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Sunroof Drain Clog - Flood

239K views 420 replies 153 participants last post by  habbyguy 
#1 ·
A friend has a 530xi wagon. Apparently his sunroof drains got clogged and flooded his electronic compartment, causing a malfunction. Has anybody else experienced this? I have done a search and come up empty.

Thanks!
 
#232 ·
The story continues

Just so this thread does not die, here is what happened to me this week.

2007 X3 failed to start. BMW assist came to provide boost and wife took it to dealer. They reported flood in trunk (caused by blocked sunroof drains) with damage to battery and PCU. Cost to repair $1400. After loud whining to BMWNA, they offered 25% "goodwill" - not a warranty issue. As they do the re-assembly, they find that NAV system also fried and now bill has escalated to $4500+. They suggest filing insurance claim and that they will take care of my deductible. I don't really have a choice - after a 500 point drop in the DJIA today, I dot have much spare cash lying around, but is this advice ethical?

I am so p***ssed at BMW and also exhausted by all the arguing!! Never again.
 
#234 ·
Just so this thread does not die, here is what happened to me this week.

2007 X3 failed to start. BMW assist came to provide boost and wife took it to dealer. They reported flood in trunk (caused by blocked sunroof drains) with damage to battery and PCU. Cost to repair $1400. After loud whining to BMWNA, they offered 25% "goodwill" - not a warranty issue. As they do the re-assembly, they find that NAV system also fried and now bill has escalated to $4500+. They suggest filing insurance claim and that they will take care of my deductible. I don't really have a choice - after a 500 point drop in the DJIA today, I dot have much spare cash lying around, but is this advice ethical?

I am so p***ssed at BMW and also exhausted by all the arguing!! Never again.
The insurance claim is ethical, yes. That's what insurance is for, your fault or not. Should BMW cover it? I think they're being reasonably gracious. Should the electronics be there? Probably not. Did I avoid buying a wagon for this very reason? Yes. Might you find the parts for cheap used online or at a junk yard? Quite possibly.
 
#237 ·
JSantoli - I have no issues with mine. Some do and I'm sure they like hearing that.
 
#238 ·
Count me in to the sunroof drain clogged -> electrical system malfunction problem. I've read through the whole thread, which has just added to my anger. FML

I just had this happen last week to our otherwise wonderful CPO 2007 E61 (our first BMW). Car towed to JMK (not where I purchased, since Prestige is 45 min away) and has been there for almost a week. Dealer says it's not covered under warranty (the car has 51k miles- not sure if that has anything to do with it) and to talk to BMW NA. Still awaiting estimate for repairs -- I'm fully expecting the repair estimates to be in the high multi-thousand dollar range, which is ludicrous.

So I called BMW NA and logged my case. Ashley (case manager) calls back and leaves VM next day, and I've been playing phone tag with her since. Each time I call, the CSR tries to dissuade me from talking to Ashley, telling me it's not covered under warranty due to "external influence" -- sound familiar? (I just tell them thanks, but I'm not talking to you.)

I'm very eager to talk to this Ashley person to lay my case out, something along the lines of what many have tried before:

  • The sunroof has drains
  • These drains clog up and therefore should be checked periodically and cleaned
  • There is no mention of anything regarding drains or cleaning them in the manual
  • I did not know any of the above -- how was I supposed to?
  • You are charging me for a supposed maintenance requirement (due to a design defect) that is not disclosed by you.
  • Therefore, I'm not paying for it.
  • Moving forward, how often are we supposed to check the drains and how exactly are we supposed to clean it?

It seems that this line of simple and rational reasoning does not work on borg that is BMW NA. Does Mr. William Stewart (customer relations?) have anything to offer me? (i.e. - should I request to be connected with him?) Any other tactics or key phrases to mention? I'm unsure as to how to play my cards w/r/t this forum the various SIB/TSBs that I know about.

(My brother-in-law is a lawyer who, coincidentally, interned at BMW NA a while ago, I'll have to pick his brain on the matter of litigation and whether it's a worthwhile route with them.)

Suffice to say, BMW is now on my sh*tlist and they're dangerously close to our family never purchasing another of their cars.
 
#239 ·
somewhere in this thread I may have mentioned that the same problems exists with volvo sunroof drains clogging, they have the same weird valve, only good side, no electricals and all you get is a wet floor, carpet reqd............

they have the same external influence argument
 
#241 ·
Just as a follow-up, we raised such a stink, complained to everyone about the idiocy of placing sensitive electonics in a place where liquids will ultimately end up, that the dealer and BMWNA final relented and picked up the cost of labor. Our bill was over $3200 and about $2000 was labor so I accepted their offer. Of course we had purchased 5 BMW's there over the years and our salesman put in his $.02 so that all helped.

Our problem was a result of spilled groceries and a broken bottle in the trunk. So I guess we are fortunate that we got any consideration but it proves the old squeeky wheel adage.

BMW needs to accept responsibility for their excellence-NOT in engineering in this case. First of all the leaking seals and then the stupid location of the modules. Unfortunately they will try not to take responsibility whenever possible. If the word gets out that they are admitting fault then owners will stop bending over every time BMW wants to screw 'em and demand that the cars be repaired on BMW's dime as they should be.

Sadly, it's as if we are witnessing the tranformation of engineering by real world driving enthusiasts to design by computer geeks who are more interested in gadgets than real world praticality. And then they want the customer to absorb the $$ of their screw-ups along the way.
 
#242 ·
leaking sunroofs

Is the problem with leaking sunroofs only limited to the 5 series Wagons.
Iam a new owner of 528xi sedan and after reading all these posts Iam a bit worried. Need I take precautions to prevent leaks.
 
