BMF

I recently had the sunroof glass break and took my car in the next day to the dealer to get the glass replaced. Since the cost was so high for the repair I filed a claim with my insurance. 4 weeks later they finally finished my car after waiting for parts etc..

When I pick up my car I notice there is an SOS warning light on when they bring the car out. I figured they may have disconnected the battery and this was a bogus message so I proceeded to drive. As I'm driving back home I realize:
1. The navigation is frozen. Unable to do anything.
2. The Bluetooth isn't working.
3. The mirrors can't be adjusted.
4. The window controls on the drivers side are not working either.

When I reach home I pop the trunk and see all of the modules in the spare tire wheel well are floating in water. I immediately attempt to shop vac all the water out then dab the excess with paper towels.

I take the car back to the dealer the same day and show them all the problems and the standing water and they decide to keep the car.

The SA calls me 1 week later and says the car must have clogged roof drains so they need to authorization to remove the bumper to check them. Another week later the SA calls me and says the car is draining fine and that's not the issue and the water must have been in the car when I initially brought in the car and I would be liable for module replacements and programming.

I ask to talk to the Service Manager who says out the gate that he's not responsible for the electrical issues as the car drains fine. I explain to him that there is no mention of any water damage in the paperwork so the water obviously entered the vehicle while it was waiting for parts for 4 weeks. He responds saying it was inside the same bay the entire time and tells me the modules are calcified and brackets rusted and it couldn't have happened in the month they had the car and it's previous damage. I continue to push him to ask why none of the non-working items were mentioned in the paperwork and why the water wasn't mentioned either. He refuses to respond and screams at me "I"M NOT GOING TO PAY FOR YOUR CAR!" and hangs up. I call back to speak with him and they tell me he's on vacation for 1 week.

I call BMW NA and file a complaint, they call me back 2 days later and tell me nothing important other than to talk to the General Manager whom they could not even give me the name of.

This seems like a clear case of negligence on the dealership. During the time my car was waiting for parts I highly doubt it occupied a service bay the entire time. The most likely scenario is the car was stored uncovered and water entered the car since the glass was broken.

As it is my car is still with the dealership and I'm planning to document the details and meet with the general manager. I have little faith in this place because of how badly they've handled thing thus far.

How difficult is it to open a claim with the dealers garage keeper insurance? Who is the POC for this type of thing?

Any advice on a strategy to resolve this?

BMF

anyone?

frchdragon

This is going to be an uphill battle, best will be to get it covered by your own insurance because they delayed the repair.

Our cars are getting pretty old, modules are wildly available all over the internet.
open all the connectors and dry them very well, put some dielectric grease and connect them back.
You DO NOT want the connectors to corrode.

I am not sure if all the modules short circuited, you might have to pull them all out one by one and make sure that they are 100% dry (put them in a bucket of rice or desiccant if you have any). See if you can salvage them.

Good luck, water + electronic is never good. I hope it is only located to the trunk only.

BMF

As far as I can tell the water was only in the trunk area. What has me confused is why the driver's side door controls stopped working. I don't think there is any control units for those in the back of the car is there?

mancho

There is a service bulletin that tells the dealers to relocate the TPMS control box, unwisely located at the bottom of the car, in the trunk, to the sidewall. I had this issue too. Just not as many lights on dash.

I delt with this too and it can really fry everything if left to do whatever. It's too late if it's been in water for any amount of time. Kinda like a phone you drop in water for 4 seconds. ..

BMF

How much did it cost to fix?

Cricketts

Hope this helps?? there is a black module in the bottom if the tire well in the trunk. It provides the DC power to almost all of the control modules in the car. It is notorious for being fried when wet or under water. It's an expensive little devil
It is the same module that people talk about moving the left interior side wall and out of the well.