E70 X5 loose rear hatch latch—clamshell trunk door rattle and knock?

X5Boise · #1 07-17-2016, 11:28 AM

I’ve had a knock sound coming from the rear of the car for some time. It appears to be coming from either the top or bottom clam shell door when I go over some bumps, rough terrain, or when turning out of my driveway. Makes for an otherwise relatively quiet luxury car sound pretty cheap.

For fixes, based on a couple of internet suggestions:

Felt-taped up the side unibody-attached plastic U-loops that the lower door will latch onto when closing (see picture). This seemed to have helped a little bit.
Felt-tape (or electrical tape) the lower door latch. Just did it this AM—will try drive later today.
Re-align the lower clamshell door as some E70 come misaligned from the factory (I haven’t tried this yet)
Re-align the side body rubber bumper for the top door (I haven’t tried this yet either)

Also, after a further inspection, it appears that my latch on the bottom door, that one the top clam shell door closes on, seems a bit loose. I can wiggle it a little bit (especially the deep attachment point of the latch (the one that is towards the front of the car) and I suspect that is what is causing the rattle/knock sound. Is this latch supposed to moveable (made that way by design as it’s a “closing assist unit” BMW part 51247233909; appears to be a motor attached on the bottom) or is the attachment point defective?

https://www.ecstuning.com/b-genuine-...h/51247233909/

http://parts.bmwofsouthatlanta.com/s...ssembly=262304

http://www.realoem.com/bmw/enUS/show...diagId=41_1757

A prior suggested remedy was to wrap that latch with tape (electrical or felt) and this appears to tighten down the latch to quell down the noise---but if the latch has worn the joint at the rear, who knows when the front gives out and the top clamdoor will suddenly swing open?

If in fact the latch is supposed to be rigid and non-moveable, then it appears that I have a defective latch on my hands and will get it replaced (about $276 in parts as it comes as an assembly) or have a body shop weld it back (which appears to be a much cheaper option).

Thoughts?

Also a side note, here’s a rear lower door disassembly video to get out the rear hatch and/or need to take it apart to help tape down other parts for felt-taping (it’s in reverse order but gives a great idea of everything that needs to be taken apart).

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eiBeqc4ugr0

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Jyohay · #2 07-18-2016, 10:31 AM

i had this same issue..... thought it was my KW suspension bushings for the longest time (replaced them all.... $200 down the drain).
I did the center latch electrical tape fix and it worked very well for me.

X5Boise · #3 07-18-2016, 12:16 PM

I did some driving yesterday and the electrical tape on the center latch quelled most of the rear hatch noise as well. Does your center latch wiggle like mine?

sykocis · #4 08-03-2017, 10:32 PM

I'm having the same issue. Aside from that, it appears as though my trunk lid latch assembly may be malfunctioning. Unnoticed the trunk lid no longer soft closes when it shuts. It just slams now. I've checked the fuses and they are good. Is there a relay too? I really to want to have to take a trip to the shop.

Tomaz · #5 08-10-2017, 09:54 AM

Have you tried tightening the two bolts on either side of the chrome latch on the tailgate? The chrome latch can be slid up or down to adjust the amount of closure before you tighten the bolts. This should cure the problem.

Muzimak · #6 06-25-2019, 02:48 PM

Man I've had this knocking sound when reversing forever, changed control arm bushes etc for nothing, are U guys for real the culprit is just the rear door? Is there some sort of a permanent fix for this rather than electrical tapes? How does a tape prevent this issue I'm failing to understand? I'm gonna try this

Nyc Dito · #7 06-25-2019, 03:30 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Muzimak

Man I've had this knocking sound when reversing forever, changed control arm bushes etc for nothing, are U guys for real the culprit is just the rear door? Is there some sort of a permanent fix for this rather than electrical tapes? How does a tape prevent this issue I'm failing to understand? I'm gonna try this

I had the rattle/knock trunk hatch thing going on and before i tried felt/electric tape all I needed to do was adjust the center latch on the lower gate. I also adjusted the side latches on the body. Later this week I will adjust the bump stops although I do not see a need since my noises went away after I adjusted the center latch. It took 3 times to get it right, but a quick few minutes each time.

Your results may vary.

Muzimak · #8 06-25-2019, 03:55 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Nyc Dito

I had the rattle/knock trunk hatch thing going on and before i tried felt/electric tape all I needed to do was adjust the center latch on the lower gate. I also adjusted the side latches on the body. Later this week I will adjust the bump stops although I do not see a need since my noises went away after I adjusted the center latch. It took 3 times to get it right, but a quick few minutes each time.

Your results may vary.

So this Tape-Fix, is it something we need to maintain now and then, like monthly for example as it will defenitely need replacing with time? How much of it do we apply?

Nyc Dito · #9 06-25-2019, 04:03 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Muzimak

So this Tape-Fix, is it something we need to maintain now and then, like monthly for example as it will defenitely need replacing with time? How much of it do we apply?

I never did the tape fix. I adjusted the latches only and it worked.