E61 taligate and boot fault
 

Hi Everyone, I am new here. I got some fault with my E61 2006 Reg 520D.

The faults are as follows

1. After tailgate closed, it won't shut tighten but can be wiggled at a small angel. When driving forward or accelerate the iDrive will show warning as "boot open"; when break or waiting for the red light , the error will goes off. About 10% chance the tailgate can be shut very tighten and you can not wiggle it, this will make fix the fault above.

2. After the car is locked, the light inside the boot (3 of them) still on.

3. The central locking works fine, but when the tailgate is closed "improperly", the alarm will beep about 15mins after the car is locked.

4. The battary sometime gone flat, I am not sure if this is due to a poor battery or the tailgate can cause a leakage.


I have searched on internet for few day. I knew the tailgate wiring for E61 is a flagrant design fault. I tried myself and successfully remove the a hinge. But first of all, I am not sure if it is the wire's fault. Secondly, there are 4 hinges, I have no idea which one I should remove the isolation tape to check.

Anyone have met this kind of fault before? I need some guide.

Cheer for your time reading my problem.

I'm betting it's the power lock mechanism itself that does the soft close. Once the tailgate is closed, if you have noticed, it gets pulled in like half an inch. That's the auto close mechanism that rotates and pulls down the hook on the hatch to pull it tight. Mine busted and the dealer replaced it. With the tailgate open, the car won't fall asleep, so that would explain the battery issues too IMO.

Hey Pigment,

check out the main thread on this topic; https://5series.net/forums/e61-touri...acement-72751/

The loom which has the wires to the tailgate and glass lock is the one on the left that goes down to the tailgate rather than the glass. It is quite a long repair. I have seen so many pics of wires severed/shorted.. all the wires will go this way; they need to be replaced with silicone rubber wires which are flexible and rated for a wider range of temperatures. There is no point in prising off one of the hinges hoping to patch it that way. You need to get to it from where it enters the body (behind the speakers in the roof). Easiest way to get a compete repair (IMO) is using the replacement loom from SenCom T.Q. - Startseite

In the meantime, if you unboxed the interior of the tailgate perhaps you could get it to close, then unplug the electric lock. This would allow you to drive the car (hopefully it will think the lock is closed not open, otherwise youd have to further hack it). There is a manual release. Beware the glass lock may fail and you need to open the glass to fix it. If you unbox the tailgate you will be able to reach the wiring should it be necessary.

Good luck :hmm:

Hi lotus99, thanks for the reply. It sounds like where the issue is. I have no idea which part the dealer changed for you. Can you check this link and show me which part I need buy?

RealOEM.com BMW E61 530d TRUNK LID/CLOSING SYSTEM

Best regards

Hey cmg535,

Thanks for the advice. I checked the website. It seems Shop it the one I should buy. SInce all the wires are easily broken, I should be changed all at once. I also checked the youtube video link as well.

I also brought the GT1 software on eBay. I am not sure if it can check the wire connection or the lock switch mechanism fault.

I found where the manual switch of the tailgate. I shut the switch without close the boot and drive the car. But this can not fool the iDrive. It still shows the boot is open :(

Now my question comes to how can I check if it is the wire playing or the lock switch mechanism playing? Do you know how to check this?

Best regards

Sorry, I don't have my work order handy to check the part #, but it should be #1 from that diagram. I repeated above what the tech told me. The hook in the lock mechanism he said rotates once you close the hatch, to pull it down tight.

What a pain. Can you tell if it thinks the tailgate is open vs the glass? I think either would result in it leaving the interior lights on and not locking.

Still, both locking mechanisms are accessed via the tailgate. I'm not sure that you will be able to easily tell the difference between a break in the wire vs faulty lock unit. I think that to proceed you need to unbox the tailgate so you can access the locks and wiring to them. This isn't necessary to do the loom replacement other than making sure you can open the glass no matter what.

The part which tells the car's body control system if the tailgate is open will be some microswitch. Probably you will find there are 2 thick wires for the motor and then one or two thin ones which are for the microswitch. If you know how to diagnose simple electrical circuits and have a multimeter you may be able to tell from probing the lock. You could unplug it and measure the resistance to ground of the sensor and power wires. If you have the wiring diagram (i dont) then it would show how this microswitch is wired and you could then probably work out if it is the wire or the switch.

That diagram on Real OEM is pretty unclear. I think it is part #5 (the expensive one!) - looks like that is the motor and switch.

If it is the wire (likely as so many report this fault) then there isn't an easy shortcut to get it working prior to replacing the loom. It would be a fiddle to try to separate one wire out and fix it because it is hard to access with the loom in place. The break will be a couple of inches from the exit by the LHS roof speaker. May as well take the time to chop the whole loom out if you are comfortable with attempting that.

Regards
CMG

If it's part #5, looks like you might be able to source used ones too, especially since wagons in Europe are much more common than here in NA:

Genuine BMW E61 5 Series Touring Soft Close Tailgate Catch 67107114613 breaking for used and spare parts from ASWR in Openshaw, Manchester

<<<@!1!@>>>


Hi Lotus99, I haven't got time in the past few days to check this issue. Just keep the tailgate closes after a successful shut.

I found out a video on youtube which 99% as what happen to my E61.
It shows even the tailgate closed, the lights still on, also after the tailgate shut is not tight as well. Can you tell anything from this video?

Regards

@pigment, did you ever get this resolved? Looks like it just started happening to my E61 today according to my wife. I'll check it out tonight but she says the 'trunk open' message and a ding sound happen when she accelerates. I'll have to watch for the soft close.