DCT Gear Shifter Water Damage

[JoshNeal68]

Anybody ever have to deal with CF12/CF27 codes?

A few months back I had to deal with my gear shifter basically turning itself off. I was able to deduce that water had made its way into the insides and bottom of the gear shifter due to my rear vents not being secure to the center console.

My solution was to replace with a used DCT gear shifter from eBay, since purchasing new would require coding that I did not feel like dealing with.

While waiting for the new shifter to arrive, I figured I would disassemble the module to see how much water damage and corrosion occurred on the circuit board. For a short-term solution, I was able to clean the corrosion with a Q-tip and rubbing alcohol and it was a solid "band aid" to assist me to get to and from work.

Similar to many other threads I've read on the forum discussing water intruding the center console from "screw caps? (for lack of a better term)" being either removed or losing it's seal, I noticed that living in an extremely humid environment, if I were to with windows down and AC blowing, condensation would tend to build up around the ventilation above the iDrive display, as well as 4 points surrounding the gear shifter where those "caps" are located.

My lesson learned here is to not only verify all AC passages are properly put into place, but to also refrain from driving in cool, humid weather with the car's air conditioning on its coldest option.

Hopefully this helps someone who is piecing together m3post threads like I have.

[Bmwdoubles_]

It has to do with the AC that drains around the trans. There’s a connector that somehow gets loose and disconnects and begins draining on your shifter and surrounding carpet. I bought the parts, too, but then realized how hard it is to fix. I would have to remove the dash and the entire AC unit in the dash and lower the trans to get these pieces to connect. So, my interim fix is to run the AC with the windows up and not introduce humidity. I packed the outside of the lower connector on the gws gear selector aka dct shifter with dialectic grease to prevent moisture. It’s worked so far and keeping the windows up while running the ac has kept it dry.