I have an E61 (2007 530xiT) with the power tailgate option. There was a thread a while ago that revealed that fact that most people with an automatic tailgate did not have a properly functioning cargo cover - most were surprised to discover that when the cargo cover was pulled down and set into place, it would not only spring 'up' along a track when the tailgate or glass latch was opened, but also that the cargo cover should retract back into the 'down' (covered) position once the tailgate was closed again.

Mine has not done this since I bought it last December, and a recent trip to the local dealership did not solve the problem (I guess they thought they'd fixed it but they hadn't!). So, I decided to take a few screws out and have a look for myself.

There are 4 screws holding each (left and right) trim panel in place - two are large Phillips head screws accessible after removing the side storage hatches. The other two are small Torx head screws located inside the track that the cargo cover rod locates into. The lower Torx screw is exposed, and the other is located at the top and is accessible after pulling out a black rubber piece that acts as a cargo cover rod 'bump stop'.

Once these 4 screws are removed, there is a single snap connector towards the lower half of the trim panel that is pulled out, and the trim panel comes off easily. This is what can be seen with the trim off:

Attachment 106476

Looking at the track, there are two levers. One stays at the bottom and is actuated by a spring, so that when the tailgate is opened, the spring is released and this tab (or lever) is pulled out of the way, allowing the cargo cover rod to slide up the track from the tension in the cargo cover. The other tab is smaller, and is located at the end of a long silver tube which appears to house some sort of cable or push-rod, perhaps. The silver tube is wrapped in grey foam pipe insulation, and eventually disappears under the floor somewhere (I didn't bother following it any further - perhaps that's the next step). You can see this tab and the silver tube (wrapped in grey pipe foam) in the above photo; here's another view:

Attachment 106477

Once the trim piece is carefully and properly put back in place (mine was not, which indicates that someone has tried to 'fix' this before!), the two tabs are visible:

Attachment 106478

The problem with my system is that the smaller of the two tabs does not move - it's 'stuck' in the lower position. Thus, the cargo cover will not snap upwards. I suspect that the small tab should normally be at the top of the track, and when the tailgate is closed, it should be pulled down along the track, pulling the cargo cover closed with it. It probably slides back to it's 'home' position at the top of the track once the tailgate is closed, ready for the next open/close sequence.

Has anyone ever successfully diagnosed what the problem is with these systems? Is it a motor problem, and if so, where is the motor located? Perhaps something else mechanical? Looking for suggestions before I delve into it further and/or take it back to the dealer again (I have about 6 months of warranty left so I want everything to be perfect when it runs out!).

I looked at mine opening/closing today. You are correct.
When you shut the tailgate, the little tab pushes the cover down on the side slots
Once the cover is down beyond the big tabs, the cover cannot go back up
At this point, you can see the little tab going all the way up again to its "home" position, you can hear it going back up even if you do not make an effort to see it!

Hope this helps

Thanks Obiwan - I was pretty sure it should work but your post confirmed it for me.

I had planned on having a closer look tonite, mainly just to get an idea of which parts might be faulty. I took the entire system apart, eventually finding the motor and overhauling it. Everything looked okay but I cleaned everything up a bit, re-aligned the brushes in the motor and made sure all the contacts were clean etc. There are long gear-driven cables that go from the motor (located at the bottom of the tailgate, right near the bumper under the rear-most trim piece) up to the top of the track that the cargo cover rod slides along, so I made sure they moved freely before putting everything back together. Everything seemed to be ok (although there is quite a lot of friction in the gears) so I figured if it didn't work, it must be the motor (I didn't bother to test it for shorts etc.).

Everything went back together and voila - it works! :-)

All in all it probably took me about 3 hours to disassemble, diagnose, clean, and re-assemble everything. I have a few photos and a short video of the finished result if anyone is interested. I was quite happy to find that nothing needed replacement!

Does anyone know if this is covered under the certified series extended warranty. I had no idea the car had this function until today as it has not worked since day one, two years ago. I often have to get out of the car to manually close the cover. Also, should the tailgate close when pushing the interior button, or would this be a safety concern?
thanks,

This is the link I saved before, hope it helps:

https://5series.net/forums/topic/106...ger-resetting/

I was told this was not covered by the CPO warranty as it was considered "trim".

I see this thread is very old, but have a quick question. Is there a way to lubricate the tension roller or what ever mechanism is inside the cargo cover unit itself that pulls it back? My lock/release mechanism works fine except for the first time we take out the car, it doesn't roll back on its own until we wiggle the cargo cover while keeping the locks released. But for all the subsequent open/closes of the lift gate, it works fine until we take it out after few days. Looked at the cargo cover unit itself to see if there is any way to access the tension mechanism but couldn't find any way to open it.

Does the door slide up and down when the glass is popped/re-seated? Mine seems to only slide one direction and I have to correct it's position more often than not.

The cargo cover functions as it should after the first time hiccup until we take the car out again after a while. Once we do the first time gig, it works smooth going up and down for all subsequent opens/closes.