I never had a problem until recently with my struts. It just got cold and now the hatch pops open halfway and stays, I have to help it get past the halfway point. Looks like new struts are in my near future

Thanks fellas. will try this soon.

Been about 6 months for me and very happy with the springs. I don't think it works the soft close any harder. Most of the time I can close the trunk with out the soft close kicking in.

I don`t have soft close feature, but these springs I have had for a few months now and they work flawlessly . best 30.00 I ever spent.

Guys, can someone provide the dimension to the springs, such as length, diameter & hole size as there is a UK based site that sells springs... at a fraction of the price.

Die Springs UK | Die Springs Online

Ps - I have a set for sale

Guys, got my springs and the existing struts don't have enough life to lift the boot lid open fully, so looking to replace the struts, but from speaking to another UK user, they changed there struts with non-OEM ones and still found the tailgate wouldn't open. Anyone else had this issue? Recommend struts, etc.

guys, its allll based on temperature....
in cold weather the gas shock does not expand as powerfully as when in warm weather.
You can buy new gas shocks but you will still find the same result.
If I was in southern USA/Mexico/Africa and the upper rear hatch was not opening all the way Id say its a gas shock on its last breath but since we are in colder climates, even during the summer (respective to places closer to equador) the gas shocks will always work harder to fully open when using with these springs.

Per forum posts some non OEM struts are fine some are not-hit or miss. Usually what I hear is they wear out quickly not that they won't lift the hatch. Best course of action since they are not expensive is to go OEM or OE. Outside temperature won't be a problem, except perhaps very extreme cold though don't recall anyone mentioning that.

I replaced both struts with OEM units and found that if the temperature is below 75F, the hatch won't automatically lift with the springs. They still give it enough boost to make sure it disengages from the lock though and doesn't automatically re-latch.

2002 X5 3.0 290,050 miles
2004 325i 123,000 miles