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My first car wash

3K views 33 replies 14 participants last post by  Roman-O 
#1 ·
Today I was really excited to get the "shine on " the 328i :D.
I pulled in a carwash and thanks to the guy who was nice enough told me that
my "rubber " on top of the hood is cracked and it will damage the computer if I get it wet:tsk: .
He also told me that it'll cost me 200$ at dealership ..what should I do guys ?
I keep the car outside since I dont have a garage ..what if it rains ?
Where should I go to fix it ?
p.s. apologies for my bad grammar :p
 
#6 ·
Are you talking about the rubber stip (gasket) that goes along the bottom of the windshield??? If so, mine is cracked too and has been for a while. I guess I should look into that...
 
#9 ·
Wow? didnt know that was leading to the computer? maybe the guy telling you that was on drugs or something.
I live in a pretty rainy area besides the hurricanes once in awhile and my **** is all cracked to hell. Besides accidentally hitting the stuff with the ice scraper and peeling part of it off. but its still partly there. Dont seem to be causing me a problem so I am worrying about bigger problems.
And i always take my car to the car wash. and it has never gotten wet.
Was the guy at the car wash a BMW professional?
 
#10 ·
Jbimmer I take way to many chances ..cant risk on this one ,but usually its my mentality ..
BmwRedneck,he wasnt a pro ,he looked like he was drunk ,but I didnt want to take a risk .

I think I bought a bad car ..or maybe Im just scared of all the horrors I heard on here .
But some "check brake circuit" warning came on today .
I restarted the car and everything was fine ...idk ..any guys in L.A. that can help me ?:dunno:
 
#16 ·
Your brake pad wear sensors might be dirty or you need to change the pads.
 
#11 ·
Wow, I just got my 328i, the entire piece of plastic on mine is cracked, its so fragile i can just pick it off. I have been to a few carwashes already, actually 5 and a few at home within the last 2 weeks and I haven't noticed any problems yet.
I have the same problem with the brake circuit failure, I found this while browsing the threads though:
The brake circuit failure indication on the OBC is cleared by replacing the switch located above the brake pedal.
 
#17 ·
it's a light bulb for pete's sake

when you change your brakes, you see a red dot on the dash with lines,

he's referring to when you read on the OBC beside the clock it says your middle brake light doesn't work

take out the bulb, it pops out easy from under the trunk, and get a replacement

if not the middle try each side.

if it's not the bulb, then the contact has rusted nad you'll need to sand it

under my windshield that thing is a bit cracked too, i wouldn't fix that

i hate car washes. last time i went to one, the conveyor belt was broken so the person in front of me used up my car wash too as he wouldn't move forward. the belt pushed me along right into him so i had to reverse out of the carwash

got the attendant to program another wash in

then got home, it was like -10 celsius so my door froze and i had troulbe closing it

it is very rare you need all that DIY hassle of changing the brake pedal circuit
 
#19 ·
Agreed. You're taking technical automotive advice from a guy at a car wash?!? I think the only thing that could be next would be people taking their cars to Autozone to have them "diagnose" them
 
#21 ·
I believe what you are talking about is the wiper cowl. I replaced mine. The dealer charged 65.00 and it took approx. 25 mins to install. They come in one piece for the vert and 2 door and I belive 2 pcs for the 4 dr. Anyway the dealer will give you the right one. The older model cars were susceptable to water damage to the computers because of a cracked wiper cowl and that was later corrected Hope this is of help.
 
#22 ·
Mine's been like that for a year... hasnt caused a problem yet, and it's cracked to hell.
 
#26 ·
When i went to get a car wash, I pulled into the self service thing and then i walked up to the guy who is working there... he was by a car on the side street buying weed from some guy haha and he already looked high as it was so don't take advice from those guys!
Unless its express wash n lube because when you get an oil change they will tell you if they find something wrong with it... in my case the oil pan leaks, the rear main seal or something like that is leaking, and some gaskets. AHHHHHH!!!!!!!
 
#27 ·
So I took the car in to a certified Bmw mechanics' house .
He ran the codes checked everything out ,said that I need a new water pump since it makes some "ding ding " noises ,new spark plugs, lots of new sensors and new heater I think.

He'll charge me only 40$ for labor ..its good right ?

Im bummed since I only have 300$ right now :(.

Oh and also I met some guy with a civic ex 1998 in a Dmv he offered to trade the cars with me ,hes starts with remote control :)bigpimp:)..

What do you guys think is it worth fixing the car or should I just change the title ,dump it and get another e36 ?
 
#33 ·
I, too, had the rubber gasket rot-out. I always saw it there, the car never got wet inside, nor did I think it was all that important. =) However, I was driving down the freeway at about 80-85 mph and the windshield lifted OFF the car. Just about a cm, or so, but enough so that I could see sky! It was disturbing to say the least. I did take some time getting it fixed, since I drive about 40 mph to work. I had a glass replacement company come out to the house and re-glue the windshield in to place, and replace rubber gasket. It ran me $80, and was much cheaper than the dealer.
 
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