40e Water spill in trunk-urgent help needed

[Yllo123]

Hi,
Upon arrival, after a long drive, I noticed that a big can of water (5l-1,4 gallons) had tipped over and leaked out in the trunk of my 40e X5 . A lot was soaked into the carpet, but most was «gone». As the 40e has the batteries under there, it’s not easy to open or see where it’s actually gone. Does anyone know if there’s some sort of drainage there, any tips of things I need to do?? As it’s friday night and I’m Way into the mountains my options are a bit limited. The car is scheduled for annual maintenance next week, but still want to know if I need to do anything immediatly. Any tips greatly appreciated!!

[turboawd]

Did any leak out onto the ground? Usually trunks have drains I think.

[DuSh]

Take off the cover so battery is exposed and check the water level if you can see it in the gap between battery and trunk. Battery itself is sealed, but there are lots of electric connections that shouldn't be wet to avoid shorting. You just need to let it dry and check underneath the trunk - go under the rear bumper and slide a bit inside - try to see if there are some drainage holes covered by plastic or rubber plugs. They are usually round and size of about 2 inches in diameter. You can try to open them up to drain any water left in there.
You can also try to stick some tissue towels between battery and trunk gap to soak up some water - and then discard of course. If it was just water - it's still better than some coke.
I would also take off battery terminals until trunk is dry, but I'm not sure with 40e if that would work considering it has large extra battery. And of course don't touch both red and black cables at the same time unless you want some free electroshock therapy to heal that depression and bad mood.

[Yllo123]

Thanks!! It’s raining a lot here, and I don’t really know how long I had been driving with the water down there, so I can’t really tell if it’s drained. I’ll check for plugs! Fortunatly it was clean water, not Coke (or even paint which I did have an acvident with once..).

[xweb10]

Originally Posted by Yllo123

Fortunatly it was clean water, not Coke (or even paint which I did have an acvident with once..).

Sounds like you need a pickup truck, not an X5!

[sj22]

The trunk has a footwell of sorts where 3rd row/spare tire/batteries sit. If your car is driving fine, I would just put a large dehumidifier in the trunk and leave it on overnight since water may still be collected in the well. If any electronics are shot, they will need replacement.