New member

[Pdh]

Hi All,

I'm Paul a newbie to the forum. I am a long time BMW owner (first was a 316 in 1982!) but currently own a 2009 Z4 (E89) sdrive35is. I wish I had more time to drive it, I bought it in 2017 with 15k miles on the clock, now it has 21k! Generally, I love it, but I have serious problems with water ingress through the retractable roof seals! Which leads to annoying electrical system problems!

Hope everyone is enjoying their cars. Looking forward to getting lots of advice and info from the forum, and giving up nfo in exchange!

 

[t-tony]

Have you tried any treatment on the rubber roof seals to stop water getting in? Gummi Pflege , I use a product from Wurth.
Anyway, hi Paul from me near Lincoln, another E89 0wner.

Tony.

 

[Pdh]

Hi Tony,
Yes, I've tried Gummy Pflege, it definitely improved things... Perhaps I haven't given it enough time. How frequently would you recommend reapplying it?

Thanks in advance,
Paul

 

[t-tony]

I do mine 3 or 4 times a year Paul. I don't like the noise it makes as the panels move on dry rubbers.

Tony.

 

[Pond]

Agree with Tony, but any silicone-based rubber treatment works just as well. I use AutoGlym (only cos I have loads of it).
If the rubbers are dry/ cracked and a bit perished smother them ALL with the silicone stuff and leave for a good while. It is best if you can leave the roof panels apart when waiting (not very easy as the hydraulics tend to leach and the panels drop).

It might be worth checking the alignment of the panels as water can penetrate if any of the seals isn't 100% clamped.

 

[Althulas]

Hi Paul and welcome from, such a low milage car to have those problems but time does not respect rubber. Carry on applying the gummi hopefully will improve, did you own the car from new? Just a thought from the previous post about alignment if you had inherited a previous owners problems.

 

[t-tony]

One more thing I done is to get the cap off an aerosol of silicone spray and spray the content into the cap. Let the propellant flash off and then apply this with a thick artists brush to the narrower rubbers and seals. That way you get good coverage on the rubbers and seals and none on the paintwork.

Tony.

 

[Pdh]

Thanks everyone for the messages, I will certainly take the advice... I was thinking a yearly dosage would be sufficient, as the first dosage did seem to do a really good job, but now the bad weather's back I've started to note some problems recurring, so I'll try another dosage. Althulas, no, I bought the car 8 years old with very low mileage, problem is that I don't drive it enough, myself , most of the miles I've added were to Spa and Monza for the F1's! So, I certainly could have inherited someone else's poor maintenance (not that I've been that much more diligent before it was first apparent to me). I'll try the silicon spray as well, I have a couple of cans. The thing was I had a 325csi previously with the fabric roof and did not have any such problems. But, you live and learn! Thanks again everyone for all your comments.

 

[Shelly]

 

[Rod and Kate]

Hi and welcome from Rod and Kate in York.

 

[Nodzed]

Hi and shame you're having these issues. Just wondering where is the water getting into, boot or main cabin?

 

[Pdh]

Hi and shame you're having these issues. Just wondering where is the water getting into, boot or main cabin?

It has got into both... The problem in the boot seems to have been fixed since I applied the Gummy Pflege in May, but the cabin has condensation on the inside of the windows in the morning, and water flows in from the joint at the front of the hardtop on the first few corners when driven.
I suspect that I just need to reapply the Gummy Pflege as that seems to be effective. Also, need to use the car cover more of the time just to prevent water getting to the joints in the first place!

 

[andyglym]

to the Forum from West Cumbria.

 

[Mint]

Hi Paul and to the forum from me too in Stafford. +1 for the Gummi Pledge, used it for years.

 

[Nodzed]

It has got into both... The problem in the boot seems to have been fixed since I applied the Gummy Pflege in May, but the cabin has condensation on the inside of the windows in the morning, and water flows in from the joint at the front of the hardtop on the first few corners when driven.
I suspect that I just need to reapply the Gummy Pflege as that seems to be effective. Also, need to use the car cover more of the time just to prevent water getting to the joints in the first place!

OK well there are cases of roof and or windows going out of alignment, it won't take much for a small leak to develope. Not sure how you can check or cure this if it's happened without a trip to BMW. Other than a damaged seal or blocked water channel not sure how to help. Gummie pledge and such products won't cure a leak if there is another issue, its a preventative to seal degradation not a leak fixer so don't rely on it if the issue persists. Hope you find the culprit.

 

[t-tony]

To help get rid of moisture in the car, get some plain rice and fill the foot of a stocking and tie it off. Place in the car and it will soak up a lot of moisture.

Tony.

 

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