No problem. Yes, the water drains right behind the rear wheels out from under the bumper. I just wish the whole base was one continuous solid piece. This is quite a common problem; there should be recall!

 

I have done this test too. Even thought you think the drain holes are okay, there is still a small amount of water leaking into the battery bank. I have no idea what good drain holes would look like......very frustrating.

 

There's also a quick fix help telling that pull the rear tubes from fenders inside the cabin. That causes the + endings to fall to the ground. Not a good thing. I tested my car with and without these endings. At least my car was a bit quieter with these endings. I guess that is their function in paractise.

 

A recall? I don't have this problem and I actully haven't really heard of it before. Mainly the drain clogging issues is what I've heard of being a common problem. But the clogging issues seems to be more with people who might keep there car outside instead of in a garage. I relaize not everyone has a garage to store their car in but for those who don't perhaps a little more cleaning in this area might help. I know when my wife drives my car to work sometimes I always have to wash it becasue of the leaves and bird crap all over it when she returns. There are a lot of trees in the parking area and I would hate to live and park in an area like that! Then you have some who live in extemely hot areas and are forced to part out in the sun 24/7. These are things everyone needs to consided and think about when cleaning their cars/

 

There's actually a technical service bulletin out for this repair, something BMW knew as a problem/issue. This in effect prompted BMW to offer a warranty repair,



"WARRANTY INFORMATION
Provided that the water ingress is caused by a defect in material or workmanship, this repair
can be claimed under the terms of the BMW New Vehicle Limited Warranty."

Unfortunately for myself I did not qualify for this warranty nor will my insurance cover under a comprehensive claim.

Here's the SIB:
https://docs.google.com/viewer?a=v&q...tyy8eHVw&pli=1

My car has been garage kept for nearly 6 years I've own it. My paint looks as if it was still new. I never park under a tree at work for obvious reasons and I'm the only one that drives this car. I primarily use this car for the weekend only, while my truck is my daily driver. Trust me, the drains were the first thing I checked. With the help of this SIB and following it in order, I managed to find my problem.

 

One more question though, when you took these 2 pictures, where was the location of this white box and black drain tube ? I washed my car yesterday and saw the 2 front drain holes of the sunroof (very easy to see, right in the 2 front corners). I could not see the rear drain holes of the sunroof. Is there any method to see them from sunroof ? Also, the drain tube behind the rear wheel, I could not see them from rear wheel well. Do I need to remove the rear wheel well cover to see them ?

Thanks,

 

In order to access and see the rear drain tubes you see in the pics, you must remove the rear corner section of the headliner. To do so you
1) remove rear C pillar panel held in by a single screw under the HPS cap,
2) Remove the ceiling handle,
3) remove the third brake light access panel and
4) Remove the rear headrest.
Now pull down the headliner and you'll immediately see the drain and tube.

Rear wheel well must be removed to see ends of drain tube. Good luck

 

Thank you for the instruction.