Sunroof Drain Clog - Flood

I tested out my drains again...and both sides dripped water. I was kinda hoping they would be clogged. Now I have to wonder what caused the leak...or if the high pressure car wash made a difference.

Welcome to join my facebook group uniting all victims of BMW sunroof leaks

The Facebook group's name is 'BMW paranormal sunroof' and you are welcome to join and post your pictures and feedback.

This group is primarily meant for owners of a BMW with a 1st generation (2005) panoramic sunroof and that are suffering from leaks (in the rear, due to clogged drains).

I am curious about the global scale of this problem.

Best regards and thanks for joining!

Originally Posted by sk97225

e60 2004+ have two rear drain hoses. Both should poor water freely behind rear wheel on each side, both nearly impossible access from the sunroof side.
Remove rear wheels, remove undercarriage and you see a rubber end X-shape (sort-of) on top slightly closer to the back (see red mark >) and this part suppose to let water flow one-way but if some dirt stuck there it wont. that rubber-end valve is removeable and I suggest you cut some little opening on it. This place never get dirty from under (my car was 110k miles 2004 and clean like new) because it is covered anyway. Remove the end, blow hose backwards to the sunroof with your air tire compressor (do not use professional ones!), than put everything back. Get front end higher than rear (I was using my driveway), open sunroof and poor water on the each side of sunroof opening, it should come under rear tires immediately. IF not - you will find it elsewhere, mainly under rear carpet, drivers or passengers side respectively, and even in your trunk, spare tire and battery compartment (you will need a lot of water to see it there).
Note: Picture shows Drivers side rear wheel, sedan e60 2004. Good luck.
ONCE AGAIN! do not blow hi-pressure air into the drain hoses, you may end up blowing hose off the sunroof cassette and than remove headliner (hours and hours) just to get it back.

I found the valves on my sedan stuck together with some sort of scale deposit. I snipped the ends with wire cutters and now the water streams out behind the wheel wells! The big test will be the next downpour.........

Recently purchased a 2006 530xi. Went thru the car wash this past weekend and my son in the back notices that the column panels connecting the roof to the frame behind the back seat are soaking wet. I think this is officially referred to as "C-pillar trim panels".

After doing some quick research here i quickly went back out to the car and took the spare tire out to see if water entered there and to dry it out as I understand there are electronic modules under the spare. Thankfully, no water. But i was also suprised to find that my vehicle does not have any of the circuitry in the spare wheel cavity! I also checked the battery cavity and no traces of water there either

I tested the drainage in the sunroof. with car pointing down hill, poored water into the sunroof drain track. water immediately flowed out of the front door hinge area. this is good.

Parked with rear downhill and repeated. water eventually trickled out, but I would say it took at least 30 secs. I am guessing there is a semi-blockage.

my plan is to take wheels off and rear wheel well inside trim to observe the drainage plug and clean. I have seen other posts about removing the interior trim to expose the drainage tube... this seems a little complex and trying to avoid that!

Next is to replace the rubber molding around the sunroof as this is identified as one possible culprit in svc bulletin: SI B 54 02 08. Part Number: 54 13 7 117 551 ; Description: Perimeter Seal

My question: has annyone else replaced this seal? Any challenges? Advice?

thanks much!! -OX

The local indy says they blow compressed air up the drains from the real wheel wells at every service. Would think that is a good thing to do.

I think there must be some seepage even with new seals. the trick is to keep them clean.

My 2008 528xi only has a very small electronic box in the well. It may be the sat radio??
I think they got the message and moved them all!! LOL

Originally Posted by oceanexpress

My question: has annyone else replaced this seal? Any challenges? Advice?

My dealer replaced ours three times, requiring a new seal each time. First time, the edge of it ripped. The second time, it puckered up unevenly after a few weeks. Third time was the charm.

Originally Posted by Commodore

Hey guys. Don't panic! I have an E61 as well and suffered the same issue with water leak. Fortunately I was quick enough to recognise the issue and it didn't do any damage. Also, fortunately, it is a simple enough thing to resolve if you are DIY enabled. My leak came in the rear passenger side through various holes in the roof liner, mainly over the boot area.

Good words, and (apparently) a good DIY that followed. I will try it this weekend.

I drive a 530i and about 3 days ago I began to get TPM malfunction sign, then every other light on the instrument panel you can think of and finally engine light came on with a warning not to drive the vehicle. I was not able to start the car and end up towing it to the dealer.

The dealer told me that they found the sunroof drains clogged, in result of which the water leaked into the trunk and damaged the computer module. I was told that my warranty did cover the repairs and would cost me $1,400 to repair it.
North America BMW was not any help and kept referring me back to the dealer because they are just customer service representatives and are not technical advisors. These very kind customer service representatives told me that I've must parked my car under the trees all the time falling leaves caused the drains clogged. STUPID!!

I've owned over 10 cars (American and Japanese) and have never had clogged drains.

