Thoughts on My Z4

[07Z4ER]

Hey Guys,

I'm new here and not sure how to fully navigate but joined because I think this is the best place for expert feedback.

In July, my 2007 Z4 was parked on a Savannah street and during an Act of God it flooded during an afternoon rain. Had it towed and a mechanic got the engine running and tuned up. Water level was just shy of the windowsills so I had little hope. Air filter was wet…

Anyway, I know problems are now electrical and mold. Replaced some fuses today but did not matter. Here are my immediate issues, some minor, some major. I am hoping a discussion can help guide me moving forward. Friends want me to keep the car. Rarely driven, it has under 86k miles on it. I'm freaked about mold. But the engine purrs.

1. Driver control for passenger window now only sends that window down, whether button is pressed or pulled up.

2. Power seats were as far back as possible and have now locked in that position, both sides, no power. So we cannot get behind them and are going to set off a mold fogger hoping it will reach and decontaminate. Pulling them would be expensive and drudgery.

3. This is the strange one. Blower is on at all times! Had to pull the fuse to turn it off. As long as the battery, brand new, has juice, the blower blows. Lights for AC/heat on panel are always on when car is on. Won't turn off.

Any feedback welcome, or if this message needs to be moved, understood.

Thanks for hearing me out.

Steve

 

[srhutch]

Water was up to the windows?

 

[Anonymous]

Hi, I don’t know about the E85s but on the E89s many of the switches are canbus network based rather than good old individual wires to individual switches...specifically when I got a lot of rain water on the window switch unit driver side, around 6 hours later it refused to open any of the windows...I could force the windows open by opening the roof which also sequences the windows.

For the next two days problem remained.

On day 3 all was well, the box of tricks inside the switch unit had dried out...

Given the level of flood damage and assuming that the switch muppetry is similar you may be forced to swap the switch units out which are around £100 ish or so..

Good luck...

 

[rally-chris]

Flooded cars can be an electrical nightmare for years to come, which is why normally insurers will write off cars that have been in a reasonable flood. Even if the electrics work now there's little guarantee that corrosion inside the control units or wiring harness won't come back to haunt you in the future. And that's before you start considering the health risks of dirty water and mould.

If I were you I would be looking to get rid of the car ASAP, are you covered by insurance?

 

[Mr Tidy]

rally-chris makes a valid point about potential future issues.

When I worked in motor insurance claims back in the 80s if the water got above the centre of the wheels we always treated the car as a total loss regardless of what car it was or the value. Must have saved us loads of future grief! :lol:

 

[spreadsheet monkey]

In July, my 2007 Z4 was parked on a Savannah street and during an Act of God it flooded during an afternoon rain.

Assume you're from the US and this is Savannah, Georgia? The insurance situation may be different over there to the UK. As others have already said, on this side of the Atlantic, the insurance company would have paid out for the car as a total loss in the event of flooding as bad as you described.

I can't offer any specific help on fixing the problems you've described. Has the flooding killed the General Module? can this be replaced?

 

[Yorkie Z]

Set it on fire, that should dry it out

 

[Jembo]

Such a shame... if you’d like one more shot, here’s my suggestion.

Is there a paint shop with a space heater / baking garage near you? I can only suggest leave everything open & pay for the paint shop’s fuel bill / nominal equ use over a weekend.

Then religiously go through every connector & switching block, spraying with XCP Rust Blocker or equivalent, dismantling dash & giving a good spray everywhere (except the alternator)

Otherwise, try getting her running as sweet as possible & trade her into a webuyanycar equivalent...

Good hunting & lets us all know what you decide

 

[ph001]

This is canbus corruption as mentioned above. The module you really need to concentrate on first is the airbag control module under the centre console. This has all the info you need.... https://z4-forum.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=108370&hilit=airbag+control

Have to say though, even if that does sort it I'm not convinced you won't get further issues down the line. Drying it out with a can of gasoline might well be the best advice

 

[07Z4ER]

Hey Guys,

Much appreciated and very helpful. To answer some comments on insurance. For the first time in the eight years I have owned the car, I took a friend's advice this Spring and removed the comprehensive as I don't drive it much

Yes, water was just shy of the window sills, inch or two, srhutch.

And to Pbondar, I don't know enough about switch units but agree on canbus, and thanks.

Today, we fogged it for mold. With the fuse in and the blower on, we cranked out the heat for 10-15 minutes, then the AC for same, and then let it sit for two hours. At one point, my friend said the blower had shut off! And it had. Later in the evening it came back on with no engine running so we pulled the fuse.

Am wondering if the heated interior might have gotten high enough to dry out some wetness, especially since the shifter unit is pulled out some? We had to pull the shifter up to get to where you push a switch or lever in order to get it into neutral when it was first towed after flooding as it was locked in first gear with no power. Not sure where that module is in relation to the shifter but both are center panel, of course, though that unit is supposed to be between the seats.

Any thoughts after all this would help. Am convinced from reading the comments that the airbag control module has a role in it all, and we were thinking of cranking up the heat and the heated seats for a prolonged period of time to see if the blower ultimately turns off. Not sure if it turns off as a safety mechanism, though, either.

Not ready to set it on fire, but appreciate the suggestion, I think…

To spreadsheet monkey, don't know what a General Module is. Water did come up to where Auto Zone sticks in that diagnostic tool. Tow guy said computer under hood did mot get wet even though air filter did. Yes, this is Savannah Georgia, and it was an afternoon shower, like we get, parked about 100 feet from a four-way intersection. City said it was worst such incident in 25-50 years.

Again, thanks for the interest and feedback. If we heat it up inside and that doesn't do the trick will have a mechanic try to get to the airbag control unit and see what he can do. Guessing it stays wet until then unless interior heat reaches it? We could be grasping for straws, but, the blower did turn off, so there's hope and I'm convinced it's canbus corruption and that airbag control unit. And other electric issues are minimal as noted earlier, for now. Appreciate the confirmation and link from ph001 to the other discussion with the instructions there, also.

Cheers.

Steve

 

[ph001]

You will never dry those modules / connectors out without physically taking them apart. Trust me on that.

 

[07Z4ER]

You will never dry those modules / connectors out without physically taking them apart. Trust me on that.

I believe you.

Thanks for your insight.

Steve

 

[Thunderous One]

My advice would be to scrap the car and salvage what you can of value for your next Z4
Future corrosion issues
Mold as mentioned
Long term issues that repeat
And finally and probably the single most important is the safety of the car in the future, not just for yourself but other road users. Something failing in the future and the potential danger would be something to avoid.
You just don’t know what lays beneath the surface that will rise in the future.

 

[Zoomer]

I would think that this car is a whole can of problems just waiting to be opened after the water ingress. Time to get rid I am afraid

 

[Doddsy]

Good on ya for trying to sort that mess out but I’d be getting rid of it sharpish