About three months ago I noticed a had an issue with my warning messages saying central electrical system failure but this would go out after a couple of seconds. The PDC stopped working. I discovered that the spare wheel well was full of water and when I took it to the dealers they found 5" of water in the battery compartment as well. It was dried out and the light and boot lid seals were replaced. The car also required a new wiring loom which was ordered.

All has been well since until I went to France last week. When I was packing the trunk/boot I decided just to check it was dry below the spare. Guess what - yes the well had 1/2" water in it but it had not got onto the control box located down there. I dried it out and also checked the battery compartment but this was dry ish with just a few droplets.

I then travelled 800 miles to France in some poor weather. The next morning I checked the boot again and found @1" water in the spare wheel well. Again I dried it out. I then went to go to the shops and when I started driving the Idrive chrashed and restarted. I thought all was ok but upon my return the Idrive crashed and recycled continousely. The next day it had stopped working with no resisitance in the Idrive dial. So the Idrive, PDC, CD, CD changer, Nav DVD (Cannot remove dics from any of these units), call SOS, bluetooth, left and right parking lights and the tyre pressure warning have stopped working and the Idrive screen is completely blank.

I have read the other posts on the site re water in the boot but none mention the death of the Idrive.

Can anyone help please?

 

you probably have corrosion and/or short... check all the connections on the wires.

 

My question would be (to the dealer especially): Where is this water coming from?? And why was this not fixed??

You shouldn't have water inside your car no matter how poor the conditions.

 

Bro, this is a KNOWN ISSUE with BMW. It is a defect in the vent that is RIGHT next to the battery allowing water to come in. This needs to be sealed by the dealer. This happened to my car and was covered under CPO. FREE.

 

Thanks guys but what has killed th idrive?

 

Not sure about the sedan, but many people have had issues in the wagons with interior water due to plugged rear moon-roof drains. When plugged the water channels cannot properly drain through the tubes and the water finds its way into the trunk well, battery compartment, etc. Since BMW has a lot fo electronics there, this has been the source of many different electrical issues - including iDrive.

 

What about died battery? I-drive and entertainment systems will automatically shut down when battery voltage is too low.

Strange thing you keep draining the area every now and then. Go to the dealer and fix/repair it.

 

Thanks guys. I have it booked in with the dealer tomorrow. The car is still under used approved BMW warranty so I am hoping they will repair fully.

Does anyone think the battery will be knackered after it's submersions?

 

Do a search on 'MPM' or 'Micro Power Module' to learn more about what likely died...

 

Took it into the dealer today and the following was found:

Idrive - CCC faulty and needs replacing - covered by warranty

Water leak - trunk/boot vent on the opposite side to the battery leaking like a sieve - not covered under used car warranty!!!!!

PDC failure - due to water ingress from vent above - not covered by warranty!!!!!

My dealer is asking for a goodwill on these and will let me know on Monday and reapairs being done on Tuesday.

I will update you all as and when. Thanks for all who helped.