heavy rain going through huge puddle and splash water cause my bmw f30 320i down

[Edmund76]

I was driving back and the car was perfectly ok and suddenly the engine just died and stalled. I tried to start the car again and it wont start then there was a burning smell. Found out that the ignition fuse burned and AutoBavaria told me the water went into the engine. I told them I was driving into my condo and I was in my condo compound and there was no flood or high level of water. it was raining heavily and there will be puddle of water here and there but definitely did not drive through any 1ft water or more.

I waited 3 hours for the tow truck and BMW tech team to arrive, apparently there were a lot of cases that evening in KL.

now I am still waiting for the outcome of the assessment. the sales manager told me to prepare to bare the cost as it will not be covered under warranty.

My argument is simple, if it was due to my negligence driving through a 1ft or higher flood area then I have nothing to say. But I was in my condo compound with no water or what so ever and somehow the water found its way into the engine through the air intake. this tell me that I cant even take risk again to drive my car during heavy rain cause Malaysia road will always have puddle of water here and there.

 

[dynamite]

This is messed up.
Hope you reach a satisfactory resolution with BMW.

 

[Edmund76]

they just called me 5 mins ago. my total damage is RM82K. accusing me of driving though water level area above bumper height.
this is really ridiculous. drove the car for only a year and I have to bare the cost of the stupid defect of RM82k.

can anyone help me and give me some advise??

 

[JoeKenzoM]

Is BMW that fragile to the point it cant be driven during heavy rain? This is very worrying especially one foul move might end up costing 60-90k!
Sorry to hear about your problem Edmund76. Maybe ita time we did to BMW what the owners to VW did to them. This shouldnt be allowed to happen!

 

[sh_Callum]

Edmund, some guys are lucky but many are unlucky. I have a friend who drove through 1.5 feet of water but no issue, and one who drove through 1 feet of water level gets hydrolocked. I am not sure whether did u passed through a puddle of around 1 feet along the way back, engine stalled but re-ignite again and able to drive again until it reaches home ? This is a very critical point, the SC manager ever warned me about this, even the car can re-ignite again and works is still not recommended. His recommendation is, the moment the car stalled, don't do anything !!! Just call the BMW helpline. By doing this, your damage will be minimum, you may only need to pay few thousands to repair.

Another friend who have been asked to replaced the whole engine finally gets a refurbish engine which costs him around 15K. This could be an option to you instead of paying 80K, one problem for this solution is, the engine number will need to be updated in your car registration card. Hope this helps !

 

[splee]

Bro Edmund. I feel for your predicament. However, I think it's very difficult for you to proof your case here unless you have a third party witness or if you have a video recording of the journey that fateful evening. Now, the fact is water has entered the engine through the air intake and the only way for this to happened is when you drive through flood water. It is also clearly stated in your user manual that you cannot drive the car over flood water above certain height. You can try lodge a complaint with BMW Malaysia but seriously I don't think you have a case here. What I suggest you do now is to get your own mechanic to assess the extent of damage. Maybe it's not as bad as you think. $82k is a definitely a bitter pill to swallow. Good luck to you.

I

 

[seancorr]

Another case of stalled engine due to rain and it really forces us to think twice to drive when it rains heavily so much so that I'm thinking of getting some SUV to solve this flood problem. I would write or go meet BMW Malaysia in person if I were you especially after what you have mentioned.

 

[dynamite]

The original threadstarter solved his problem at a mechanic outside for a much cheaper cost - is this an option?

 

[sh_Callum]

Does anyone use this HydroShield from Injen before ? If yes, could u please share the dealer details contact info ?

http://ivoo.tv/mobile/v/whj3tV_hAQc
http://www.redlinemotive.com/store/injen/injen-hydro-shield-pre-filters.asp
http://www.jcwhitney.com/injen-universal-hydroshield-pre-filters/p2011144.jcwx?filterid=b887u0j1

Volant - another similar product that serves the same application :

 

[Edmund76]

Dear brother.....thanks for the advise. I am planning to take my car out from AutoBavaria to third party workshop to get it fixed. What really pisses me off is when they call me, they use the driver manual to accuse me of not following the guideline. Ask me whether did I pass through any water level that is higher then ankle level. I told them do you expect me to get out of my car during heavy rain to measure the water level every time I see a puddle then decide whether I can drive through or not???? what nonsense is this??? sometimes when we are driving during heavy rain, visibility is poor, cant event see in time there is a puddle of water.

This is really a bad experience and I just want to share so that every one is aware of what they will be getting themselves into if they buy a new model BMW. One case or 2 cases I can understand, but there are many cases for the F30 and F10. does this tell us that maybe is the design of the engine which could be a potential defect.

 

[SilverBullet]

sorry but just to get some further understanding of the root cause, is it caused by the F30 air-intake design is lower and located on the sides of the kidney grille compared to previous 3-series models?

 

[SilverBullet]

Does anyone use this HydroShield from Injen before ? If yes, could u please share the dealer details contact info ?

http://ivoo.tv/mobile/v/whj3tV_hAQc
http://www.redlinemotive.com/store/injen/injen-hydro-shield-pre-filters.asp
http://www.jcwhitney.com/injen-universal-hydroshield-pre-filters/p2011144.jcwx?filterid=b887u0j1

Volant - another similar product that serves the same application :

Will the hydroshield reduces the amount of air intake to the engine?