#243 ·
Is the problem with leaking sunroofs only limited to the 5 series Wagons.
Iam a new owner of 528xi sedan and after reading all these posts Iam a bit worried. Need I take precautions to prevent leaks.
Yes, sedans too but read the TSB referenced in this thread to relocate the electronics out of the spare wheel well. It should cut down on the damage bill if anything leaks. I also recall early on there was a rash on trunk seal leaks on the sedans too.
 
#245 ·
I have a 2008 528xi.

I too was worried and still am, so I looked back there and found that most electronics have been moved except for the small white one. I will have to move that later.

I was told that by 2008 the electronics were moved from the bottom (???).

Also why not the simplest of all......a hole. they could use those rubber "plugs" that can keep water out yet the weight of water will drain the trunk.

The alarm shown is a great idea for a cheap price but it doesnt help in a sudden deluge, like a broken water bottle.
 
#248 ·
So, did you remove those electronics by yourself. Is it easy to relocate them. I just want to be careful and not mess up anything. I didn't see this thread before I purchased the car. Now, Iam repenting that I should have bought a 3 series. :tsk:
 
#246 ·
You have 4 "holes" with sealant material back there. The SIB recommends opening the front two...
 
#252 ·
I had a little spare time today, so here's what I did. I re-routed all the electronics from the spare to the left sidewall. It took about 20 minutes and all was good. I was a little concerned that every time I had an issue with the car I'd have to put 'em all back before going to the dealer, but I was willing to do that. Then I went on a quick ride to make sure all was well. The only glitch: somehow some interference had deleted all my 6 preset buttons! I never unplugged anything during the routing, so it must be interference. Rather than muck around any more I put it all back and reprogrammed the buttons. No idea why this would happen, but I'm not going to invite trouble. I'll just be careful not to spill anything and to check/blow out the drains on occasion. Still, a bummer BMW can't do this to the wagon.
 
#253 ·
I experienced a similar situation with my 2008 528xi (presents being deleted) atleast two or three times. On all the occasions, I didn't do anything - didn't even pop the trunk or the hood. Have no idea why or how it happened. My 528xi is only 45 days old. Will have to monitor what exactly Iam doing to initiate that action.
 
#256 ·
#257 ·
Thanks for the new link!! I was getting the infamous 404 error when using the links you posted some time ago.

I just ordered some of the water detection units off Amazon. One is destined for the trunk of our "new" 2008 528i.

I'm now in search of a DIY for checking and clearing the drains. One post said the front drains are visibile with the sunroof open. I don't see them so I must not be looking in the correct area or know what I should see.

Anyone with photos and/or a DIY would be greatly appreciated!!
 
#258 ·
I had the same water issue in my 2007 550 sedan. I have not relocated the unit as of yet as I was focused on getting my TPM working again. I purchased the unit on line and plugged it in my self. So far everything works for $64. The BMW Stealership wanted $595 to program it to the car. I plugged it in and reset the monitor from IDrive in less than 10 minutes.
 
#259 ·
Hello all,

New here and found the site while searching for this very problem..
Gotta say there is a lot of great information here that I will check out in the morning as I have just started experiencing a few electrical error messages due to flooding.

My E61 is a 2008 525 DAT and I first noticed the smell that made me check out the trunk. Found water in both side compartments and a little in the spare tire wheel well. So I will check the valves tomorrow.

But one thing I was wondering about was that no one had mentioned how the water actually gets to the spare tire area? To me it appears that the water first fills up the square plastic "buckets" inside the side compartments and then spill over into the spare tire area as you drive. Agree ?
If that is the case, it seems obvious to me to do a safety mod to protect the electronics by simply drilling a hole in the plastic to get the water down in the area out in the corners below the taillights - and then put a drain at the bottom there ?

It is unreal how bad the seal leaks on a closed roof. I dried up all the water yesterday and after real hard rain over night, the passenger side compartment was filled nearly to the rim this morning..!

Anyways, thanks for all the great info!

Ken
Norway
 
#263 ·
I took mine through the car wash where I normally go and it was fine this time. I DO NOT advise anyone to take their cars to the new Petro Canada Glide car wash. Those water jets are so strong that they will blow your doors off...and cause water leakage through the roof area-happened to my car!
 
#264 ·
A couple of things:

I bought a small (9v) battery powered water monitor ($11) for a sometimes wet spot in my basement. I think some mentioned here that it would be good in the trunk. It requires no wiring or car power and makes a loud noise. Has anyone tried this?

Also I noted that the spare tire is sandwiched between two foam pieces. the lower one often houses the electronics. Without too much effort I think you could easily move the electronics to the upper one, thus buying a few extra critical inches out of water.
 
#266 ·
Many cars have drain tubes.
They are to eliminate water from a/c units, front cowling areas, sunroofs, and other areas as needed.

The problem is that if you just use a tube, you will eventually get bugs building nests and clogging up the tube, and air intrusion. So to avoid these issues some form of blocking is used, often it is a soft rubber (tube) bulb end that is slit. It allows water out albeit slowly and keeps out undesirables.

BUT these are also subject to clogging with ambient particles such as twigs, leaf parts, dirt of all types and other stuff. NOW the closed end works against you and promotes clogs. IF your car were in a plastic bag it will be clean forever, so you never know what you will pick up.

To avoid problems you must monitor these tubes.

On my Corvette, I monitor the cowling tubes. I often find sticks etc in there. If they clog, the cowling floods and burns out the wiper motor. I dont think BMW has that issue, but the sunroof and A/C are definitely of concern.
 
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