The contact owns a 2006 BMW 530I. The contact stated that the windshield wiper motor failed on different occasions while driving in inclement weather. The vehicle was inspected by a dealer who advised him that they would reset the computer. After having the computer reset the failure occurred approximately one week later. The vehicle was taken back to the dealer and they advised him they needed to replace the entire windshield assembly. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was approximately 49,500.

- West Arlington, IL, USA

While driving in heavy rain, the vehicle's electronic control system issued a frenzy of alerts, and interrupted function of several subsystems including the windshield wipers. The system issued a message "continued driving not possible" and then further alerts. The BMW center examined the car and stated that water had entered the car through the sunroof drainage system and flooded the compartment housing the control systems, causing the sudden malfunction. Despite the fact that there is no maintenance protocol established by BMW for the drainage system, I had the sunroof drains checked on October 2009 and was assured by the BMW center that it was working to specification at that time. Nevertheless, BMW's center attributed the failure to the drainage system being partially blocked. (N.B. the system had not been checked for the first three years of use, so why would it fail 1 year and 1 month after inspection?) the drain system is concealed within the roof and is not accessible to car owner. The combination of the defective drainage system and the placement of the electronic control systems at the point of water collection presents a safety hazard when driving in inclement weather. Searching on the internet turns up similar complaints on other BMW models equipped with panoramic sunroofs such as the X3, X5, and 535xi and 325.

- Melville, NY, USA

The contact owns a 2006 BMW 530 xit. The contact noticed that when it rained the water penetrated the vehicle spare tire area causing damaged to the vehicle main electrical system causing the instrumental panel and all electrical function to fail. The contact stated he experienced the failure several times. The vehicle was taken to the dealer will clean the hoses clean the upholstery fabric, replaced the damaged wiring system. The failure and the current mileage were 39,000. Updated 01/20/11 the consumer stated the moonroof was not desgined correctly.

- Alexandria , VA, USA

The panoramic sunroof on E60 BMW wagons has a faulty design of the drains which re-directs water into the rear of the car (spare tire area) causing multiple electrical components to fail while driving: Lights, windshield wipers, door locks, speedometer, etc. In my case, the failure occurred twice in a period of 18 months. The dealer and BMW North America repaired the car at owners' expense although an extended warranty was in force. There has been a technical service bulletin issued by BMW but the dealer does not acknowledge the flaw and refers to the failure being caused by 'environmental influences'.

- Sautee Nacoochee, GA, USA