Rear/Hatch locking mechanism?

[Molez93]

Easy question, but not for me apparently...
What's the part called which secures/locks the hatch? Mine is in the process of failing, and would like to replace the thing before I'm locked out of the hatch.

With manual help, it will raise. Without it, it gets caught on itself.

Thanks!

[pdX5M]

https://www.realoem.com/bmw/enUS/sho...diagId=41_1756

Will probably find what you need here. Not 100% but possibly #14 is what's failing for you?

[Colodano]

Sounds like you have the auto tailgate, yes? The power spindles can go bad, and it could cause the hatch to not raise, or to not lower if the sensors inside fail. They are 3-400 per side, and not too hard to replace.

[Molez93]

I think part #14 is right. The lock arm appears worn at the point it makes contact with the lower lift gate, but it raises fine (yes, it's the auto version) once it's clear of the lower locking "U" or whatever.

It makes noises to indicate it's trying even when I'm not helping it get past/over the U.

[Colodano]

Some people have taken that part out and clean and re-grease it to stop noise issues, might help your issue as well.

[Molez93]

For $140, for me it was worth just buying the lock. Hopefully I don't create new issues taking it apart.

[Molez93]

Update- My issue was solved by replacement of #14 which is the trunk lid lock. Gaining access was tricky, but no major hurdles or challenges. I couldn't find any videos or pics for removing the hatch panels, but just being smart about them served me well. I'll write up what I did once I'm at a real keyboard.

[Molez93]

Here's the process I followed. I was willing to take a risk without knowing exactly what the heck was going to work. Please don't hate me if you break something off. I don't know how much of my success here is reflective of vehicle condition (110k and garaged for 7 of its 8 years in service).
Tools used:
- Interior trim piece tools, those hard plastic ones with flat and curved ends
- Philips screw driver (magnetic tip helped me)
- Flat screw driver
- Pliers
- Small pick
- Flash light (probably best if it's a headband type, but I made do with a small hand-held)
- T40? Torx bit (I'm sure it was a Torx)

There may be ways to do this more efficiently. I was happy nothing broke-off and it all went back together the way it came apart.
1- Remove the screw in each of the handle cavities on the inside of the hatch.
2- Wedge a flat interior tool ~6" in from the far outside to pop the plastic trim piece away from the hatch frame/glass. The plastic piece runs the entire lower length of the hatch. The piece won't move much, but I could use that tool to gently pry the trim away from the hatch (useful later). Repeat on opposite side.
3- With the pry tool providing some leverage to now see in between the trim and the hatch, use a flat head screw driver to pry the next plastic rivet-like fastener between the one you popped and the center of the hatch. Repeat on opposite side.
4- Open/remove the center plastic rectangle cover/ tab which is at the bottom of the interior panel on the hatch and (once you pop it off) is connected to the hatch release cable (back-up release method for the hatch? IDK)
5- Tape that plastic tab out of the way so you can see up inside there. Remove the single Philips screw which you can barely see with light at the right angle. I was paranoid the screw would fall randomly and disappear into the abyss of the area behind the plastic panel, but working slowly with that magnetic screw bit kept the screw under control.
6- Like you did with the outer edges of the plastic trim in step 2, work the plastic cover for the latch off on both the left and right sides. The metal fasteners are more like inverted "U's" than the plastic screw-like ones you first popped. I just kept the pry angle small and moved from left to right to left and it came off eventually.
7- That center plastic cover took a little bit of wiggling or futzing to loosen, but eventually it came *mostly* free. I'm pretty sure I didn't take it completely off, but just enough to get access to the torx bolts on the lock.
8- Remove the two torx bolts holding the lock to the hatch. This gave me some room for #9 and #10 though you might be able to change the order. YMMV.
9- At some point, you'll need to disconnect the electrical connection to the locking mechanism. There's a *small* center tab facing out (toward you) on that connector which is a pain to depress. I eventually used a small pick to apply sufficient pressure, but I also needed pliers. This was the sketchiest part of my work as I did break-off some plastic on the connector, but not enough of any consequence.
10- The release cable is now the only thing holding the lock up. The cable does not require any tools to remove, just turn it the right way and it will detach.
11- Replace the locking mechanism.
12+ Reverse the steps to return to normal.

The weird thing about this job was the trim pieces never fully came off the vehicle. I had also disconnected the trunk lights on the left and right sides of the hatch expecting them to be in the way when everything came crashing down...but that was never the case. As such, I didn't really need to remove the lights.

[heatmizr]

Super write-up, Thanks Molez!

[Molez93]

Originally Posted by heatmizr

Super write-up, Thanks Molez!

Thanks for mentioning it. You folks are quite welcome!
Truly happy to add something potentially useful here as I'm more of a taker than a giver for X5 stuff so far.