Water in my X5 - Help!
 

Living here in CA, we are finally getting some rain. However, I noticed a pool of water in the back of my 2003 X5 3.0. From the back of the car with the tailgate down, it was in the right-hand (passenger) side compartment in the "Trunk." When I pulled the panel off, there is really nothing behind there except wires but when I looked all the way down, there was a pool of water collecting at the bottom! I got it all dried off but have no idea how it got there and if it will come again. Does anyone have any experience with this? Please help...

Thanks,

Mike
SJ,CA

front and rear sunroof drain are clog up
do the search many threads about this on forum.

ahh man not good. I had this EXACT same problem. It drove me crazy trying to find the leak. It might be different for you (i doubt it).. but it turned out being the sunroof cassette. Overtime if you don't clean out your sunroof drain plugs they get clogged and it causes a mess. If this turns out to be your problem, and you're out of warranty like I was..get ready to pay about $2500. They have to pull off all the upper upholstery, get that sunroof cassette out and put a new one in.

If your lucky, it might be a drain plug that got knocked off..and it could be repaired for a few hundred dollars by cleaning it out and putting it back..

Goodluck.

It could also be leaking in from a faulty rear light assembly seal.

Oh shit. I have had the similar problem with my car about 15 years ago. It was really difficult to find out where the water was coming from. In my case it was a microscopically small hole in a welded seam which we found out by good luck. It took me several months to find it and to grab almost everything out of the car.

I recommend that you spray some water from a hose on to your car and you have a buddy inside of your car to find out where the water leaks. Your car fabrics becomes easily moulded and you're never able to get that smell away if you're not able to fix the problem.

Thanks. Shop I go to knew exactly what I was talking about and quoted me $250. Not too bad if that's what I can get outta there for.

sorry to hear about the leak, let us know how it goes please Does anyone know how to clean these drain plugs out now and again?is it a case of opening the tailgate and then prodding a rod into the two holes in upper part of the car(the rubber grommet type holes on either side at eye level) ?or is it a case of opening the panoramic sunroof and giving that a good clean all round, not sure where the water goes to be honest in terms of draining from the sunroof, man cannot believe these cars have these weaknesses, had I know I would have skipped the sunroof option....

So where did your shop say it was leaking from ?? Any close up pic of the suspect area ??

Omodos,
I read in another thread just recently when a member had a blocked sunroof drain and had interior leaks. Apparently the sunroof drains are located front and rear. I think one drain pipe runs down one of the front windscreen pillars (or both?) and obviously comes out in the engine bay somewhere and you're right with the 2 drains coming out the back next to tailgate hinges. I believe if drains can't be unblocked it's a total removal of overhead roof lining and sunroof cassette to make good. Shit that's scary and would cost some coin as well. Sorry I don't know how one would clean out the rear drains apart from what you said by gently having a poke up there. Touch wood it dosen't happen to me, you and other members.

I'd be interested to hear comments on maintaining the drains as well. Is their entry points for the drains with the sunroof open where maybe compressed air could clean/clear out these drains ??

Sounds like a great DIY article? Anyone??? BTW, anyone know if it's in the Bentley manual?

Here you go, this might help. The stuff runs around $35 a tube.

Jesus, cheeky BMW I bet they got whole libraries full of these glithces and fixes! where did you pick up the info? hmmm next thing I am wondering is whether there is note in bmw archives about the kaka quality of their coolant reservoirs and their susceptibilty to cracking or coming loose at the seam....anyway thanks to tall the other members who replied, rain out here is scarce but it has rained and it has been torrential downpours, and I love 'playing' with the x5 in the rain drenched roads out here, drainage was never part of the road infrastructure out here due to the minimal rain, so when it rains we have lakes everywhere.....ok thanks again for the replies

A guy came to look at the car I was selling a few weeks ago, he had a 2004 X5 with Pano roof and gave me a tour after he'd looked at mine. He warned me about exactly this issue as his had become clogged and the water pooled in the area around the spare wheel. That fried all of the electronics costing £12,000 to replace/repair!!!!! Luckily it was still under warranty.

I'm looking at a pretty fully loaded X5 which has the Panoramic Roof. Coming from having a convertible I would really like a sunroof but this and the issue with it sticking open and needing replacement are a bit worrying. Guess it's just a case of looking after it and regularly checking for water in the back. Wonder if you could use a can of compressed air to clean out the drain tubes?

