E53 Water leaking into cargo area (VERY IMPORTANT)
 

I finally found the water leak in the cargo area of my X5. I just replaced my 3rd radio too. Everyone should check this to avoid a costly repair.
The lower tailgate has 3 drain plugs on the bottom inside edge. You have to flip up the black panel that covers the bottom egde of the door. Pull the plugs out and clean them. Mine were clogged with gunk. When i pulled them water gushed out. When the water gets to a certain level it channels thru the rubber electrical wiring plug and right into the lower cargo area under the spare tire. Then the battery well eventually fills up and ruins the radio, park, distance module, tow package module, and level ride module. It's a 5 minute job to clean these out and replace them. There are also 2 drains on the upper hatch to clean. Hopefully this helps someone else save some $$ and grey hair. :thumbup:

09-11-01
NEVER FORGET

Wow, thanks. That's not something one would think about or even know about. Thanks for sharing.

Ive been looking for this leak for over a year. I thought it was the sunroof

Joe,

At your earliest, can you please post a picture of the location for the direction impaired like myself. Would greatly appreciate it.

Thanks

Thanks!!!

Just pull the plugs out. They pop right back in. clean them good. mine were plugged with 9 years of road skum. you'll see the 2 upper ones on the upper latch too.

Thank you Joe
 

I truly do not know how mine wasn't flooded before. Mine didn't have actual plugs, but tape. Here is how mine looks just in case anyone else's looks like this:

http://i299.photobucket.com/albums/m...1My5qcGc-2.jpg
http://i299.photobucket.com/albums/m...1My5qcGc-1.jpg

Gunk stored under tape:
http://i299.photobucket.com/albums/m...1NC5qcGc-1.jpg

Tape couldn't go back on, so I left them untaped till I can buy the actual plugs.

Thanks Joe for this find.

your gate must not take water on like mine does. next im taking the red lights off the gate and figure out some kind of seal.

Joe - Great post. Thanks for the heads up.

I've already had to replace 1 amp due to flooding so hopefully this will prevent another.

great tip! I am adding this to my fall winterization check list.

Great write up. Thanks:thumbup:

bmw-facing-class-action-over-water-damage-safet
 

This has apparently become a bigger issue than just one or two people ... very worth googling the history of this problem and all the issues it is causing. for me ... dead battery, bad auto head lights, speakers / sos issues, break lights, and several others...not to mention the water that causes a stink in the car. read more here BMW Facing Class Action Over Water Damage Safety Risk - Law360

Thanks for the heads up!

No subscription needed to access court documents here:
Sharma et al v. BMW of North America LLC :: Justia Dockets & Filings

After the dealer tried to sell me a new complete sun roof for $4000, I figured out the water was coming from clogged tail gate drains. The tail gate fills with water and it follows the wiring harness into the battery box. I now keep the 2 drains clean and filled the wire tube with silicone.

So what's happened to this case? I've got a few thousand dollars replacing electrical parts that were flooded in the battery box.

Anybody have a part # on these plugs handy? Mine are holding, but the rubber is frail. Also, any way to check blockages in the roof channels, or is carefully pouring water into the sunroof drain holes the easiest way?

RealOEM.com * BMW E53 X5 4.6is TRUNK LID TRIM PANEL

#17

I Took my X5 to the stealer because my radio stopped working. Ended up with a battery box full of water. Cost me maybe $1500 in electronics and they said it was the sunroof leaking. Wanted $4000 to replace it. I took the headliner down and used 4-5 tubes of roofing cement and sealed the whole thing. 2 months later same problem. So i took the headliner down and drove it like that for a few weeks. No leak. But again $1500 in electronics were ruined! I was changing the electronics and slammed the tailgate and noticed a swishing sound. The lower tail gate was full of water. The little black drain plugs on the bottom were clogged with gunk. The water was interring thru the wire loom into the battery box. I took them out and cleaned them. I'm up in the air on just leaving them out. No problems in over a year. No more water.

Thanks J.Belknap! ^.joeboch- did you ever devise something to seal the red reflectors on the lower gate portion?

No but i bet some plumbers putty would work. Not a bad idea to lessen the amount of water going in there. And they say these germans are smart pfft

WATER LEAK NOT FROM TRUNK LID OR ROOF...
 

I was having this problem in a bad way a few months back i decided to remove everything from the back and do a water test. No leaks (hooray). then it would rain and i would check and see water in the spare tire well and in the tail light wells.

Not every time though. it could be raining for hours and i could check and there was nothing. Other times lots of water.

The common denominator was driving. it only was happening while moving in the rain.

I had a friend lay in the back and view as we drove around in the rain and sure enough, water mists in like a vacuum from the two passive vents below and to the outside of the tail lights.

Last year was bad for rain, so there was more being vacuumed into the space...no problems since.

Good to know. Thanks!