Possible leaking sunroof BMW e90

Hi Guys,

After the rain the other day I noticed a drop of water by the passenger side sun visor. It cant be the windscreen so its most probably the sunroof. Now my car stinks.

Anyone else experienced this issue?

Any advice as to where I can take the car to sort this issue out? I'm in the centurion
 

Ash777

Active member
Yes, I have experienced this.
Its worth a DIY inspection.
the water leak from the sunroof on my car ended up filling up the rear left passenger footwell, via the a-frame, behind glove box etc.
I partially loosened up the ceiling liner, and found the rubber drain hose the connects to the sunroof gutter had popped off. All I did was put it back on, and added a zip tie for good luck. Solved.
I would look at this before sending the car anywhere.
 
Ash777 said:
Yes, I have experienced this.
Its worth a DIY inspection.
the water leak from the sunroof on my car ended up filling up the rear left passenger footwell, via the a-frame, behind glove box etc.
I partially loosened up the ceiling liner, and found the rubber drain hose the connects to the sunroof gutter had popped off. All I did was put it back on, and added a zip tie for good luck. Solved.
I would look at this before sending the car anywhere.

Thanks @"Ash777" does the ceiling liner have clips? Any advice regarding partially removing it? I got a feeling that I have the exact same problem.
 

NBN

Well-known member
Take your car to iS motorsport. they have branches in Florida and Lenasia. They are Webasto Sunroof specialists.
 

Ash777

Active member
I used a cheap little rachet set for the whole job, but I think I did use some of the spline looking bits.
I would watch a video or tutorial or two from the net just to familiarise myself.
It really was not a hard job and you only need to pry the roof lining enough to look inside. I may miss something but I I recall it involved:
Loosening the ceiling light module at the rear view mirror
remove the left passenger sun visor (my issue was on left) there are flip tabs that will expose screw
remove the a pillar cover that says airbag. The plastic airbag tabs on the pillar gets pryed off exposing screws
then gently pull the ceiling down just enough to look inside.
Im probably forgetting a step or clip or two but its a simple clean job.
when you pry interior bits off like the airbag tabs on the 1 pillar, use something softer than a screw driver to avoid tooling marks. I often use plastic spatulas or bank cards etc.

I then took a jug of water, poured it into the gutter, and instantly saw my problem.
I think its a common issue, but I cant explain what makes the rubber hose pop off the sunroof gutter.
 
Ash777 said:
I used a cheap little rachet set for the whole job, but I think I did use some of the spline looking bits.
I would watch a video or tutorial or two from the net just to familiarise myself.
It really was not a hard job and you only need to pry the roof lining enough to look inside. I may miss something but I I recall it involved:
Loosening the ceiling light module at the rear view mirror
remove the left passenger sun visor (my issue was on left) there are flip tabs that will expose screw
remove the a pillar cover that says airbag. The plastic airbag tabs on the pillar gets pryed off exposing screws
then gently pull the ceiling down just enough to look inside.
Im probably forgetting a step or clip or two but its a simple clean job.
when you pry interior bits off like the airbag tabs on the 1 pillar, use something softer than a screw driver to avoid tooling marks. I often use plastic spatulas or bank cards etc.

I then took a jug of water, poured it into the gutter, and instantly saw my problem.
I think its a common issue, but I cant explain what makes the rubber hose pop off the sunroof gutter.

You are a star bud. Will report back as soon as i have done this...
 

CA_130

///Member
Could be blocked sunroof drains, rarely mentioned, but affects the e8x 1 series quite often, so stands to reason it would do the same to the e9x's, particularly if you car has lived outside or in dusty areas in its life.

I would suggest opening the sunroof fully, zip-tie-ing a hose pipe to the drains under the car (under the covers behind the jackpads) and opening the tap slowly, and back flushing the full system, and cleaning up all the water and gunk with a large drying towel/micorfibre or dishcloth(s)

The dirt in the undercar drains tends to clog up them up over time, not allowing the sunroof to drain, eventually the water level rises to a point where it finds empty screw holes and slots where it drips onto the top of the headliner, and then rolls its way down with gravity, usually behind the A-pillar and into the footwell, but also the visors (this can manifest as wet carpets after rain or washing the car, but dry generally everywhere else).

Can be done alone, but preferably a 2 man job. Don't try and unblock the drains from the sunroof with a stoker, you will most likely pop the drains off the sunroof nipples/drain fittings, and water will then leak directly into your car.

zip tie the gutters on the sunroof afterwards for good measure and future-proofing.
 
CA_130 said:
Could be blocked sunroof drains, rarely mentioned, but affects the e8x 1 series quite often, so stands to reason it would do the same to the e9x's, particularly if you car has lived outside or in dusty areas in its life.

I would suggest opening the sunroof fully, zip-tie-ing a hose pipe to the drains under the car (under the covers behind the jackpads) and opening the tap slowly, and back flushing the full system, and cleaning up all the water and gunk with a large drying towel/micorfibre or dishcloth(s)

The dirt in the undercar drains tends to clog up them up over time, not allowing the sunroof to drain, eventually the water level rises to a point where it finds empty screw holes and slots where it drips onto the top of the headliner, and then rolls its way down with gravity, usually behind the A-pillar and into the footwell, but also the visors (this can manifest as wet carpets after rain or washing the car, but dry generally everywhere else).

Can be done alone, but preferably a 2 man job. Don't try and unblock the drains from the sunroof with a stoker, you will most likely pop the drains off the sunroof nipples/drain fittings, and water will then leak directly into your car.

zip tie the gutters on the sunroof afterwards for good measure and future-proofing.

Very informative. Thanks, man. Will give this a go...
 
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