At least BMW have been paying 100% parts and 50% labour when it sticks open.

:iagree:

Apparently the replacement sunroof cassette is an updated part. I'd like to know when this updated part was introduced. I'm looking at a late 2005 with Pano roof and wonder whether it will still be effected by all these issues.

Section 540 of the Bentley manual has a note referring to the sunroof drains, but no details on how to clean them.

Perhaps a stiff piece of plastic wire (like 200# fishing leader) and some club soda with 409 would do the trick at all 4 corners.

X5 Meister's tip on the impact absorber leak issue is especially key for all us installing the OEM tow hitch . . . we're in there already, want to make sure this gets sealed up good.

- M54 Lover

I can't see how blocked drains would require replacement of the entire sunroof cassette. Surely, even if it means removing the headlining etc it would be possible to remove the drain pipes and clean them out?

I usually use compressed air to clear the hoses at the shop. And especially the front hoses (on most BMWs) it is a good idea to get to the bottom of the drain as that is where the trash accumulates to cause the clog. On X3s you can just reach up under there even with the front edge of the doors and clear them with your fingers, on the X5s you need to get the wheel liner out of the way. But as I said, using a compressor to blow the hoses out works, and works better from the bottom of the drains. Just be aware that you will blow the trash out of the top, so cover up :D

does anyone have a picture of these drains? is it worth cleaning and taking preventative maintenance even if you dont have problems?

i just bought some 2.4mm strimmer line to try to clear my air con drains , so if anyone knows where they exit , could you explain .

Yes, the wheel well cover. They exit inside there, behind the wheel against the firewall/bulkhead.

Just ran a check on mine and found the following by pouring some club soda (soda helps to loosen dirt) into the corners of the sunroof drain channel.

Pictures indicate the drain entrance at the front left and right corners of the sunroof channel (can't see the drain entrances at the left and right rear corners but they're there), the drain exit under car under the forward portion of the driver and passenger doors (looks and feels like a metal tube drain), and the left and right rear roof drains by the rear hatch hinges (shown with flapper up).

Thanks for your time in including pix, much appreciated, will have a digg at mine in due course, doesnt rain out here often but it is well dusty and need to keep the channels clean if i can

well i am praying that this is what is wrong with my wife's 2006 x5. last night we were at vacation bible school and car was sitting turned downhill slightly and we got a wash out of a rainstorm. when i got in the car, water began dripping from the front of the sunroof and through the overhead(garage door openers). there was water standing in our floor mats, front and rear. can somebody show me how to find the front drain lines exit. so i can attempt to clean them out tonight or tomorrow

Only help I can offer is to reference my pics and description a few posts earlier in this thread. Good luck!

how did you get to the exit end of the tubes for the front ones? the rear one seem to be pretty easily found. what a crappy system.

If my post with pictures, and the description, doesn't help you . . . then your SAV must be different than mine.

DSA, is this the drain hole (circled in red)?

My A pillar sunroof drain (driver side) was clogged and I used a weed whacker string to snake down it to unclog it

YES.

Any update on anyone with ideas on how to clean the sunroof drains. I searched and didn't really find anything that worked for anyone. My drivers side front drain is blocked and I had wet drivers side carpets and also dripping from the overhead sunroof button area.
I tried the weedwacker line but that didn't seem to clear anything. I tried from the top and the bottom but it seem to hit a wall somehwere along the line. Any help is appreciated.

Also my car is CPO. Would this be covered for the dealer to take care of? Thanks.

Yes, it should be covered. But the clog is usually at the very bottom at the drain.

In the shop I use air to blow it out, then run some water through to rince out more debris, then blow it out again.

This is worrying the c*ap out of me too, there is so much dust out here, no rain, and when it does rain it rains a mud laden rain due to sands and soil from the sahara, so am worried I will get a blockage too, the compressed air sounds good but can you get adapters that small that can be used in the drain holes?and do you backflush?

I blow from the top down, which isn't easy without pulling the headliner loose if you don't have something to stick in the drain hole fron up top. (I have a hard plastic tube that fits pretty good)

I am having the exact same issue (could be pics of my '03 X5 4.4i) and have cleaned the sunroof drains using some grass trimmer line and air, but could fine no blockage.

