Rain Sensor and Sunroof
 

:) I just purchased a 2002 E430 4MATIC and very happy with it. :)

With all of the things that are incorporated into this car I find it curious that the rain sensor does not close the windows and sunroof when it rains. Can the car be modified to do this? I know that if you point the keyless remote at the car while holding the lock button everything closes. So everything is there to do it. How hard would it be to do?

Thanks,

Pete

It seems to me that this would be a logical feature for the car to have. What does the owners manual say about it? If it is not built in then I think adding it would be extremely difficult. I believe at least some of those systems are on the CAN bus and I don't think you can really hack into that. IMHO.

Mike

True story.

2004 BMW 5 series purchased new in Baltimore.

Car turned off, when it would rain the sunroof and windows would open.

Dealer said he had never seen this happen before and service writer told customer he didn't know what to do.

Can tell you other stories of a 2004 5 series needing a new V-8 engine and a 2002 M3 with 16K miles usng a quart of oil every 2k miles.

I would not want the roof to auto close when it rains, at least not when the car is running and I am driving it! I would like to think I am smart enough to do it manually and sometimes even like my roof vented and window down a hair in the rain! So how would the system know I want it open or closed? Now when parked that is a diferent story. Would be neat to be able to have the windows and roof close when it rains if they are open. But I also see a downside to this as well. What if the thing malfunctions! Drains the battery! Then again MB is pulling features from there newer models due to too many new fangled things you do not need and thus adding complexity to the vehicle and making more things that can break or malfunction. Also to cut costs as well. In the end I think the driver should know when it is raining and not need the rain sensor or computer to close the windows.:D

Its not a feature or available!

oh wow bashing bmw really helped this guy out. i've read of mercedes having similar problems, and the majority of the time its due to the owner not realizing they are mashing the key fob in their pocket. My dad's 540i needed a new engine at 30k, but it was all done under warranty and my dad was taken care of like a king, given a nice loaner and everything. 17k worth of warranty work done without even a question, and the service people said they had never seen that problem before. Also, with those m3 engines break in is CRUCIAL. Heaven forbid a badly broken in high performance engine burns oil....what is the world coming to.

Mine I can hold the Recirc Button on the Climate control and all will close! I have to keep holding though, but if you have a sedan it is supposed to be one touch close of everything! aka Tunnel Mode!

On my car the fob is RF with the exception of the "all roll down" feature which is IR. I wondered why the two different systems. This is a good reason. I did bump the fob once and set off the "panic" mode. That was quite a surprise.

Actually the owner of the M3 is a racing driver, whom meticulously broke in the engine.
The M3 was one of the defective M3 units that had an oil delivery system recall, after the recall work and a second break in period the car burns the oil. Consumption may be within manufacturer spec, but not a desireable occurance for the owner.
These are the M3 engines that BMW denied having an issue with and blamed owners for over reving the units. Luckily, through on-line forums and customers having access to engine failure statistics the units had to be recalled.

1 Qt every 2K miles is not too bad. Although my 111 engine uses (by my most scientific measurement) around 1 Qt every 30,000. Essentially none. Kind of wierd actually.

KISS Approach Best
 

The complexity of modern cars amazes me. I can't believe owners demand all these features as much as the manufacturers feel they need to offer them to keep one step ahead of the competition. It is a viscious circle that seems to have reached terminal velocity. I find the gadgetry of a modern day quite a distraction!

It is very hard to imagine owning a modern day car as a worthwhile car in 10-15 years time.

With my '89 W124 CE I am amazed at how this car not only cost a fortune at the time (the same if not more than the current day equivalent) but also represented the pinnacle of luxury and sophistication. About the most sophisticated thing on it is ABS brakes (OK - the seatbelt extenders are trick). The value is where you want it in the design, quality of the parts and assembly.

I presume the buyers were not dissatisfied or did not feel ripped off as they did not know any different.

In fact, compared to a modern day car it is virtually prehistoric but it matters not for the quality and feel of the ride nor my piece of mind knowing that most things can be fixed with a spanner and screwdriver. There is no tiptronic, not even Sport or Economy mode, no adjustable steering wheel, no ASR, no ESP or any other anagram of other exotic features all reliant on computer communications. It does have a really good Cruise Control though!

Not that I get to use them too much on my daily 25 minute commute each way. Most important feature is the stereo.

It even has one of those old fashioned stereos that just plugs into a generic slot and is not part of the entire integrated dash / steering wheel assembly as is the current norm. I really don't mind leaning over to turn the volume up or changing the channel.

It seems as though most cars today are bought on finance and flipped within increasingly length warranty periods the focus is on bang for the buck and who cares about what the future holds.

Who actually wants or needs all this stuff?

Might have the W124 for some time to come or wait until they offer taxi version of modern day cars.