Leak in the tailgate...

[kscarrol]

My wife drives the X5 (along w/ my old 545!) and she has recently has problems with leaks in the tailgate area. Anyone experience this? Car is at a BMW approved bodyshop right now having the issue corrected.

Service dept indicates they've seen it before and it is caused by a bad weld in the tailgate. Sounded like a reasonable explanation.

By the way, great forum. Got directed here from my usual home over on E60.net!

[drod]

are we talking the new X??? you're the first to report a problem with the tailgate!!

is it the autotailgate???

let us know how things turn out!! good luck!

[drod]

sorry, where are my manners??


WELCOME TO THE BOARD!!!

[kscarrol]

Drod, thanks for the welcome! Yes, this is the new E70, only a couple of months old. Not the auto tailgate. If you were sitting in the cargo area, you could see the water dripping from behind the plastic trim at the top. A good rain would leave the carpeted cargo area soaking wet.

I'll follow up tomorrow or the next day when I get it back from the dealer. As I said, the SA indicated he had heard of the problem, said something about all the robots doing the welds these days...

[Fastbuck]

I would have thought it more likely to be a poor rubber seal joint than a dodgy weld?

[kscarrol]

Yeah, that's what I thought too. Again, I am no expert on the E70 so I will get the SA to show me where the issue was. I figured bad rubber gasket around the tailgate or at worst a bad seal on the glass install.

[jamesboags]

I have seen condensation on the lower part of the internal glass on a hot day.. I'll be reporting this to BMW next service on 11/12... it appears there is water penetrating and then evaporating up to the lower glass area ?

Thanks

[kscarrol]

Originally Posted by jamesboags

I have seen condensation on the lower part of the internal glass on a hot day.. I'll be reporting this to BMW next service on 11/12... it appears there is water penetrating and then evaporating up to the lower glass area ?

Thanks

I have seen the water draining through on a rainy day and I can assure you our issue is more than condensation! It is a very strong drip that on rainy days soaks the carpet in the cargo area. What you are experiencing could be an early manifestation or minor example of the issue. Literally the first day my wife noticed it, she was talking to me on her cell phone from the X5 when she stopped talking to say it was raining in her car!

[drod]

definitely get back to us on what they found, and more importantly what they did to fix it...

good luck!!

[kscarrol]

I will Drod! The SA did indicate the repair involved some welding at the top of the tailgate, but I will press for more details when we pick up the car. Given work and kids school schedule, that will likely be tomorrow.