This is crazy, has anyone ever heard of this: - Bimmerforums

white530xi · #1 10-28-2009, 07:57 PM

My wife left for work this morning around 7am. Much to her horror when she got to the driveway, every window was DOWN on my 2007 530xi. The moonroof was closed. The asskicker was that it was raining. I wiped everything down real good with a towel. I ran the heat on full blast and drove around for about 1/2 an hour. I put the floor mats in my house to dry. How could this have happened? I swear the windows were closed when I parked it. Security was on. Keys were hanging up in my house. Could it have been an attempted breakin? How could the windows be put down? Why didn't the alarm sound. There looks like a small paint chip near the key hole on the driver door. It may be water damage (short circuit) but when I drove it I get a warning that the passenger restraint system is not functioning. Any ideas? This is driving me crazy?

AMDdude · #2 10-28-2009, 08:06 PM

was anything stolen from the car? Sound more like some sort of a glitch in the electric system that rolled the windows down

E36BMW3series · #3 10-28-2009, 08:12 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by AMDdude

was anything stolen from the car? Sound more like some sort of a glitch in the electric system that rolled the windows down

That's IMPOSSIBLE, its a BMW. . . . .

. . . . oh wait

Pinzon89 · #4 10-28-2009, 08:13 PM

Your deff. going to have electrical problems. You really should take it to a shop or a dealer to get it looked at. Are you sure the sunroof was still closed? If it was opened that would be a sign of convenience opening wich could have been caused by someone messing with the keys. Good Luck

ROFL E36...good one.

FYF Affiliate · #5 10-28-2009, 08:18 PM

I don't know much about the newer 5's, but on some of the older models, if you hold the unlock button (on the remote) down for a few seconds, it will roll all the windows down from outside the car. Is it possible that the button could have accidentally been pressed for a short while?

illogik · #6 10-28-2009, 08:21 PM

Buddy of mine had it happen on his E46 - something with a short in the locking mechanism. Take it in and have it looked at.

pegcity · #7 10-28-2009, 08:25 PM

u must have accidentally had your key push the unlock button for a bit, it will unroll all the windows

mryakan · #8 10-28-2009, 08:41 PM

+1 on the unlock button. Happened to me before and it is puzzling at first. Must have gotten jammed against something in her purse.

Pinzon89 · #9 10-28-2009, 10:20 PM

Convenience opening aka holding the unlock button could have opened the sunroof as well. We have had customers come in without the sunroof open and all the windows rolled down and end up taking seats/carpets out and replacing some wiring and a few modules. Usually we come up with no problem found and send the car back out. When you pack a car with a hundred computers there is going to be glitches. Just like a home computer. Every now and then it wiggs out or locks up and you have to reset it. Seems like it happens with computers on vehicles as well. Hopefully the dealer swallows the cost and goodwills it...(if you come to them often and are on good terms) if not it will be quite pricey...(few thousand). Hope all goes well. Good Luck

ss109 · #10 10-28-2009, 11:10 PM

My 335i has done this several times, and neither I nor the dealer have ever been able to figure it out.

illogik · #11 10-28-2009, 11:14 PM

If the unlock button was held down long enough, the sunroof would have been open too...

z06bigbird · #12 10-29-2009, 01:32 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mryakan

+1 on the unlock button. Happened to me before and it is puzzling at first. Must have gotten jammed against something in her purse.

Or his purse!!

Low battery in vehicle can do strange things; not quite convinced that this is related to low battery.

justaddwada · #13 10-29-2009, 01:46 AM

I've read if water gets in the catches for the seatbelts it will trigger the srs light.

Wolfen · #14 10-29-2009, 06:43 AM

I also wanna add that she prolly got the button jammed in her purse and it auto opened. I would honestly see if it happens again before shelling out $$$

Test it out for yourself. Go to the car and press the open button and hold it for a few sec.

white530xi · #15 10-29-2009, 05:08 PM

First off, the car is at the dealer right now. I will update with what they found. No nothing was taken. I no longer think it was a break in. It definitely was not the conveinience function that opens the windows when the unlock button on the remote was held. I drove it last and left the keys hanking in the kitches. It was definitely locked when I left it. The moonroof was closed, and this would have been open if it was the convenience opening. The dealer said that he had seen this before. Some kind of short triggered by heavy rain. This was a nightmare. I hope they fix it. Does anyone think the rug (not floor mats), would be covered under the warantee? I will post an update when I have one. The dealer said they will have to keep it into next week.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Pinzon89

Convenience opening aka holding the unlock button could have opened the sunroof as well. We have had customers come in without the sunroof open and all the windows rolled down and end up taking seats/carpets out and replacing some wiring and a few modules. Usually we come up with no problem found and send the car back out. When you pack a car with a hundred computers there is going to be glitches. Just like a home computer. Every now and then it wiggs out or locks up and you have to reset it. Seems like it happens with computers on vehicles as well. Hopefully the dealer swallows the cost and goodwills it...(if you come to them often and are on good terms) if not it will be quite pricey...(few thousand). Hope all goes well. Good Luck

Thank God, I am still under original factory warantee.

mryakan · #16 10-29-2009, 05:57 PM

Do you have comfort access? If so, the short explanation could make sense and that should be considered a manufacturer defect and they should cover everything. Otherwise if you don't have CA, then it must be something else.

rh71 · #17 10-29-2009, 06:27 PM

be careful of mold - perhaps should have pulled up the carpetting and wet-vac dried in there. Heard this happen on other bmw forums.

Kevlar · #18 10-29-2009, 07:54 PM

Buy this... http://shop.wmbarr.com/store/p-19-hi...-per-case.aspx

It works wonders.

It is a glitch with the electrical system it happens on the E46.

Pinzon89 · #19 10-29-2009, 10:44 PM

when we get flood cars we take the seats and carpets out, shop vac everything possible, and leave fans on it for like 2 days straight and that usually does the trick. If it still smells or ANY signs of mold we replace the carpet. They should take care of it. And hell if the dont just complain that is smells like mold after the car sits for a while...Good Luck and let me know what they find. We still havent found a cause for it.

thatguy1 · #20 10-29-2009, 10:45 PM

Do you have teenage kids?

Yes: they joyrode your car and left the windows down.

No: it was a ghost.

End of story

HondaRiderAX · #21 10-30-2009, 01:05 AM

The air conditioning works better to dry out a car rather than using the heat.

JunkyardFiend · #22 10-30-2009, 01:33 AM

Oh those silly germans and electrical systems... but seriously that sucks

white530xi · #23 11-03-2009, 06:01 PM

So here is what happened. The car has been at the dealer since last THURSDAY (5 days). They told me it was a software issue. The glitch caused the windows and passenger restraint errors. They are updating the software and the car should be ready tomorrow. I will post what condition the car is in when I pick it up. Remember there was some water damage to the rugs and upohlstery. The leather on the door panels looked very wrinkled. Probably from the dampness and humidity. I hope it looks better after drying out. I will post again.

Register	FAQ	Members List	Calendar	Search	Today's Posts	Mark Forums Read
TireRack Garage	Homepage	Supporting Vendors	Articles	Online Store	Photo Gallery	Forum Rules	Advertising