545i Flooded... worst day in my short BMW life...
10-11-2011, 05:19 AM
#41
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My Ride: 04' 545i, Sport Package, Black, Active Xenon, ARS, Aux Input
'10 Tahoe, Black on Black, leather, Nav/XM, 20" tires, full body kit, power 2nd row, loaded
'93 Jeep Wrangler, lifted 4.5", 33" meats, Rampage Recovery Bumper w/Tire Swing, etc
25' Aquasport Osprey, Center Console,2012 200 HO Etec
yeah it was really simple to access after pulling the wheel and fender liner off,then its really like a 5 minute job,that can seriously save you thousands of dollars and crazy down time.
id love to find a DIY on cleaning all drains,
i was able to get a much out as possible with pulling carpets up,took seat out,drained my sub woofer lol set in dehumidifiers and now the carpets and foam is all dry including the foam surrounding the main computer on the passenger floorboard, i would have done a DIY but like Jaycal3 said,your in such a freak out mode you dont think of anything but get this water out of my car!
my active steering has been poping up for the last 8 months or so simple cycle of the key and it goes away but your saying i should pull the computer open it and dry the internal sensors individually?
only thing i suggest to people about to clean this drain,take your cabin filter out and its lower housing you will see the electrical box then below that is where the drain is and when your drain is cleared out from accessing it from inside your fender.pour a few bottles of water to the side of the electrical box or down your windshield if you prefer to get anything else stuck in the lower portion of the box out.
id love to find a DIY on cleaning all drains,
i was able to get a much out as possible with pulling carpets up,took seat out,drained my sub woofer lol set in dehumidifiers and now the carpets and foam is all dry including the foam surrounding the main computer on the passenger floorboard, i would have done a DIY but like Jaycal3 said,your in such a freak out mode you dont think of anything but get this water out of my car!
my active steering has been poping up for the last 8 months or so simple cycle of the key and it goes away but your saying i should pull the computer open it and dry the internal sensors individually?
only thing i suggest to people about to clean this drain,take your cabin filter out and its lower housing you will see the electrical box then below that is where the drain is and when your drain is cleared out from accessing it from inside your fender.pour a few bottles of water to the side of the electrical box or down your windshield if you prefer to get anything else stuck in the lower portion of the box out.
Well, pulling the modules open would certainly help assure they are dry. What I was saying was as you follow the main wiring harness that runs from back to front on the passenger floor, there are numerous connectors that run to different modules and sensors... all of these connectors inevitably got wet. The water wicks up into the connectors so even if the exterior of the harness is dry there is no doubt the metal contacts are not. Over time they will corrode and like a battery terminal, once corrosion hits the contact it makes is sketchy. The other thing you may not be aware of is that in order for the water to back up into the car, that ebox had to have filled up. There are 2 or 3 modules in there if I remember correctly and an electric fan.
Needless to say, once water hits these cars they are never going to be the same, but you want to limit the amount of collateral damage that will pop up over the next few months or years. This is why I went through the insurance company... initially they only wanted to replace certain things as the errors popped up. EVery time I got my car back another error would pop up and after a few return trips they realized it was the harness attaching everything.
10-11-2011, 06:47 AM
#43
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My Ride: 04' 545i, Sport Package, Black, Active Xenon, ARS, Aux Input
'10 Tahoe, Black on Black, leather, Nav/XM, 20" tires, full body kit, power 2nd row, loaded
'93 Jeep Wrangler, lifted 4.5", 33" meats, Rampage Recovery Bumper w/Tire Swing, etc
25' Aquasport Osprey, Center Console,2012 200 HO Etec
10-11-2011, 07:26 AM
#44
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My Ride: 2004 Mystic Blue Metallic 545I
10-11-2011, 07:52 AM
#45
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My Ride: 04' 545i, Sport Package, Black, Active Xenon, ARS, Aux Input
'10 Tahoe, Black on Black, leather, Nav/XM, 20" tires, full body kit, power 2nd row, loaded
'93 Jeep Wrangler, lifted 4.5", 33" meats, Rampage Recovery Bumper w/Tire Swing, etc
25' Aquasport Osprey, Center Console,2012 200 HO Etec
I am certainly not an expert or BMW tech, but there is a valvetronic module that was replaced for me as well - I think thats on the floor. Just not sure what it cortrols but I do think its tranny related. I also know that many of these modules control numerous things and will throw all sorts of errors and messages... my dash was lit up like a Christmas tree!
