technical BMW repair assistance

[JoziNick]

Hi all,

Hoping to be pointed in the right direction. I’m having an issue with My 2011, f25 X3 20.d, in November last year I got in and found almost 10cm of water sloshing around the passenger footwell.
Got it all out, absorbed it with about 270m’s of paper toweling as a short term fix till me independent techie could see to it. It went to him, he cleared the sunroof drain and the aircon fan which were blocked. The subsequent issue was the foam under the mat (between the car and the mat) was still soaked and basically the entire carpet needs to be removed along with the centre console & the dash aswell as the seats to get all the carpet out to dry. Underneath

The larger issue of that with all this rain today I get in the car and there’s 1cm of water in the corner of the passenger footwell.
My independent techie (who’s been servicing and repairing my BM’s since 2016 isn’t available for at least 6-8 weeks) and I can’t wait and allow water to run into the car for that long.

Can anyone recommend me bmw specialist in Joburg that might be able to help? (Recommended with experience)

I’m looking at the BM guy in wynberg (does anyone have any experience with them?) (https://www.thebmguy.co.za)

My other option is to take it to BMW itself but I don’t think I have enough Vaseline for that

Does anyone have any idea what this could be?
Is it possible the windscreen rubber needs to be replaced and this is where the water is coming in from? (I can see a 5mm gap between the rubber and glass)

Advice/ recommendations appreciated

 

[MLorgat]

@Clint@MMS AUTO might be able to assist

 

[boost3d]

I know most mech's try to steer clear from water damage but Have you reached out to Clint @MMS Auto to see if he can assist?

5mm is quite a significant gap, have you considered having the rubber replaced or sealed off at a minimum.

Also have the sunroof drains checked to see they are free of debris and are functioning correctly. Also check the drains in the engine bay, they collect leaves which can get blocked and caused issues

 

[///M Individual]

Hi all,

Hoping to be pointed in the right direction. I’m having an issue with My 2011, f25 X3 20.d, in November last year I got in and found almost 10cm of water sloshing around the passenger footwell.
Got it all out, absorbed it with about 270m’s of paper toweling as a short term fix till me independent techie could see to it. It went to him, he cleared the sunroof drain and the aircon fan which were blocked. The subsequent issue was the foam under the mat (between the car and the mat) was still soaked and basically the entire carpet needs to be removed along with the centre console & the dash aswell as the seats to get all the carpet out to dry. Underneath

The larger issue of that with all this rain today I get in the car and there’s 1cm of water in the corner of the passenger footwell.
My independent techie (who’s been servicing and repairing my BM’s since 2016 isn’t available for at least 6-8 weeks) and I can’t wait and allow water to run into the car for that long.

Can anyone recommend me bmw specialist in Joburg that might be able to help? (Recommended with experience)

I’m looking at the BM guy in wynberg (does anyone have any experience with them?) (https://www.thebmguy.co.za)

My other option is to take it to BMW itself but I don’t think I have enough Vaseline for that

Does anyone have any idea what this could be?
Is it possible the windscreen rubber needs to be replaced and this is where the water is coming in from? (I can see a 5mm gap between the rubber and glass)

Advice/ recommendations appreciated

Hi bud I know in the F30 there is a Vapor Barrier in the doorpad and sometimes when this gets loose it can cause water to get in - not sure if the F25 has this as well. The doorpad needs to be removed and barrier needs to be stuck again properly if this is the source of the leak.

Good luck!

 

[AshG108]

I had this in the M135i when I got it, the previous owner didn't address it and every person pointed me to the HVAC repair which requires similar, remove the entire dash etc. I was not happy to go that route so investigated it myself. sunroof drains where slightly clogged and the engine grommet on the firewall was out of place.
Secondly, the windscreen seal was cracked so within week 1, I replaced the windscreen seal along with the cowling and all rubbers along the firewall that I could get my hands on. Then I treated the carpet to a deep clean and dry.
Checked the door seals as well and they were fine and I did not experience any leaks again, so noting that these 3 areas are prone to cause passenger footwell water ingress. Hope this helps...all of these were DIY items so you will not need to get to a specialist or mech, just ensuring your get the right parts and all this can be done and replaced within 2 hours at maximum.

