Roof movement impaired

krazyken04 · Post by **krazyken04** » Sun Jul 15, 2018 10:11 pm

I got a carwash and detailing recently. They moved my gym shoes into the no-stow zone on the sides and I didn't notice. I went to put the top down and it started throwing errors. I saw the shoe and removed it. The top is now stuck with one side all the way down and the right side stuck open.

Is there a quick fix for something this dumb? The buttons just result in the movement impaired error. I also can't find anywhere in the manual about a hydraulic release.

Smartbear · Post by **Smartbear** » Sun Jul 15, 2018 10:34 pm

krazyken04 wrote: ↑Sun Jul 15, 2018 10:11 pm I got a carwash and detailing recently. They moved my gym shoes into the no-stow zone on the sides and I didn't notice. I went to put the top down and it started throwing errors. I saw the shoe and removed it. The top is now stuck with one side all the way down and the right side stuck open.

Is there a quick fix for something this dumb? The buttons just result in the movement impaired error. I also can't find anywhere in the manual about a hydraulic release.

Hi, there is no hydraulic release on the e89. Does anything look obviously bent?
I’d probably try & manipulate it back into shape by applying a mechanical force with my hands to overcome the hydraulic resistance

Rob

krazyken04 · Post by **krazyken04** » Tue Jul 17, 2018 2:52 am

: IMG_20180716_204249.jpg (110.53 KiB) Viewed 3025 times

Think I found the problem... I'm gonna guess these wires should be plugged into something and not just dangling

What's worse, before I found these wires like this, I thought I'd just "reset" things by disconnecting the battery (in my searches someone mentioned it). I disconnected the negative, and then the positive and left it alone for 10 mins. Reconnected, closed the trunk to give it a try. Naturally it didn't work. But now... my trunk won't open.

What a comedy of errors. Searching around results in me finding posts about dead batteries, but my e89's battery is connected and starts up.

I’d probably try & manipulate it back into shape by applying a mechanical force with my hands to overcome the hydraulic resistance

Gave it as much as I was willing to give it. With my luck so far, I think that'd just end up being an even more expensive stealership trip

Edit: not sure why the pic is upside down... It's right side up on my phone. The picture is of loose wires hanging down from pistons on the right side of the back half of the hard top, in the back corner

krazyken04 · Post by **krazyken04** » Tue Jul 17, 2018 3:00 am

Came across this in more research: https://www.google.com/amp/s/bmwtechnic ... rness/amp/

To actually be able to move the top around without breaking more things I'd:

- Need to get in the trunk... (Which for whatever reason now will not respond to any sort of unlocking methods)
- Get to the hydraulic lines
- Bleed them dry to remove the hydraulic pressure

EDIT: this may not need the line bleeding, but simply be able to turn a screw 1.5 turns to release the hydraulic pressure on the hydraulic unit in the trunk. I'm not sure because I couldn't find anything more descriptive than that.

krazyken04 · Post by **krazyken04** » Tue Jul 17, 2018 3:35 am

Last update and it's off to the dealer, someone may find this handy: if your e89 had the ski package, you can reach in and push the roof "tunnel" up (the piece you pull down in the trunk to lower the top) to expose the emergency latch.

It'll be out of reach unless you're stretch armstrong. What ended up working unbelievably well was removing the broom bristles from a broom and using the handle.

You can shine a flashlight in, poke the broom handle through the emergency latch (near the left rear tail light). Once you've found home, you can then use your free hand to reach in and apply torque. The trunk will pop open

I'll post the results of the dealership as soon as I hear back.

Never getting my interior vacuumed by anyone but me again lol.

krazyken04 · Post by **krazyken04** » Wed Jul 18, 2018 8:59 pm

Heard back from the dealer.

The shoe tore out wiring in the rear right hand side piston ram of the roof shell (the rear window).

Dealer mechanic is 70% sure it's the wiring.

$774.55 for the labor and parts to replace the whole piston. After reading service manuals around doing this, I have zero desire for figuring this out myself and am pulling the trigger on the repair.

They also gave me a worst case scenario of the frame being bent, which would cost 85% of my cars purchase price

Will report back again once they're beyond the 70% sure mark ha

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