10-11-2011, 10:20 PM
#46
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My Ride: 2008 550i Sport CPO Space Age Grey
jaycal3- Just read your story from start to finish. The outcome sounds like it came out well.
Most insurance companies will total a vehicle if the water hits a certain level due to wiring corrosion, and future electrical issues.
Have you had any issues since this happened? Warning lights, radio not working, lighting?
Friend of mine truck was hit. Ended up splitting a seam on the firewall, water got inside of the cab, wiring corrosion ended up making the tach do weird stuff, lights intermittently would work, tons of post-repair issues. After a 2 year fight with the offending insurance company they 'totaled' the truck, paid him.
Most insurance companies will total a vehicle if the water hits a certain level due to wiring corrosion, and future electrical issues.
Have you had any issues since this happened? Warning lights, radio not working, lighting?
Friend of mine truck was hit. Ended up splitting a seam on the firewall, water got inside of the cab, wiring corrosion ended up making the tach do weird stuff, lights intermittently would work, tons of post-repair issues. After a 2 year fight with the offending insurance company they 'totaled' the truck, paid him.
10-12-2011, 10:42 AM
#47
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My Ride: 2006 525XI, Jet black on Dakota beige. Premium and winter packages. I consider myself a purist and intend to keep my car absolutely stock and shiny.
2008 328I Convertible, Sapphire black on beige interior. Premium package, NAV, iPod adapter.
Retired: 2002 325I, Titanium silver on black leather. Premium package. Absolutely stock and proud of it.
Holy crap!!! That's quite an ordeal. Why doesn't BMW make all their drains easily accessible and describe on the User's manual how to keep them clean and clear?
10-12-2011, 04:54 PM
#48
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My Ride: 04' 545i, Sport Package, Black, Active Xenon, ARS, Aux Input
'10 Tahoe, Black on Black, leather, Nav/XM, 20" tires, full body kit, power 2nd row, loaded
'93 Jeep Wrangler, lifted 4.5", 33" meats, Rampage Recovery Bumper w/Tire Swing, etc
25' Aquasport Osprey, Center Console,2012 200 HO Etec
jaycal3- Just read your story from start to finish. The outcome sounds like it came out well.
Most insurance companies will total a vehicle if the water hits a certain level due to wiring corrosion, and future electrical issues.
Have you had any issues since this happened? Warning lights, radio not working, lighting?
Friend of mine truck was hit. Ended up splitting a seam on the firewall, water got inside of the cab, wiring corrosion ended up making the tach do weird stuff, lights intermittently would work, tons of post-repair issues. After a 2 year fight with the offending insurance company they 'totaled' the truck, paid him.
Most insurance companies will total a vehicle if the water hits a certain level due to wiring corrosion, and future electrical issues.
Have you had any issues since this happened? Warning lights, radio not working, lighting?
Friend of mine truck was hit. Ended up splitting a seam on the firewall, water got inside of the cab, wiring corrosion ended up making the tach do weird stuff, lights intermittently would work, tons of post-repair issues. After a 2 year fight with the offending insurance company they 'totaled' the truck, paid him.
10-12-2011, 08:30 PM
#49
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My Ride: 2004 bmw 530i
oh yeah e box was full to a certain point till it started spilling threw the wiring harness, ebox components were dry though,only issue im having now since i pulled my seat and its giving me warnings on the dash for seat belt pensioner and passenger airbag. im going to try disconnecting battery overnight to see if it resets it at all,
i still get the gong when seat belt is not plugged in when in motion and passenger airbag light will go out also,so i know the system is working just fine its juststuck in my idrive now,regular car scanner wouldnt find any codes today so to bmw i go i guess and gives me a reason to finally have my coded for my dension unit
i guess lol
i still get the gong when seat belt is not plugged in when in motion and passenger airbag light will go out also,so i know the system is working just fine its juststuck in my idrive now,regular car scanner wouldnt find any codes today so to bmw i go i guess and gives me a reason to finally have my coded for my dension unit
i guess lol
01-22-2012, 02:25 AM
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I've been searching for a while but cannot find a way to remove the carpet. Is there a DIY?
I have an inch of water in my passenger footwell this morning.
I think the leak may have come from the door seal because when I painted the chrome trim the rubber didn't seal up properly.
Also is it the same for LHD and RHD drive cars regarding the electrical components under the carpet?
I have an inch of water in my passenger footwell this morning.
I think the leak may have come from the door seal because when I painted the chrome trim the rubber didn't seal up properly.
Also is it the same for LHD and RHD drive cars regarding the electrical components under the carpet?