It rains like crazy here for the last few days, when I started the car, a whole lot of warnings showed up on the monitor including check engine, service icon, electrical failure,...

I stopped the engine and open up the trunk, there's water everywhere, on the tray above the battery, under the spare tires, some of the modules there got wet, the fuse panel is also wet. I called Roadside Assistant and have them towed to the dealer. I'm still waiting to hear from them.

Looks like the water came down from above the battery are, inside the rear right glass. I think the water had followed a black hose (roof drain?) to the interior.

Has anyone had similar problem? what's the fix?

Tan

 

Wow that's terrible. Yeah the weather has been crazy around here this summer. As for your water problem...I don't have the same problem (so far). I haven't heard about that with anyone else, but your description of it following a drain sounds like it may be correct. I've had drain hoses in other cars clog or split and it caused a big mess. I hope it all works out for you. Good luck!

 

Hi

Yes, I've experienced the exact same thing this summer, water in the trunk and in the battery compartment. Plenty of error messages and electrical faults.
It needs to say that I have a panoramic sun roof.
The reason to water in the trunk is that the drain from the roof gets jammed with stuff from outside. Appearantly, there are some kind of rubber "valves" under the car connected to the hose from the roof, possibly behind the rear wheels, those "valves" are supposed to let water out and not in. They gets jammed!

According to the garage, they had during some two weeks ten cars with the exact problem. They simply removed the valve, to let the water run freely.
However, a number of electronics are placed in the compartment under the spare tyre, so you should pay attention to this flaw!
I had a number of shortcuts which forced me to replace some electronic boxes.

Also, the garage told me that this specific problem was not in the BMW fault database...

 

Do you have a sunroof?

 

Hi,

same problem here. My car is dealer right now. What i should told them, so they find the problem fast. My car had also panorama sunroof.

So, did i understood right.

There is some hose, which goes on sunroof from below the car. And that hose are blocked?? And solution of the problem is cleaning the hose. Or removing some king of "valves" underneath the car...

In my car, water goes in driver side..

Is it possible that this specific problem should be under warranty... My car is only three years old.

 

Mine is also just over 3 years old now. But no warranty here..
According to the stealership, this kind of error is completely unknown in the BMW repair database (or whatever it's called) so therefore, no one in the rest of the world has had this problem, hence, no warranty repair.

I'm a little ironic here, but it seems that BMW don't register new problems in their database... which would lead to a completely empty database! Although the garage had several cars in that week with the same problem. I just was the first one.
I'm seriously considering buying an Audi.

 

Show them this:

