New symptom today - crackling noise through the speakers when I open the doors to get in. So it dawned on me there's an electrical issue and I check the trunk. Have standing water in the left well where the electronics are. A few threads have mentioned this is a sunroof drain issue - and I did leave the sunroof very slightly tilted open (thought it closed all the way using the fob (coded)). Think the tailgate issue happened before the sunroof being left open though. Anyway, now I'm wondering if leaving it open leads water directly back there or if it still should go through to the drain tubes and they're just clogged.

Also the trunk release did work, but randomly, without doing anything different. Things are definitely affected by the water.

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'08 X5 3.0si - Alpine White / Saddle Brown interior
Specs: Sport Pkg, Premium Pkg, Tech Pkg, Comfort Access, Aero Kit, Style 433 staggered 20s on Conti DWS
Mods: Carbon 35 tint, LED angel eyes, GP Thunder 7500k fogs, H&R 20mm/25mm spacers, clear reflectors, gunsmoke-tinted taillights
Coded: Digital speedo, windows/sunroof/tailgate close via keyfob

X5 pics at Flickr