rctmthouse

I believe recently member Sachal washed his car and got water into the intake system causing the error message. Rather be safe than sorry is the best policy, IMO.

balbs

The hood is there for a reason. Also, there are rubber gaskets, seals, and a (water?) channel along the outside edges where the engine bay meets the hood...To me this says water should stay away from the engine. Water for cleaning? Maybe,...but that's controlled and the rain with no hood isn't.

DavidF

Rain water will NOT hurt the engine, no way. All electrical connectors are sealed against moisture, water will not hurt the alternator or anythign else under the hood. If the rain caused water spots, just ask the shop to clean it up before returning the car.

The underhood seals are not there only to keep water out, but mostly to keep air directed where the engineers wanted it and to keep fumes out of the passenger cabin (i.e. low pressure areas where outside air is sucked into the cabin).

aharper

What's the difference between rain falling from the sky into the bay vs running through puddles in the rain?? Doesn't water get up there anyway? I can't imagine there would be any more water "seaping" into spots that it shouldn't be.

balbs

If you look under the car there are panels all throughout the bottom of the car. While puddle water may intermittently splash up and could get in the engine bay, the undercarriage panels can minimize that. Intermittent puddle splashing up is small compared to an exposed engine in the rain. Doesn't BMW have something like the car should be free from rust for 10 years? I guess it's because some of the extra paneling can contribute to that. I'm guessing an exposed engine doesn't help that claim as well.

While rain water may not hurt the engine...I prefer to have mine covered when it's raining either way. The shop should have done some common courtesy and covered it up. Why do shops cover the driver seat and floor with paper matts and plastic? My shop does this just for a smog check. Grease on the carpet won't mess up the operability and function of the car. Same thing.

beamlord

Ok this is pretty much what he told me. It was after all just one day that it was outside and it was raining intermittently, so not like the whole time.


Anyway, just got the car back, the engine looks okay, not really that dirty as I imagined it would be.
And since they did an amazing job on the paint I decided to let this one slip and not raise conflict.

Covert change of topic He said I should leave the paint alone for a few days, so no washing, which of course I knew. I'm being a little paranoid and want to leave it alone for a week or even a bit more, just to make really sure. And then afterwards, not just wash it, but go straight to a detailer to have the whole thing polished and sealed. Does this sound like a good plan?

rctmthouse

Don't know quality of the paint and the paint process but I recommend to wait longer than a week before you go straight to a detailer. Just a quick wash should be sufficient for new paint.

beamlord

Well at the moment I'm even scared to wipe/wash off the few fingerprint/stains on the hood and bumpers that are there from all the installation work they did.
Pondering spraying them with some Meg quick detailer and gently wiping off.

Gawd I HATE black paint, this is my first black car and I never thought taking care of paint can be such a friggin pain.

jjrdoherty

i'd be pissed... pretty amateur move..

DavidF

On new paint, water alone is fine. Just use plenty of water and a very soft cloth to wash the car for the first few weeks. Your paint is still hardening for several weeks after application, so it is soft and easily scratched/dulled if washed too aggressively or with soap, etc.