SI B 54 06 06
Special Roofs November 2006
Technical Service

This Service Information bulletin supersedes S.I. B54 06 06 dated August 2006.
designates changes to this revision
SUBJECT
Water Leak from Panoramic Sunroof
MODEL
E53 (X5 SAV), E61 (5 Series Sport Wagon) and E83 (X3 SAV) equipped with Panoramic Sunroof (S402A)
SITUATION
Customer may complain of a water leak from the overhead console area during heavy rain or when driving/parking on a steep slope facing downhill.
CAUSE
Possible Causes:
A. Obstructed or damaged drains or drain tubes.
B. Void in the windshield urethane bead.
C. Excessive gaps between the glass panels and the perimeter seal.
D. Inadequate water management system in the sunroof cassette.
CORRECTION
In case of a customer complaint, inspect various components of the sunroof system. Perform a leak test and then perform the recommended repair based on the outcome of these inspections.
An improved sunroof cassette with an optimized water management system has been implemented in production since 10/05.
The current improved part is available as a complete color keyed cassette as opposed to the bare frame previously available.
PROCEDURE
Inspect for the following causes and perform the applicable repair.
Cause A: (Obstructed drains)
? Inspect the cassette drains and drain tubes for any obstructions or kinks in the tubes.
? If any concerns are found with these items, they should be cleaned/repaired/replaced as necessary.
Cause B: (Windshield sealant)
? Inspect the top edge of the windshield glass for any possible voids in the urethane bead.
? Using water or compressed air may help in locating a leak.
? If any voids are found, the windshield must be replaced.
Cause C: (Excessive panel gaps)
? Inspect the condition of the perimeter seal and the gap clearance between:
1. The sunroof glass and the roof panel.
2. The two glass panels.
3. Note: 5.8 plusmn; 0.3mm gap all around (without seal) is required and can be measured with the special gap tool, P/N 00 9 341, or similar.
? If any excessive gaps are found, adjust the glass panels as per RA 54 13 003.
? If any damage to the perimeter seal is found, replace this seal as per RA 54 13 055 and adjust the glass panels as per RA 54 13 003.
Cause D: (Inadequate water management)
? If no fault could be found with causes 1-3, perform the following actions:
1. If the vehicle was produced before 10/2005, replace the sunroof cassette per RA 54 13 080
If the vehicle was produced after 10/2005, do not replace the cassette but still perform the following countermeasures.
Note: The cassette available is the color-keyed updated cassette, complete with headliner and glass panels.
2. Apply light electrical contact grease on to all the electrical connectors and emergency call (SOS) switch in the front interior light console. The surface area must be cleaned as necessary.
3. Replace the perimeter seal as per RA 54 13 055.
4. Install the absorbent pad kit as per the instructions provided in the appropriate Absorbent pad kit attachment.
Note: This kit must be installed exactly as shown in the attachment for maximum effectiveness.
5. Perform additional sealing operation as described in the Cassette Sealing attachment.
6. Initialize sunroof per Repair Instruction 54 0 ...
7. Water test to ensure proper water management.
PARTS INFORMATION
Part Number Description Quantity
54 13 7 184 903 E53 Panoramic Sunroof Cassette ? Light Grey 1
54 13 7 184 904 E53 Panoramic Sunroof Cassette ? Light Beige 1
54 13 7 185 572 E53 Panoramic Sunroof Cassette ? Anthracite 1
54 10 7 185 573 E53 Panoramic Sunroof Cassette ? Pastel Green
54 10 3 436 363 E83 Panoramic Sunroof Cassette ? Anthracite 1
54 10 3 435 213 E83 Panoramic Sunroof Cassette ? Basalt Grey 1
54 10 3 435 217 E83 Panoramic Sunroof Cassette ? Light Beige 1
54 10 3 436 311 E83 Panoramic Sunroof Cassette ? Grey 1
54 13 7 184 899 E61 Panoramic Sunroof Cassette ? Grey 1
54 13 7 184 900 E61 Panoramic Sunroof Cassette ? Beige 1
83 23 0 149 149 Electrical contact grease (NyoGel 760G) 1
52 20 3 421 311 E53 Felt Pad 5
51 48 8 211 922 E53 Roof Insulation Material 1
52 20 3 421 311 E61/E83 Felt Pad 2
54 13 7 180 747 E61/E83 Foam Pad 1
54 13 7 072 786 Perimeter Seal ? E53/E61/E83 1
WARRANTY INFORMATION
Covered under the terms of the BMW New Vehicle Limited Warranty.
Defect Code Refer to KSD

Labor Operation: Refer to KSD

Labor Allowance: Refer to KSD

 

Yes, I have the panoramic sunroof. As it turned out, I had the car at the dealer a few days earlier to repair excessive wind noise from the sunroof, the tech must have messed around with the drain hose up there causing water leak, since I have never had this issue before.

The dealer then replaced at least 3 modules in the spare wheel area and the whole sunroof cassette.

Scarry should this car be out of warranty.

 

I showed it to the garage, their comment was:
"Interesting, where have you found this, this document doesn't exist in our swedish system"
No wonder! why don't they do a world wide search when no information is to be found? Instead of inventing a solution of their own, incredible!
I've asked them this, but no reply yet.

 

I hope it helps...