I am reading over 200 quotes/complaints related to the clogged drains. It is obvious that the sunroof on BMWs is poorly designed and BMW should recall the vehicles with the defective sunroofs or supply plumber's DRAINO with the car and advise in the car's manual on daily flushing of the drains.

Originally Posted by sato

I drive a 530i and about 3 days ago I began to get TPM malfunction sign,

Sounds like you have a sedan. Look for the TSB on here with the relocation of the electronics from the sedan trunk spare wheel well.

You should ask the dealer to at least do that TSB which could reduce the damage if it happens again.

Originally Posted by richietherocket

This is an old thread but glad I found it.

Had the same thing happen to me about 2 weeks ago on my CPO 06 530xiT. I first saw the rust on the test drive in the back left corner panel. Asked my CA about this and he said "not to worry about it"

Car came from TX. Lot's of humitidy down there. Take car home and all is good. Get windows tinted at the place the dealer recommends. All is good. Take it to the recommended dealer car wash and all is not good. Get the SOS malfunction error message and nothing works. Make appointment at the dealer and take it in on a Monday. 2 days later he calls and tells me that the electrical is fried because of water. Asked how this happend and he asks me when I got the windows tinted. Explained to him they have been tinted for only 2 weeks. Tells me that the window tint place jacked this up and it is not covered under warranty, going to cost me over 700 dollars to fix. I explain to him that your dealership recommended this place and there is no way that if there was any water left over would rust in 2 weeks in Colorado with single digit humitidy in January. He tells me that he will "try to push through to BMWNA"

Get a call the next day and tells me that he has found the issue. Clogged drains. Asked him how to unclog them and he tells me that they will have to force air and liquid through them to get them clean. Tells me that they drain in front of the rear tires on both sides. There are 2 holes that can drain. One that you can see in the front of the sunroof and one that is not visible. Ask how we can stop this from happening again and he tells me not to park under trees....nice job dude!!!! There is no way for the consumer to test this or do any maintenance and just hope that they can use the internet to find an answer.

They keep my car for 4 days with cleaning, reprogramming and working on this so it does not happen again. I show up on Friday and all is good. Ask to speak with a Service Manager and they tell me that they have all left for the weekend...at 330p. I am just glad that my dealer covered this under warranty and they now have a record of this. If it happens again, they can cover this again.

Below is a link for all known SIB's for for newer 5 series but did not see this one on that list.
http://www.bimmerdrivers.com/forum/s...ead.php?t=1042

Good luck to everyone that has had this issue. Print out the SIB and take with you to the dealer. They cant deny thier own recall can they?

Hi All,
I did print out the article and brought it with me to 2 BMW dealers in northern NJ last week, both of them denied to check on the issue. They said this is not an internal authorized article and they do not have the same article in their database. They told me it will cost me $140 to have the drain cleaned on my E61. Rats!

Originally Posted by dwewald

Just purchased my "certified" 2006 530xit in February and recently started experiencing major leaks into the back electronic compartments. Knocked out the lights and power to the rear hatch amoungst other warning messages going off. So we took it to the Burlington, Vermont dealership (purchased at Chambers BMW in Boston) as my wife was up there for a few days for a golf tournament. So they get back to me last night to tell me that the car required $1,800.00 in repairs (which they apparently performed without my authorization) to clean the clogged drains and replace the ruined electronic modules and that this is NOT covered under warranty! They asked me if I parked it where there was excessive debris/leaves ect and I told them no! as it is parked in my driveway or at work in an open parking lot. Now this is Vermont and we do have trees but there were no leaves on the trees until May and as it it August the leaves have not even started coming down as yet (thank god). So apparently be forwarned that you cannot own a BMW with a panoramic sunroof in an area that has trees that shed leaves!!! Meanwhile I told them that I am an attorney (which I am) and that I was going to take a shot at BMW for breach of warranty and known defects and for undertaking work without being authorized (there is nothing in the manual about cleaning out the sunroof drains) and the gentleman who called me stated that he would get back to his supervisior and see what can be done. So we shall see. I guess my next step is to call the dealership in Boston and explain the situation to see if they can be of any help. So it was nice to see that TSB posted that I think could be helpful in my upcoming lawsuit with BMW. Maybe we can turn this into a class action suit so let's find out just how many owners are experiencing this problem. Dan Ewald

Hi Dan,
If you are filing the action, please count me in. I just brought my 06 CPO E61 in to 2 seperate BMA dealer in my area, both of them denied the article and told me they do not have that in their database. I'm not sure what I can do next; wait until the iDrive gone wild?! My Navi already acting up and they sai dit will cost me $490 plus tax to have it replaced! I suspect it might be damaged by moisture.

I was told then with my '05 X5 3.0 not to park on inclines, under trees, or out in the rain....

Originally Posted by caden

I was told then with my '05 X5 3.0 not to park on inclines, under trees, or out in the rain....

so now they are the ultimate garaged machines. LOL

BTW does anyone know if the roof drains are connected to the front cowl drains???

Originally Posted by caden

I was told then with my '05 X5 3.0 not to park on inclines, under trees, or out in the rain....

