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BMW 3-Series (E90 E92) Forum > E90 / E92 / E93 3-series Technical Forums > Mechanical Maintenance: Break-in / Oil & Fluids / Servicing / Warranty > (E93) Some blue fluid is leaking in the trunk. What could it be?



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      12-22-2020, 03:52 PM   #1
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Question (E93) Some blue fluid is leaking in the trunk. What could it be?

I'm dumbfounded. What fluids would run trough the trunk in an e93?
The exact location is on the left of the trunk, in the little space where the owners manual fits. Behind that, there's a raster with diamond shapes (no clue what that space is meant for). Anyway when I got the car 2 months ago, I realized, well, someone must have spilled something there, so I cleaned it. Now 2 months later it's back.
Coolant and washer fluid doesn't run past the trunk, right? (no rear wiper on an e93)
I'm starting to doubt myself, maybe I didn't properly clean it when I got the car and just now look good enough? There's not much lines running there right?
Does anybody have any ideas? Picture attached shows the space, camera pointed towards the rear of the car. PS the grey "drops" you see are actually shaped into the plastic, not water. Thanks for helping!

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      12-22-2020, 05:39 PM   #2
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Well, you do have a hydraulic pump in the trunk to raise the roof panels.

Not sure about the color of the fluid or if it could possibly be it because the pump is very low in the trunk, under several covers (in the middle).

Not sure what else it could be.
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      12-22-2020, 09:34 PM   #3
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Clogged sunroof drain? But that wouldn't be blue... what's it smell like? Probably your best bet for identifying it.
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      12-23-2020, 07:58 PM   #4
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You didn't say what model e93 you were asking about. Unless it's a diesel, there's no blue fluid in the trunk. The hydraulic fluid for the top is amber colored.
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      12-23-2020, 09:21 PM   #5
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Quote:
Originally Posted by e91Owner View Post
The hydraulic fluid for the top is amber colored.
Thanks for that e91Owner, I had no idea the color it was and now, I know.
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      12-24-2020, 05:29 AM   #6
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Welcome to NBA Jam View Post
Clogged sunroof drain? But that wouldn't be blue... what's it smell like? Probably your best bet for identifying it.
E93 (convertible) doesn't have a runroof.

Quote:
Originally Posted by e91Owner View Post
You didn't say what model e93 you were asking about. Unless it's a diesel, there's no blue fluid in the trunk. The hydraulic fluid for the top is amber colored.
325i

So then.. Maybe I have no leak? I saw the blue fluid en cleared about 4 squares when I bought the car, I thought I saw nothing else but maybe it was there all along. Maybe the previous owner leaked a cooling fluid bottle there or something..

Anyway, now I have to find out how to get that piece of plastic out of there, to properly clean it.
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      12-24-2020, 08:41 PM   #7
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Dx11 View Post

325i

So then.. Maybe I have no leak? I saw the blue fluid en cleared about 4 squares when I bought the car, I thought I saw nothing else but maybe it was there all along. Maybe the previous owner leaked a cooling fluid bottle there or something..

Anyway, now I have to find out how to get that piece of plastic out of there, to properly clean it.
I just mean there are no fluid lines running blue fluids (coolant, windshield wiper fluid or diesel additive). Not sure where else it could be from, unless it's been a while like you said. Should be pretty easy to remove. From my count there are 4 quarter turn trim fasteners keeping it place.
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      12-25-2020, 05:09 PM   #8
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Quote:
Originally Posted by e91Owner View Post
I just mean there are no fluid lines running blue fluids (coolant, windshield wiper fluid or diesel additive). Not sure where else it could be from, unless it's been a while like you said. Should be pretty easy to remove. From my count there are 4 quarter turn trim fasteners keeping it place.
I'm pretty new to this. Last week I tried to get to the battery (to see the capacity/age) and it took me about an hour to get to it, and another hour to reassemble it.

I hope you're right and it was just a leaking bottle from the previous owner. That would have been coolant then probably, hope that's not a bad sign.

Been raining for 5 days here now. When the weather gets better I'm gonna try to get the tray out to clean it.
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      12-26-2020, 12:03 AM   #9
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Looks like coolant to me. I bet the PO had a bottle of coolant that spilled.
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      12-26-2020, 02:20 AM   #10
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If it were 2 mo coolant it would have dried by now. Same for washer fluid.

Blue oil could be hydraulic fluid of some sort.

ATE superblue brake fluid is not very common anymore (it's been rendered illegal because the blue color supposedly confused service mechanics into letting people drive with leaky brakes).

Some brands of power steering fluid is also blueish. Not sure why that would appear in the trunk though.

Some pressurized dampers (like the one that keep the trunk open, and maybe some that help operate the roof) can leak oil, the oil color will vary with brand of damper. That's the most probable thing from that list.
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      12-26-2020, 09:36 AM   #11
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Maybe it's blinker fluid?
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      12-26-2020, 09:46 AM   #12
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Took out the storage tray (quite a hassle, just like the battery cover).
It seems to be bone dry all around it. So I think/hope it was from a leaking bottle. I did however buy the car in September, so that's strange. Maybe it was way fuller when I got it.

Anyway, pics of the surroundings, maybe one of you sees something I don't:

View post on imgur.com
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