 

[TurboLlew]

Hi all,

Hoping to be pointed in the right direction. I’m having an issue with My 2011, f25 X3 20.d, in November last year I got in and found almost 10cm of water sloshing around the passenger footwell.
Got it all out, absorbed it with about 270m’s of paper toweling as a short term fix till me independent techie could see to it. It went to him, he cleared the sunroof drain and the aircon fan which were blocked. The subsequent issue was the foam under the mat (between the car and the mat) was still soaked and basically the entire carpet needs to be removed along with the centre console & the dash aswell as the seats to get all the carpet out to dry. Underneath

The larger issue of that with all this rain today I get in the car and there’s 1cm of water in the corner of the passenger footwell.
My independent techie (who’s been servicing and repairing my BM’s since 2016 isn’t available for at least 6-8 weeks) and I can’t wait and allow water to run into the car for that long.

Can anyone recommend me bmw specialist in Joburg that might be able to help? (Recommended with experience)

I’m looking at the BM guy in wynberg (does anyone have any experience with them?) (https://www.thebmguy.co.za)

My other option is to take it to BMW itself but I don’t think I have enough Vaseline for that

Does anyone have any idea what this could be?
Is it possible the windscreen rubber needs to be replaced and this is where the water is coming in from? (I can see a 5mm gap between the rubber and glass)

Advice/ recommendations appreciated

10cm

my money is on the windscreen seal for this one.

 

[Riaad]

Hi bud I know in the F30 there is a Vapor Barrier in the doorpad and sometimes when this gets loose it can cause water to get in - not sure if the F25 has this as well. The doorpad needs to be removed and barrier needs to be stuck again properly if this is the source of the leak.

Good luck!

Sunroof drains and Vapor barrier will be first items to check...the vapor barriers become issues in almost all bmws.

if not, then you have to search for something more sinister ...10 cm is a lot

 

[TBP88]

Yeah, everyone here is talking about fixes, gent, if I got into a car with a 10cm *POOL*, not puddle, in the footwell I'd be calling insurance to write it off faster than I could call an uber after my 11th beer.

There are so many modules that would have been impacted, add to that the wiring under the carpet that likely also took damage, speakers, seat modules? The mind boggles. It honestly wouldn't shock me if there's 100k+ worth of damage in parts at least to the car.

 

[JoziNick]

Thanks all, Clint wasn’t able to assist, it’s going to a bmw approved repairer (that has experience removing carpet and seats etc) they reckon it could be the trays in the honey. They’re going to fault find and sort the problem and then address the under carpet (the top of the carpet is completely dry)

Here are some screenshots from the video I took when it initially happened in November last year)…perhaps my portuguese arithmetic was off (always either divide by 2 or multiply by 2)…3cm seems more realistic

 

[AshG108]

Yeah, everyone here is talking about fixes, gent, if I got into a car with a 10cm *POOL*, not puddle, in the footwell I'd be calling insurance to write it off faster than I could call an uber after my 11th beer.

There are so many modules that would have been impacted, add to that the wiring under the carpet that likely also took damage, speakers, seat modules? The mind boggles. It honestly wouldn't shock me if there's 100k+ worth of damage in parts at least to the car.

You just trying to stimulate him towards an insurance claim, huh? LOL

 

[TBP88]

You just trying to stimulate him towards an insurance claim, huh? LOL

Looks like he overstimulated somebody judging by the quantity of liquid there!

 

[PsyCLown]

Thanks all, Clint wasn’t able to assist, it’s going to a bmw approved repairer (that has experience removing carpet and seats etc) they reckon it could be the trays in the honey. They’re going to fault find and sort the problem and then address the under carpet (the top of the carpet is completely dry)

Here are some screenshots from the video I took when it initially happened in November last year)…perhaps my portuguese arithmetic was off (always either divide by 2 or multiply by 2)…3cm seems more realistic

View attachment 32472

Definitely looks as if the water is coming in from the bottom of the door, which then makes me think its the vapor barrier.

Let us know what feedback you get.

 

[FILV]

Ive noticed on my F25 that after rain , there is water inside the rubber that lines the bottom of the door. i see it has holes for drainage, which are not blocked, but i have to squeeze the rubber and pull a smidge, then water drains out these two small drainage holes. No water comes into the cabin, it just sits inside this rubber. Anyone else experience this?