What?! That was such a lame excuse. They assumed we all living in the desert I guess! But then, I'm sure they are trying everything in trying to get away with this. I own numerous Audis and my Audi dealer never asked twice on this kind of service bulletin, they always address the concern and a few times I don't even aware of that and they did the work free of when I brought my car in. BMW makes nice cars but their attitue on backing up their products is disappointing to say the least.

Originally Posted by nippyE61

Hi All,
I did print out the article and brought it with me to 2 BMW dealers in northern NJ last week, both of them denied to check on the issue. They said this is not an internal authorized article and they do not have the same article in their database. They told me it will cost me $140 to have the drain cleaned on my E61. Rats!

What articles did you print out? Try these ones I attached. The SIB itself was dated 2006 but updated in 2009. This is their own documentation.

This thread has been very helpful and informative - thanks to all. I'm looking at a 2010 535xi wagon. I'll certainly check with the dealer, but did BMW fix this issue when they produced this version of the wagon? Many thanks.

AFAIK, the sunroof design remains problematic through all E61s. It is easily checked:

1) look for water in the bowels of the boot, under the spare and the electronics;
2) open the sunroof with the car on a slight upward incline. Pour a small amount of water into the outside - OUTSIDE, mind you - gutter around the sunroof. It should very quickly find its way to the drains and come out behind the rear wheels.

If you have problems, blow some compressed air up the drains from underneath.

I ask the dealer to check the drains every visit so that I get a written record of their condition. I think they might be less inclined to try to put one over on someone who has been watching for the problem for donkey's years.

Originally Posted by TheViolentVicar

look for water in the bowels of the boot, under the spare and the electronics;

Also remove the left and right side (first aid kit cover) panels in the wagon trunk area, if the roof is leaking and water is wicking you can see it drip down both sides.

Originally Posted by Nube1kenobi

What articles did you print out? Try these ones I attached. The SIB itself was dated 2006 but updated in 2009. This is their own documentation.

Thanks for the articles. I think I used the original one dated back in 2006 cause that one mentioned the wagon model in the article. I'll try again with yours and see if they will do anything. Keeping my finger crossed.

Most sunroof leaks are caused by clogged drains. Best to have dealer blow them out with a compressor. It's so common there is a class action for BMW, Mercedes, Lexus and Acura owners to recover the cost of repairs and for any water damage to the car. Send me an email or call 1-800-279-6996 for details on getting your money back and for free damage repairs.

Known that this is an issue after getting tagged last September.

Been keeping an eye on the rear trunk compartment for any water issues.

It has always been clean and dry every time I check since the "fix". Washed the car last Wednesday at the car wash, and as always I check after for water.

Rained Thursday night and flooded the compartment. Noticed the bells of death upon startup before driving. Immediately shut off the car, vacuumed out the water and dried off everything I could.

Now... after resetting every code I could I still get shadow codes that will not go away on the body section. The rear lift gate will make noise but will not raise on its own anymore, though it will close itself. Every time someone gets out of the car the rear gate lock goes through the snug and lock cycle.

Any advice here on how to troubleshoot these issues? I don't want to go to the stealer, and BMWNA can b*^w me.

Originally Posted by TheViolentVicar

AFAIK, the sunroof design remains problematic through all E61s. It is easily checked:

1) look for water in the bowels of the boot, under the spare and the electronics;
2) open the sunroof with the car on a slight upward incline. Pour a small amount of water into the outside - OUTSIDE, mind you - gutter around the sunroof. It should very quickly find its way to the drains and come out behind the rear wheels.

If you have problems, blow some compressed air up the drains from underneath.

I ask the dealer to check the drains every visit so that I get a written record of their condition. I think they might be less inclined to try to put one over on someone who has been watching for the problem for donkey's years.

After a weekend at the inlaws, my normally garaged wagon seems to have developed the dreaded clogged drains. Found water behind the left cargo panel, about an inch in both plastic trays, and got a TPM malfunction error message--when you say blow some compressed air up from the drains, are they located behind the rear wheels? How can I locate/identify the drain outlets?

And now a really stupid question--do you think I need to use a pro-style compressor, or could I use compressed air in a can of some kind?

I love driving my 2008 535xi sport wagon, so I've got to stay on top of this--thanks so much for your insightful comments.

I would be really careful about using high pressures, as people have mentioned before you don't want to blow the hose off the sunroof cassette tube fitting.

My 2008 Certified Pre-Owned530xi wagon has been in the shop for two weeks. While, driving in the last heavy rain, all of the electronics suddenly started to fail and the warning lights came on telling me that it was not safe to continue to drive the vehicle. I had it towed to the dealer and I now come to find out that water had collected in the spare tire well frying all of the electronic modules. I was told it was a result of a roof drain clog. Of all things. Now the SA wants me to pay over $3500 for the repairs and tells me that my expensive extended warranty won't cover water damage. I called BMW customer service and got the same answer. I have found this thread very interesting and am armed with new knowledge. If anyone is involved in a class action, I am in.