[Garciatr]

I have owned my 2018 X3 M40i since new. It's been an amazing vehicle and I've never had any issues with it. I liked it so much that I went out and bought another one.

Two weeks ago I purchased a 2019 X3 3.0. It had 52,000 miles and was just out of warranty. A week after purchasing it I received the dreaded "Emergency Call System Malfunction" message. I took it to the dealer and they said it was from water leaking around the shark fin antenna. The bill came out to just over $2k to repair it. I am very fortunate that the dealer I purchased it from is taking care of the repair bill for me.

I have not had any issues with my 2018 M40i. It is out of warranty and I don't want to have another $2k bill for the same issue. So I'm wondering about possibly sealing around the edge of the shark fin antenna. I figured I could tape around the antenna very neatly and apply some sort of a marine sealant. Hopefully that would keep water from leaking onto that TCB. Has anyone done anything similar to this?

Thanks everyone.

[Szunyi05]

Exact same issue just happened today with our 2019 x3. But it’s keep calling the emergency call center hang up after hang up. Just washed the car at home. Lol.

[kquaid]

The shark fin seal on my 2019 X7 seal failed causing a leak, destroying the TCB control unit. The repair is $3000. Not covered under my CPO.

I have done tons of research. There is a TSB (Technical service bulletin out there SIB 65 12 22) stating this is a manufacturers defect, for all x series vehicles manufactured prior to 1/10/22. It is covered under warranty if you are still under the initial warranty, but not if you have a CPO warranty.

This is the link to the TSB
https://static.nhtsa.gov/odi/tsbs/20...27571-9999.pdf

There are complaints on NHTSA site regarding the shark fin.

I also spoke with BMW Corporate North America. At first they kept saying that the TSB did not apply to my model, they were looking at the wrong one. Once they looked at the correct one, they said well you are under CPO warranty so it's not covered.

Not only is this a defect but a safety issue, it affects the navigation, the SOS button and many other electronic components.

They have made a calculated decision to only cover the issue under the new vehicle limited warranty. At this point all I can do is pay the $3000 and hope that enough owners complain both to the NHTSA and BMW Corporate that something will change.

[MrColl]

I had the same issue this week. I got the “Emergency call system failure” message. After some researches I read that it could be the battery. So I removed both pillars and pulled the head liner down. Kinda easy to do. But when I removed the battery it was wet. There was no visible water anywhere on the Lining itself but the module was very wet. It also affected my GPS location and one of the microphones.

My X3 is 2019 therefor not covered by the SIB. I probably can do the work myself. But I don’t know if this part is plug and play or if it requires coding?

[TXGrey]

IMO, I see no reason why someone can’t just “seal” the edge of the shark fin. It’s no different than any other “seam” that you would seal with a clear waterproof silicone… except it’s car paint. Find a silicone that is okay to use on paint… make a small bead line, and smear/wipe into the seal like you would on tile or a faucet (edge). It’ll dry clear in 24 hours. It’d probably be a little bit noticeable if you were looking for it, otherwise, I’d think it wouldn’t be too perceptible.