This is driving me nuts! I back out of the driveway and before I can get down the road, I hear the latch for the back hatch operate and I get a warning on the dash. I stop and get out and close the hatch.


It happened four times on a short run up the road. Then sitting at a traffic light, it started to cycle the latch continuously! When I got home, I pulled the plastic cover off the inside of the hatch and checked all the connectors and sprayed them with DeoxIT. It stopped for a while and was quiet. Now, as I'm sitting here in the garage, the damn thing is operating sporadically! The key is in the house.


Any suggestions?

 

Sounds like the rear button micro switch is going bad or water is intruding the grip handle, you live down south so its most likely not from salt, but water can get past the seals and corrode the wires. Or the lens might have popped off and water got in there. Grip handle is the same on the R57 Convertible as the R56 Hatch Hardtop. Water can make things work funny.

Here is a link with the water problem. post # 3 for the info and links.

https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...-car-wash.html

Which is linked to this thread with the break down of the parts.

https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...k-release.html



Thanks and hope that helps.

 

yep, the same thing happened to me about three months ago. the cycling of the trunk latch will get more frequent and eventually run your battery down.
took it in to the dealer and the problem was a corroed latch switch from water leaking in and building up. there is a drain hole at the bottom of the hatch and the plug was supposed to have been removed but was not. cost was $200 +.
when I got home I used electrical tape to seal the inside cover of the hatch to prevent water seeping in and confirmed that the plug had been removed.

 

I found the best info on this problem here in post #2:


https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...rking-diy.html


Seems I need to replace the microswitch which is integral to the chrome strip on the rear, unfortunately.


It is BMW part # 51132753603


http://www.ecstuning.com/Search/Site...53603/ES77817/

 

So why is there even a plug in there in the first place?

 

I found some other posts on the same issue which pointed to the latch microswitch as the culprit. Mine wasn't working anyway, but the electric gremlins were causing it to foul up.


My wife was with me today when it started cycling for no reason whatsoever. Err-err, Err- err, Err-err. She laughed while it drove me nuts!


I found out by cruising the various parts sites that I can't replace just the switch, I have to replace the whole MINI OEM 51132753603 Lift Gate-Grip Handle. I found the best price and no shipping charges on Ebay from Prestige Mini in New Jersey. I'll tackle the replacement when it gets here.

 

I got the new chrome grip in yesterday and took the old one off today. Before I even got it off the car, water started POURING out of it. No doubt that's how it got in there in the first place. There is an "O" ring around the hole where the connector goes, but I don't think it sealed very well. I pried open the "sealed" inner compartment and the license plate bulbs, the switches, and the circuit board were swimming in water.


I put the new one on and put some silicone sealant around the connector port. Now I don't get that annoying random locking and unlocking of the trunk lid, but I can only open it with the remote. The switch on the handle doesn't open it. The license plate lights work, but not the switches for the latch.

 

It's now July 20th and the rear hatch is doing the same thing it was doing in January! It pops the hatch open and cycles the latch, er-err, er-err, er-err. I took it off and could see no water this time, without tearing the whole plastic assemble apart. I just ordered a new on to the tune of 91 bucks and change.


Am I going to have to do this every six months or so? My MINI is housed in an air conditioned garage most of the time and rarely out in the rain unless I'm driving in it and get caught in a rainstorm. It never sits out in the rain.


I'm pretty disgusted.....


UPDATE:


I couldn't help myself; I took it apart. It was wet inside where the microswitch and the circuit board live. I have no idea how to prevent that. It wasn't as nasty and corroded as the one I replaced in January, but I'm sure it would have been in time.

 

Coat heavily the whole assembly with non-conductive caulking. You should be able to find some at an auto parts or home improvement store. I believe that some silicone caulks will work when they are fully cured.

 

My R57 had this problem and the long term cure, after drying out the switch/handle, was to remove the rubber bung through which the wiring harness to the bootlid goes. I stole someone's R57 boot photo to make this illustration of where it is. This then drains the bootlid.



You may have to remove the whole plastic panel to get to it, I don't remember.

This does appear to make the closed bootlid drain into the boot/trunk, but that never caused me any problem and my car lived 100% outdoors.

 

had the exact same problem and it was caused by Mini not removing the drain plug from the boot hatch as they were supposed to do . the boot hatch fills with h2o and corrodes the electrical switch which then recycles over and over again until it drains the battery. I used electrical tape to seal the inside of the hatch so this won't happen again.
mini put out a message to all dealers about this but I guess your dealer and mine paid no attention to it. It cost me $200+ to have this fixed and if I would have known what caused it I would have demanded that the dealer eat the cost.

 

I didn't know what drain plug you guys were talking about until I saw water sloshing around in the hatch after taking the plastic panel off. When I took the rubber plug out, at least two cups of water flowed out. No wonder things corrode in that moist environment! Our humid Florida weather doesn't help, I'm sure. I'm still putting on a second new handle assembly, but I feel better knowing it won't be constantly soggy in there.

 

just because the plug is removed doesn't mean water will not corrode the switch. water will still get inside the boot and will drain now but it will also get on the switch. I sealed the inside boot cover with electrical tape and check it once in a while to make sure it is still in place. thought about using silicone caulk but didn't because it would be difficult to remove the inside cover if need be. good luck

 

Melboure ...


I told you I could help for free .....


familiar with that issue


sorry you enjoyed the toothache so long b4 calling a dentist

 

Here is another diagram for that piece:



#21 51497167597

http://www.ecstuning.com/Search/SiteSearch/51497167597/ES2676180/



Thanks

 

Had the same thing happen on my 2007 hatchback. Exterior button had ceased working a few days ago, then the latch mechanism would spontaneously release the lock whilst driving. Seemed to always happen just after start, just as the car moved. I'm in SW Colorado (semi-desert) so no sign of water infiltration in the handle assembly.


Removed the hatch handle/button assembly and found the wiring connector had worked itself loose somehow - pulled apart without releasing the lock pin. Suspect the pins were close enough to contact/arc with car movement. Securely assembled the connector and taped up. So far, everything's working OK

 

Reviving this thread -- I have a 2011 and had the same issue. Took the plug out but by then the switch was shot. Had to replace it and now it works fine.

Curious if anyone was able to seal the boot somewhere so that water doesn't get into the boot? Or, is it normal and/or intended for water to get into the boot and drain?

 

I ended up replacing the trim piece and associated switches and circuit boards three times before I found and removed the drain plug. It has been fine for quite a while now. Where the heck does all that water come from? It was literally swishing around inside the boot hatch and the electronic were bathed in water. I had no luck trying to seal it up.

 

 

Have no idea. I looked at the boot for a while after some rains but couldn't find where the water was entering from.