 

[sh_Callum]

Silverbullet,

Based on what I understand from SC Manager, the water level should not be higher than this inlet. I am trying to figure out the air intake piping, but not quite clear. The photo as attached, which I believe should be the water that suck into the engine. But I need to confirm this again with my SA.

 

[sh_Callum]

Silverbullet, their design is proven, no impact to the air intake.

Again, this shield is only prevent water splash into the air intake inlet, however, if the car is soak into the water pond or if the car drive through deep puddle, it won't help. It is again not a completely full proof, but it does some level of help.

The Injen Hydrolock shield believe to be installed on this filter per photo as attached. Any Sifu here please comments if I am wrong.

To be honest, I am trying to learn this car, know too little about the engine compartment. Need a lot of guidance from the guru in this forum.

 

[alantiong]

hmmm.. is this a way for bmw to make money out of innocent and everyday driver?? really piss me off. i can feel what edmund is going through.

but there is a catch... i do not believe there is enough of water went into his engine to hydrolock the car. therefore .. it cannot be a 80K solution,

there are cavity inside the whole intake system that creates a "quanda" effect which cause reaction where water will swirl down and not up into through the filter.. to certain extent.. but not in fully soaked water.

if the engine died off and u still can crank.. there is no hydrolock.. there fore engine is fully intact. however if u can crank and not start.. the Air mass sensor is sensing wet or high watercontent through the intake or inside the manifold.. it will not allow it to start.

the last E60 530D that i saw which Ab say 80K to fix, was actually just water in intake.kena the sensor. but of course the SC will give u the worst scenario and have this.. "dun fix.. just change the whole damn thing" attitude.
in the end, took out the whole intake manifold .. a whole can WD40, and some rubber and plastic parts.. and back to normal.. still a 2 days work .. becos.. just the intact manifold and related components for the 3 litre turbo diesel is a challenge..

i think AB just dun want to take chances but .. scaring the owner like this is really stupid.. mind you guys.. the position of the intact manifold of this car is no different than most japanese and korean car.. but the water sensor thing is the clever fail safe part that the bloody AB not being honest about. the german is way ahead of anyone interm of design... i have not seen E60, E90 or F30 actually hydrolocked.. water in intake.. car cannot start... quite a few..

 

[razibar]

Silverbullet,

Based on what I understand from SC Manager, the water level should not be higher than this inlet. I am trying to figure out the air intake piping, but not quite clear. The photo as attached, which I believe should be the water that suck into the engine. But I need to confirm this again with my SA.

sh_Callum

based on your photo, the level of water must be really high to get sucked into the intake system. normally if we see that, we wont dare to drive through. after reading Alantiong's post, i'm beginning to wonder what is the real story here. Did the sensor get wet and refuse to start or water has indeed entered into the cumbustion system creating hydrolock. Brother Edmund, hope you get positive feedback from the 3rd party workshop.

 

[sh_Callum]

Razibar, I had just confirmed with SA, in fact, the correct water level is slightly higher than the photo that I posted earlier. Yes, the water level is quite high indeed.

I am not sure about the sensor as Alan mentioned, perhaps he can share with us his knowledge. I am still new, need to learn too.

 

[alantiong]

edmund just confirmed that his car is a petrol version, which run on a AFM (air flow mass sensor). it is design to calculate air volume through the intake system. it also incorporate temp sensor also.

these sensors will shut the fuel injection and ignition when water pass through as the density of fluid changes beyond the design parameters. thus protecting the engine from destroying itself.

so very unlikely for the engine to have actually sucked water into itself. i have just looked at my own car ealier today, and i would think the water level will have to be completely cover the height of bumper before there is any chance of this to happen.

i will advise edmund to try to hand turn the engine and see if turnover. if it does, then there is nothign wrong with the engine. if it has hydrolock, it will have seized.

 

[Edmund76]

yes mine is the 320i model. I am planning to take out my car from AB today. it is pointless to argue with AB or BMW Malaysia as both as concluded I drove my car through a fairly deep level of water. BMW Malaysia sent me a letter to explain the cause but if you read the content you will laugh. They even warned me not to accuse them or criticize their car in public forum or they will take necessary actions to protect their brand.

I am just curious if BMW is so confident that their design is flawless then why are they afraid of me going to public forum to voice my opinion and frustration???? I have never seen or heard or encounter any company in any industry that will ask their customer to shut up if not action will be taken. it is amazing how they can be so arrogant.

 

[alantiong]

yes mine is the 320i model. I am planning to take out my car from AB today. it is pointless to argue with AB or BMW Malaysia as both as concluded I drove my car through a fairly deep level of water. BMW Malaysia sent me a letter to explain the cause but if you read the content you will laugh. They even warned me not to accuse them or criticize their car in public forum or they will take necessary actions to protect their brand.

I am just curious if BMW is so confident that their design is flawless then why are they afraid of me going to public forum to voice my opinion and frustration???? I have never seen or heard or encounter any company in any industry that will ask their customer to shut up if not action will be taken. it is amazing how they can be so arrogant.

actually we r not criticizing bmw. we r saying the dealership is treating us like mushroom n the knowledge of the product is very sadly... next to none.. i must say i havent met many service technician who love their job coupled with enthusiam.. most of then.. just looking forward from paycheck to paycheck