Water Leak - Rear Passenger - Need help pinpointing

[chefwong]

This is the 2nd time it occured. The 1st was when it rained for almost a week straight about 2 months ago.

This time, it only rained for 1 day straight.

It was a nice day yesterday, so I decided to give the X a thorough interior/exterior cleaning. I noticed that the underside of my rubber winter mats was wet when I lifted it and lo and behold, it was the same area. It's the passengers rear area.....on the floor, in the back corner that is closest to the door sill. About 5 inches diameter area.

This was the same spot that was wet when it rained for 5+ days straight. I gave the X a wash, and purposedly rinsed the rear passenger door area for a good awhiles...

However, upon checking, I was unable to detect MORE water or a source where the water would be coming from.

Anyone ever been in the same boat. Need some advice.......

[SANguru]

the grooves/water channels underneath the rear door seal are known to get clogged pretty easily on both the E53's and E39's. It's a pretty common thing. The fix was to 1) check to make sure that there is no debris or grease near the drainage area near the front of the door 2) check the door seals to make sure it gives it enough space to drain (some degrade over time and will need to be replaced) .. otherwise, it will overflow into the cabin and underneath the carpet.

Originally Posted by chefwong

This is the 2nd time it occured. The 1st was when it rained for almost a week straight about 2 months ago.

This time, it only rained for 1 day straight.

It was a nice day yesterday, so I decided to give the X a thourough interior/exterior cleaning. I noticed that the underside of my rubber winter mats was wet when I lifted it and lo and behold, it was the same area. It's the passenfers rear area.....on the floor, in the back corder that is closest to the door sill. About 5 inches diameter area.

This was the same spot that was wet when it rained for 5+ days straight. I have the X a wash, and purposedly rinsed the rear passenger door area for a good awhiles...

However, upon checking, I was unable to detect MORE water or a source where the water would be coming from.

Anyone ever been in the same boat. Need some advice.......

[Rob_]

If you have had a window regulator replaced in that door, you may want to remove the door panel and check to see if the vapor barrier is sealed properly on the door and make sure it doesnt have any tears or holes in it.

Rob_

[Dygital]

Holy crap, I've got a similar problem. My '05 X5 had a drip during heavy rains shortly after I bought it in Jan of this year. It was dripping from the space around sun roof opening switch. Then somehow it went away on its own. Then yesterday when it rained really heavily here in the Bay Area, it started happening again, from that exact place! What's interesting is that it only drips when the car is moving, and not when it's simply parked. Any idea what causes this and if there is a way to fix it without taking it to the stealer? Thanks!

[MissionX5]

I'd second what Rob said above. This happened in my '01 after some rear window regulator work. According to the work order, the 'vapor barrier' was not properly sealed. Apparently when this happens, the water can run down the interior of the door into the carpet. It was pretty severe in my case and I made them replace the carpet after the second time it happened. As an interesting note when replacing the carpet, it is all one piece w/ the padding attached. I would have settled for new padding, but they had to replace all the interior carpet.

[The Big Easy]

Dygital, water can accummulate in the roof wells on the inside of the sunroof (see the slots that run along the side and front) in heavy rain and then when the position of the car changes water can run to the front along these slots and then "overflow" into the open/close switch or even the microphone slot instead of heading down the drainage holes on each side of the roof cassette. Check the drainage holes for obstructions, and make sure the roof is in proper alignment, you might need to reset the roof.

Hope this helps,

Cheers,

[Dygital]

Originally Posted by The Big Easy

Dygital, water can accummulate in the roof wells on the inside of the sunroof (see the slots that run along the side and front) in heavy rain and then when the position of the car changes water can run to the front along these slots and then "overflow" into the open/close switch or even the microphone slot instead of heading down the drainage holes on each side of the roof cassette. Check the drainage holes for obstructions, and make sure the roof is in proper alignment, you might need to reset the roof.

Hope this helps,

Cheers,

Thanks bud, will do. Did you have the same problem with yours?

[The Big Easy]

Yea, numerous issues initially, busted side clip, H20 through the microphone slot, finally the entire roof cassette was replaced. But you gotta have the PANO roof, what a pleasure on sun filled days!

Cheers,

[jbimmer24]

Originally Posted by SANguru

the grooves/water channels underneath the rear door seal are known to get clogged pretty easily on both the E53's and E39's. It's a pretty common thing. The fix was to 1) check to make sure that there is no debris or grease near the drainage area near the front of the door 2) check the door seals to make sure it gives it enough space to drain (some degrade over time and will need to be replaced) .. otherwise, it will overflow into the cabin and underneath the carpet.

Hmmm, that's what happening to me on left side behind driver seat floor ,it gets soak on rainy days , but ya i'll check the water channels on rear left passenger door,, what do they look like (small slots on bottom of door),it looks to me like the water is coming in from where the light is under the door; are the channels located around there?

[X5Flyboy]

I believe there was a techtalk letter in this month's 'Roundel' about how some BMWs leaked (only after heavy rain) typically because service didn't button it up properly.