Liftgate unlock problem
 

Hi everyone:
When I unlock the liftgate from either my key fob or the center dash switch, I can hear the liftgate got unlocked. As soon as I try to raise the gate, the gate locked itself back again. This problem is driving us nut. I found out later that, in order to open the liftgate, I had to stand behind the car then push the key AND lift the gate up simultaneously. Removing and reseating the purple soft close relay didn't fix it. What next?
Thanks for any help!
2005 X5 3.0i
🙁

My 2005 does the same - you have to open it quickly!

The car is new to us - is the tailgate supposed to open on its own?

No, this is abnormal. It just happened to us a couple of weeks ago. Something electrical with the liftgate was going haywire.

It may be time to replace the liftgate shocks. Another option is to add springs to the shocks that are available on ebay. Many of us have done that so the liftgate goes up rather than just pop open.

So, normal operation is that you press the button and the tailgate should open slightly?

yes, it pops up a bit without the springs. Mine has done what yours is doing but new shocks fixed it. At the time it was happening, and it was infrequently, the shocks would still hold the hatch up. The springs are not needed if the shocks are good but they add lift and are an added convenience when your hands are full.

great, I'll try some new struts first then.

cheers

Suggest looking for best price on BMW OE or OEM struts. Not all are created equal.

Pressing the button releases the latch.

The soft close latch assembly has a mechanism in it that keeps it from immediately closing the hatch again in this situation so you can manually lift the gate.

When my soft close stopped soft closing I stripped the latch and found that pushing on a certain portion made it work again and I wedged some plastic in there.

Latch started working but now does not stay open after popping the latch, have to pull it up immediately or it will close again.

I'm guessing something in your SCA is broken, like on mine.

I will look for some oe struts

Cheers