Roof motor failures - outside parked cars only?
- Thread starter pvr
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pvr said:Not worried - scientifically interested
Google is your friend here and the myth that it rains all the time in England is referred to a phallacy. :wink:
My 03 plate has been parked outside throughout it's life and the motor failed last week!! I have been keeping the drain holes clear so I am not at all sure these have much bearing on the water still getting into the motor housing. I am replacing the roof next week...it goes without saying I will be doing everything I can to stop water getting into the new motor!
Its an interesting point , I think yes being outside increase the "risk" .
I think where you park makes a big differences as well when I purchased my Boxster they park it under a tree which shed bucket loads of leaves etc and the drian holes they advised blocked quite easy. They had them cleared on the service I purchase the car 2 weeks later and check the hole fine. Only to find a month later they were blocked and a small amount water had dropped into the passanger side and the trees where I park hardly shed a thing.
I might add where one on the major ECU's are, I was lucky I caught it early only as I noticed an amount of condinsation on the inside when cleaning the car and a very fait damp smell. Spent a day taking seats out and carpet etc to dry it all out so you really have to pay attention with these things and check.
I think where you park makes a big differences as well when I purchased my Boxster they park it under a tree which shed bucket loads of leaves etc and the drian holes they advised blocked quite easy. They had them cleared on the service I purchase the car 2 weeks later and check the hole fine. Only to find a month later they were blocked and a small amount water had dropped into the passanger side and the trees where I park hardly shed a thing.
I might add where one on the major ECU's are, I was lucky I caught it early only as I noticed an amount of condinsation on the inside when cleaning the car and a very fait damp smell. Spent a day taking seats out and carpet etc to dry it all out so you really have to pay attention with these things and check.
Mine is 8 years old, has lived outside for the 3.5 years I've had it, drain holes are clear and touch wood, no roof motor issues. I have had a hardtop fitted for the past 2 winters which I'm sure helps.No trees nearby, so perhaps I've been lucky.I am realistic enough to expect to have to replace the motor at some stage though, I know it won't last forever.
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Anonymous
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I voted "garaged" just so I could see the results of the poll
Kryton, you can see them without voting if you click on "View results" 
It was in fact water damage.tabbie said:Was this due to a faulty roof motor or water damage? Makes me think the drain holes ar'nt up to the job even when kept clear in heavy rainfall. :?WLH said:I had a roof failure on my previous 2006 facelife Zed before it was one year old...
My motor failed and I live in an area that gets very very little rain and I park in the garage. I am sure that mine failed from water during car washing. My motor quit during the summer which for my area means that no rain has fallen for months but 2 days after washing it. When I took the top off my drains were clear with no debris at all in the wells. I also found the motor case was very poorly sealed by BMW ( no apparant sealant at all ) and that is the real problem. (IMHO) I believe that water ran down the hydraulic lines / mounting bracket and into the motor case and rusted the motor. The motor case was never immersed in water as plugged drains would suggest. Just my own experience.
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Anonymous
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Wondermike said:Kryton, you can see them without voting if you click on "View results"
Doh!!
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Anonymous
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Every time you wash a car with a blocked drain it will fill up a bit more, who needs rain...
Trouble is the motor lives in a little container (soundproofing), above a big plastic moulding under the roof fabric. The moulding has the drain hole.
If it gets blocked, the moulding will fill up enough to then overspill into the little container (which is not sealed adequately and doesn't have a drain hole)
Even if you clear the moulding drain hole afterwards, it won't empty the little container, and the motor will sit immersed in water, rusting away until it dies. No amount of drain checks will empty that water away. The damage will be done just waiting for the time bomb to kick in.
You just have to hope it has never reached that level, and remains clear afterwards.
If you can do it yourself, (its pretty straightforward) a new motor is £300, big whoosh. 2 tyres are more than that.
My drains were cleared when I first bought my previous Z4, but 8 months later I emptied a cup of rusty water out of the soundproofing after the motor died.
Trouble is the motor lives in a little container (soundproofing), above a big plastic moulding under the roof fabric. The moulding has the drain hole.
If it gets blocked, the moulding will fill up enough to then overspill into the little container (which is not sealed adequately and doesn't have a drain hole)
Even if you clear the moulding drain hole afterwards, it won't empty the little container, and the motor will sit immersed in water, rusting away until it dies. No amount of drain checks will empty that water away. The damage will be done just waiting for the time bomb to kick in.
You just have to hope it has never reached that level, and remains clear afterwards.
If you can do it yourself, (its pretty straightforward) a new motor is £300, big whoosh. 2 tyres are more than that.
My drains were cleared when I first bought my previous Z4, but 8 months later I emptied a cup of rusty water out of the soundproofing after the motor died.
Mine died through water ingress, surely a relevant question though would be what proportion of Zeds are kept outside vs. garage?
Statistically, I bet there are more "outside cars" that suffer failure simply because there are far more outside cars than there are garaged cars?
On my estate where most of the houses have double garages there are hardly any cars kept in the garage, almost all live on the drive. If this is repeated across the country then obviously this will skew the results?
I'll be honest, unless the car is kept out of the rain almost all the time, I bet it makes little difference to longevity of the motor...
Statistically, I bet there are more "outside cars" that suffer failure simply because there are far more outside cars than there are garaged cars?
On my estate where most of the houses have double garages there are hardly any cars kept in the garage, almost all live on the drive. If this is repeated across the country then obviously this will skew the results?
I'll be honest, unless the car is kept out of the rain almost all the time, I bet it makes little difference to longevity of the motor...