WARNING: becareful washing your car

[fresh328]

I think Furious has posted this warning before but I'll say it again becareful washing your car especially around the bottom of the windshield. My car '96 328i has been at the dealership for a few days now and today I got a call from them asking me if I’ve recently washed the car. They've found water and corrosion (probably after many car washes) in the DME unit. I knew it had something to do with it cause after the wash the car was acting weird the idle was constantly sitting around 4000rpm, check engine light came on, poor gas mileage, traction control light goes on and off, and lack of power (acceleration) and a few days later the engine dies out every time I stepped on the gas. They said I had to replace the whole DME unit which is $1100 and plus labor and diagnostics so total would be $1600!! LORDY!! Not to mention I had a new mass airflow sensor put it a couple weeks ago which ran me $463 dollars!

There goes my savings.. oh well. I knew the cost of ownership is expensive but once I get to drive it again…PRICELESS! I told the tech to tape-up or block the vents to prevent the water from entering the DME again. I do not know where the vents or holes are located but if anyone does please help others. Again just becareful and don't overspray the area beneath the windshield.

[dutchbmw]

I'd pay attention when washing my car! Thanks!

[BeemerMan]

Would this be considered a manufacturers defect? Was there ever a recall from BMW?

[007ben]

Drive through car washes are a bigger problem for this kind of thing. The cowlings up front can't drain enough water... most hand washses shouldnt cause this kind of problem..

if it was already damaged or nearly damaged a hand wash could a just been the last straw... or the straw that broke the camels back...

[KingScare]

OK...so I should just avoid spraying where the windshield meets the hood too much??

My ride isn't acting messed up so I guess I've done good.

[Andrewsd1985]

Just wash your car and then check the dme compartment for water. I have never seen water in mine.

[BeemerMan]

Screw those car wash places!!! It's overpriced and they don't do a good job cleaning. They leave your rims dirty! I hate that. One time, I asked how much would it cost to put tire dressing and the idiot says $4.00 more. I said, "are you outta your mind! I can buy a whole bottle of tire dressing for that price!" I always wash my own car which is the only way to go.

[007ben]

they have to use a whole bottle of dressing if you look at their setup... just spray on.

[roguesniper1]

Originally posted by 007ben@Apr 20 2004, 05:41 PM
they have to use a whole bottle of dressing if you look at their setup... just spray on.

You are an IDIOT. There is no setup like that. I have worked in 3 car washes and now I am incharge of ERP. Inc. Which includes three car wash places, plus one which is built in with the gas station. If we were spraying whole bottle of wheel cleaner on each car, me and my boss would have been riding donkeys instead of BMW's right now.

[mole]

Could someone tell me what exactly is the DME compartment?

[thekid]

I htought this was caused by the 2 part plastic piece where the hood meets the windshield, below the wipers. It gets chipped and then starts to leak. If you look you can prolly see that yours is chipped up and prolly needs replacement. I'm more than likely going to replace mine in a few weeks because it's looking pretty rough.

[eloff19]

Originally posted by mole@Apr 20 2004, 09:14 PM
Could someone tell me what exactly is the DME compartment?

its where the engine control unit is stored...the car's computer; it's under the hood on the passenger side

[Silver4evr]

Originally posted by roguesniper1@Apr 20 2004, 06:23 PM
You are an IDIOT. There is....

Is that how you talk to your customers or your employees, Mr. Manager?
I know the answer to that question.

Since you don't treat your customers that way, please don't treat us that way.
You're not motivating anyone to listen to you when you start out like that, especially with the caps lock stuck on.

We don't need name calling on this board.
It's rude and doesn't accomplish anything.
I'm sorry,yes it does, it demonstrates the low level of eruditeness of the name caller.

[Silver4evr]

Originally posted by bmw300@Apr 20 2004, 04:15 PM
They said I had to replace the whole DME unit which is $1100 and plus labor and diagnostics so total would be $1600!! LORDY!!

Sounds like a manufacturing defect to me. For all the great BMW engineering we hear about, they can't keep water out of the DME?

[Furious]

i see lots of DME's go because of waterlogging. as a matter of fact this time of year lots of Bimmers show up at the garage with this problem. because of the better weather , more car washing is happening. and it seems to be those drivethru touchless carwashes that are causing the most of the problems.