parking brake. In that case, corrosion on the shoes, backing plate, pivots and/or cables can cause binding and partial engagement. The heat and torque generated by applying the parking brake lightly while driving helps prevent that situation from developing. So does using the parking brake often and not neglecting it (i.e., clean, adjust, lubricate) when servicing the rear brakes. If the brakes stick to any significant degree the morning after a wash, they are in need of maintenance.

Those of us who have completed more successful brake jobs than we can remember actually do have some idea what we're talking about.

Thanks for the clarification. Only doing a limited amount of brake jobs I can only go by what the experts,engineers, put in the owners manuals for us to go by to stop problems. I'm sure you understand that being that you have such vast experience.
cheers
vern

Originally Posted by Zeichen311

Yes but what it leaves unstated is that doing so is unnecessary if one uses the parking brake regularly--namely, every time one parks the car, as one should. It is also unnecessary after washing, because the design of the parking brake and the rotor splash shield is such that water intrusion from a normal wash is negligible to non-existent. Also, dragging the parking brake for a few seconds doesn't dry anything but the friction surface of the shoes, which likely had not a drop of water on them in the first place. It won't do any harm but it really isn't necessary.

Hey Zeichen,

I kind of experience a problem with this everytime I wash the car, but then, I probably don't do "normal" car washes. I always wash my wheels first. By the time I've finished doing the car, the interior, the top seals (1-2 hours later and like today 4 hours later), when I get to the final dry of my wheels, the discs have a fine layer of oxidation (rust) on them. If I just run the car back into the garage and set the parking brake, in the morning, when I get ready to leave for work and release the parking brake, there is a huge "clunk" and a bit of a jolt before the car starts moving backward. I've always taken this to mean that the parking brake has "stuck" because it's wet. Explanations? Remedies?

Originally Posted by Nordic_Kat

Hey Zeichen,

I kind of experience a problem with this everytime I wash the car, but then, I probably don't do "normal" car washes. I always wash my wheels first. By the time I've finished doing the car, the interior, the top seals (1-2 hours later and like today 4 hours later), when I get to the final dry of my wheels, the discs have a fine layer of oxidation (rust) on them. If I just run the car back into the garage and set the parking brake, in the morning, when I get ready to leave for work and release the parking brake, there is a huge "clunk" and a bit of a jolt before the car starts moving backward. I've always taken this to mean that the parking brake has "stuck" because it's wet. Explanations? Remedies?

Go by what the"manual" suggests. Page "64-- 212". Good luck
cheers
vern

Originally Posted by Nordic_Kat

Hey Zeichen,

I kind of experience a problem with this everytime I wash the car, but then, I probably don't do "normal" car washes. I always wash my wheels first. By the time I've finished doing the car, the interior, the top seals (1-2 hours later and like today 4 hours later), when I get to the final dry of my wheels, the discs have a fine layer of oxidation (rust) on them. If I just run the car back into the garage and set the parking brake, in the morning, when I get ready to leave for work and release the parking brake, there is a huge "clunk" and a bit of a jolt before the car starts moving backward. I've always taken this to mean that the parking brake has "stuck" because it's wet. Explanations? Remedies?

This is the same thing that happens with my E46. After washing, I've found that pulling up on the parking brake gently (for a couple of seconds) while initially driving off helps to remove water on the brakes. Also, not engaging the parking brake overnight helps. Not sure if this has anything to do with corrosion of the parking brake - maybe Zeichen could clarify. Doesn't seem to be a problem, however, with my F30.

$30 electric leaf blower. Problem solved

Don't you guys have a small compressor at home?

I have a small one for adjusting tire pressure on cars and bikes, blowing up inflatable kid toys and an air gun attachment for guess what, blowing water out of crevices.

Sears sells a small compressor for like $40.