Z4 Water Damage

[Jacksterla]

I own a BMW Z4 which is a little more than 2 years old. It has less then 15,000 miles on it. About a month ago it began experiencing electrical problems, with some systems (such as headlights and taillights working) and some systems (such as the radio and GPS) not working.

I took it in to the Beverly Hiills BMW dealership. They have had it for three weeks and have not yet fixed the problem. Today I started making noise with the dealership and BMW of North America. Then the dealership calls and says the car has water damage which is not covered under warranty.

Now mind you .. up until now they had never even mentioned water damage and I live in Southern California. We have had no floods and there are no visible signs of damage to carpets, seats, dash, side walls, trunk, etc. In short, the car is in prestine condition on the inside and outside. It appears that water may leak behind the convertible top, perhaps it is not properly sealed, although the dealership insists the damage must have been caused by someone washing/detailing the car with the top down.

When they showed me the areas of damage, they pulled out a single plug head buried deep in the GPS/Navigational System between the seats and the trunk, which they claimed had water damage/signs of mold. I saw no water damage but photographed the plug. Mind you that there was no visible water damage to the compartment itself, the walls behind the seats or the carpeting. Apparently inly this one little plug had alleged water damage. They then point to the sides of the convertible top behind the metal hinges at the base of the top and claimed that was water damaged. Again, no signs of water damage visible to my naked eye -- although I am not an expert; but, I did photograph the area.

My question is whether anyone else has ever heard such a ridiculous thing or know of anyone else with a Z4 having leak problems with their convertible top.

 

[grc]

how did you buy the car, new? if you bought it "preowned" BMW may know what happened already from the vehicle service history? they don't let that info out though. is it possible that a dealer shampooed the carpets or detailed the interior?

 

[Jacksterla]

Bought Brand New

Bought the car brand new .. its it the first year of the z4 model .. came off the assembly line in June of 2003 and was purchased new in July of 2003 ... [|)]

 

[bmw046series]

The only leaks the Z4 have had are the rubber between the windows and the top, where the rubber is split to fold backwards, the only way for this to leak is to get dirt or grit between the rubber and the glass as it closes, but all this does is create a steady stream of water down to the seat and doesn't seriously effect the car.

My suggestion is to keep bitching until they replace it via the warranty, can you outline what needs to be replaced or fixed?

The leak could even come from the front plastic piece where the wipers are, but that is kind of unlikely because it is one large piece. Three weeks, what the hell happened to customer service?

Also explain the problem your having is it the radio is on then turns off and comes back on or the lights dim out on the controls, etc.

 

[Jacksterla]

BMW Leaks

The problem was that the dash indicators, the radio and the GPS would not work. I took it in three weeks ago to have then fix it. They originally said it was a problem with the computer chip and they ordered a new chip and reprogrammed the whole thing. But, that did not work. They then ordered a new GPS/CD ROM drive and they were pulling out the old one on Friday when they came up with this non-warranty water damage theory.

On the 2003 BMW Z4 the GPS/CD ROM is located between the seats at the rear of the car. The only way water could theoretically get into the small compartment would be a leak in the rear base of the top where it is sealed around the car.

I don't think they know what is wrong with it but it is having major electrical problems and now they are trying to weasel out of the warranty -- and I even have the extended warranty which I purchased at the time I bought the car.

 

[bmw046series]

Contact BMW USA in NJ, and complain, that is BS, the leak could be a flaw in production.

 

[BMW NA Customer Relations]

I own a BMW Z4 which is a little more than 2 years old. It has less then 15,000 miles on it. About a month ago it began experiencing electrical problems, with some systems (such as headlights and taillights working) and some systems (such as the radio and GPS) not working.

I took it in to the Beverly Hiills BMW dealership. They have had it for three weeks and have not yet fixed the problem. Today I started making noise with the dealership and BMW of North America. Then the dealership calls and says the car has water damage which is not covered under warranty.

Now mind you .. up until now they had never even mentioned water damage and I live in Southern California. We have had no floods and there are no visible signs of damage to carpets, seats, dash, side walls, trunk, etc. In short, the car is in prestine condition on the inside and outside. It appears that water may leak behind the convertible top, perhaps it is not properly sealed, although the dealership insists the damage must have been caused by someone washing/detailing the car with the top down.

When they showed me the areas of damage, there were some plug heads buried deep in the GPS between the seats and the trunk which showed some signs of mold where water may have entered them and cause a short. There was also some mold on the sides of the convertible top behind the metal hinges at the base of the top.

My question is whether anyone else has ever heard such a ridiculous thing or know of anyone else with a Z4 having leak problems with their convertible top.

I'm with BMW of North America, LLC. I've passed this message on to a BMW NA Customer Relations Representative who will be in touch with you soon.

 

[Jacksterla]

News on my car. After having my car for over 25 days, I got it back totally unrepaired. The best part was the BMW of Beverly Hills dealer lied on the paperwork and said I had refused to have it fixed since it was "not under warranty". Nothing could be further from the truth. I demanded they fix my car and get the electrical system up and running, even if I had to pay for it myself. I specifically told them I would work out the issue of the money in court, if need be, but I wanted that car working.

The short of it is that I think they really cannot fix it. BMW has a legacy of electrical problems and I believe that I got one of those vehicles where faulty wiring is to blame and not this bullsh*t "water damage" ...

Now, after paying out nearly $40,000 on this car, which is only two years old and has only 13, 000 miles on it, I have no car to drive. BMW sold me a lemon !!