When I cleaned up the mess I also found water under the spare and in the bottom of the battery compartment. I checked everywhere else on the X, but nothing was wet. No carpet, liners, sound deadening material, nothing. How is it possible to get so much water ( a good 2+ inches as in the pics) in this location, without anything else getting wet, if it came from the sunroof. This weekend I am going to check the bumper area and see if that is where my issue is. Good luck with yours.

In your case, most likely the rear drains are disconnected or clogged vs the fronts being clogged. I'd peek in the rear of the headliner and see if the drains have come loose. If they're still fully attached I'd park nose up on an incline like a driveway and pour some water in the sunroof channels to see if it is flowing properly or backing up and overflowing out the back of the the sunroof cassette.

If the rear sunroof drains are operating properly and that's not where the water is coming from, it could also be from a leaking body seam under the tail lights... run the hose over the tail lights and see if water comes in from under them. Let us know if you find anything.

Thanks Weasel. I will do this and let you know. I'll post pics if I can find the leak.

J-MAC yes please pics will be great, it is raining cats and dogs out here, more rain than ever, be good to know how to give the holes an annual clean to be safe.

After plenty of reading i did excatly what Weasel suggested... Pull the headliner down... Becareful but you can use some force... Make sure you don't bend it as it will crease... but go to your nearest shell and pump air down the hose and you'll see all the junk come out... I also got some club soda and poured it down as well... good as new now. Now to even go further and prevent and overflows in the future.. i used silicon to secure the track areas where water might run off to as well as around the whole sunroof frame. siliconed some of the corners of the seals as they were comming off... So far it's been great.. now to get rid of all the water in the front passenger floors...there's a huge pool of water underneath!!!

Chigga any pics at all of where the drain holes are located in the actual sunroof cassette area?, I want to blow air down them/pour some carbonated soda water down there also......

Just read the previous posts in this post and have seen pics thanks, so where do the front drain holes exit?near the doors or behind the wheel arch covers?as both have been mentioned as exit points of the water

I'm on day 3 of my dry out, I have a electric heater and a dehumidifier running 24hrs a day in my driveway. You wouldn't believe how much water the padding on the bottom of the carpet absorbs. I suggest you dry out properly if you want to avoid any issues/smells.

Ugh, so my car is going into the shop on Monday because the floor in the back seat is SOAKED. The mats on top aren't wet, but the carpet underneath is waterlogged.. Does that make any sense? Any clues as to what MY wet issue is? Damn this X5.

Bump for an update.

This must be the same problem I'm having with the drains. The driver's rear trunk compartment (where the amp is) was once again filled with water and I could see a path running along the bottom of the compartment covers towards the rear seat in to never never land (until I tear it all apart). Good thing I haven't bought a new amp yet as that would have fried it again. Also leaked some water in to where the battery is, and strangely the other night my dome light was stuck on. It killed my battery by morning but they started acting normally again later that day. Night before last I walked past the rig and the radio was lit up but I couldn't get it to shut off until I unplugged the battery. I'm thinking the water is probably doing some expensive damage somewhere.

my mom's Audi had similar problem with water dripping from overhead console. I poured some Seltzer (not because I knew this trick but because that what I had handy) into the sunroof channels and water freely ran out to the groung through the drains. I think her issue was the "overflow" - it rained so hard that water "input" was greater than drainage capacity.

I had my new MacBook Pro Retina 15 in the car, and wanted to hide it from thieves.

I *THOUGHT* the side compartment was a great hiding spot.

Now my MacBook won't turn on.

Seriously unlucky.

Seriously annoyed about this.

Did anyone have a problem with leaking into the back pocket (my left)? From the sunroof, I have the drains from the point of view of the trunk clean and continuous, I cut the column wet is at the highest point in the corner where the ceiling ends and flows into the interior and rises into the corner of the pocket, see the picture. the ceiling is dry everywhere, drains from the siber once it .. I tried to take out the el. installation next to the hinge of the trunk lid and smear with putty (behind the edge of the grommet it was damp), a little gurgling in the castle, so we'll see. I like to gather experience with leaks from practice 😆 Thanks

Don't do this fix, you have been warned!!!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oFOUqRBWH-I

There are 4 Drainage hoses that you should always inspect every 1 2 years

Made a couple of vids on what you should inspect in terms of the x5 if you have any sort of panoramic sunroof

Here is the couple of vids

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Hr2..._channel=TUNEX

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=85gm..._channel=TUNEX

:iagree: