agghopp

I found the exact same problem tonight after searching this forum and finding this thread. 3 broken wires including the brown one. The rest are all exposed, cracked and in need of repair. Is it possible to purchase the wiring harness?

It sounds like in one of these posts you can disconnect power and manually lock the trunk? The lock is in the open position and not sure how to disconnect the harness to the lock? Turning the key in the trunk lid does nothing.

Thanks for any suggestions.

weiyu123

I did open the right side lining. Only two turn fittings. I have to remove one more on the 2nd lining to access the wires. Once removing the black electrical tap (they seemed in good shape), the first wire that I saw was the brown one, and it was broken!!! Othere wires in this junction were also in poor shapes. Some already have the insulations broken, and wires exposed. I added a 16 gage wire sleeve (red) to fix the brown one. Everything is back to normal.
I hope others with the similar issue can use this to fix. This should be a recall from BMW in my opinion!

daMANiack

Hi,

If you're referring to the right side lining, from memory, there's a couple plastic turn fittings that lock the lining into place.

Cheerz

weiyu123

I have the same exact issue right now on 2008 528i. How do i remove side side of trunk mat to see the wires??? thanks

agghopp

I wrestled with getting those buttons out in my '05 model. I eventually took mine to the stealer and paid dearly for the repair. I cannot admit how much it was, but it was shameful. You would be miles ahead to splice your own wires if you have the patience for it and even if you have to buy the tools, solder, iron, whatever. Bad design, IMHO.

dbond698

Had the same problem with my 545. Interestingly but not surprisingly it happened shortly after my trunk started opening rather quickly and slamming on the back end of the open. I see a hydraulic piston inside the trunk spring on the passenger side - my guess is that this is designed to tame the trunk door as it rises and the piston is now shot. I'm sure the rapid open has caused some of the damage to the wires which in my car looks just like the others (brown wire clipped, others badly damaged).

One point to note is that after I clipped and reconnected all of the wires, my trunk still would not close. Frustrating minutes passed. It wasn't until trying as many things as I could think that I depressed the trunk release button in the driver's side footwell that I heard a distinct "click" and was afterward able to close the trunk. Yes, too many incidents it seems for this not to be considered for a recall.

iPhoneHome1

Thank you all for this thread. I was also having locking issues on my 2008 528i, so I popped out the trunk side panel to check... The entire wiring harness appeared intact but after some close inspection the brown wire was completely broken in half. I am so glad to find this. I fixed my trunk release in less than 10 minutes start to finish.

manana21

I want to thank everyone for posting on this matter. I just had the same issue and I followed, step by step, what was talked about here. I was able to fix the issue. Again, thank you.

Gangplank

There is a piston in the trunk? On my 545 my trunk opens with a vengeance. Is it supposed to open slower or more gently?

Where is this piston hiding?

turboawd

the shock absorber is inside the spring