Roof not retracting.

Mokuso · Post by **Mokuso** » Fri Mar 06, 2020 2:39 pm

Hi all,

I hope you can help!

TL;DR Roof of 2013 E89 won't retract. When I hold the button on the centre console the windows go down but then nothing else. Haven't retracted the roof in a while over winter much but a few months ago I remember it jittered when I did it a couple of times and then went back to normal. 2 days ago I noticed the "boot open" light was coming on when getting in the car.

More detail - The light inside the boot is on when I open it. The tray etc is correctly pulled down. I retracted the roof late last year and noticed a jittery opertation, I put it up and down a couple of times and this kept happening then once I drove home I tried an hour later and it was back to normal. I last used the roof in January with no issues. Two days ago the dashboard boot is open warning light came on.

Any help would be appreciated. In advance I have ZERO practical car skills so please speak to me like I'm an alien.

Thanks in advance.

Smartbear · Post by **Smartbear** » Fri Mar 06, 2020 2:53 pm

Mokuso wrote: ↑Fri Mar 06, 2020 2:39 pm Hi all,

I hope you can help!

TL;DR Roof of 2013 E89 won't retract. When I hold the button on the centre console the windows go down but then nothing else. Haven't retracted the roof in a while over winter much but a few months ago I remember it jittered when I did it a couple of times and then went back to normal. 2 days ago I noticed the "boot open" light was coming on when getting in the car.

More detail - The light inside the boot is on when I open it. The tray etc is correctly pulled down. I retracted the roof late last year and noticed a jittery opertation, I put it up and down a couple of times and this kept happening then once I drove home I tried an hour later and it was back to normal. I last used the roof in January with no issues. Two days ago the dashboard boot is open warning light came on.

Any help would be appreciated. In advance I have ZERO practical car skills so please speak to me like I'm an alien.

Thanks in advance.

Hi, getting the car scanned with a decent code reader may shed some light on the issue.
Rob

Mokuso · Post by **Mokuso** » Fri Mar 06, 2020 3:42 pm

Thanks, is that something I can do myself? Sorry, as I stated I'm a complete amateur when it comes to car stuff. Would I need to take it to a garage to do this?

Pbondar · Post by **Pbondar** » Fri Mar 06, 2020 3:54 pm

Hello one statement one question..

Was the engine running for a few minutes before you asked for the roof to go down?

If you are not competent you need someone who is...either a specialist dealer who knows Z4s or a friendly forum member who has got a scanner and has climbed the very steep learning curve associated with roof faults..

RobbiZ4 · Post by **RobbiZ4** » Fri Mar 06, 2020 4:55 pm

Mokuso wrote: ↑Fri Mar 06, 2020 2:39 pm ...so please speak to me like I'm an alien.

Hi alien,

Which planet are you from?

Mokuso · Post by **Mokuso** » Fri Mar 06, 2020 6:49 pm

Pbondar wrote: ↑Fri Mar 06, 2020 3:54 pm Hello one statement one question..

Was the engine running for a few minutes before you asked for the roof to go down?

If you are not competent you need someone who is...either a specialist dealer who knows Z4s or a friendly forum member who has got a scanner and has climbed the very steep learning curve associated with roof faults..

Hey,

Not initially but I tried it again once I got home after driving for 20 minutes and the problem persisted.

Thanks for the help. I'm going to have to look around, I really wanted to avoid garages because I know I'm just going to get ripped off. If anyone knows anyone good around the Wolverhampton / Birmingham area let me know!

Mokuso · Post by **Mokuso** » Fri Mar 06, 2020 7:05 pm

From looking around a bit on the net a few people are stating that if the car thinks the boot is open (which mine does) that will stop the roof from operating. Anyone know anything about this? Is this good / bad news?

Starting to worry as I've seen everything from battery problems to £3000 motor replacements.

(P.S. This issue first happened with the boot after I drove for 2 hours so I'm guessing that makes battery charge less likely to be the issue?)

Deepseaskateboard · Post by **Deepseaskateboard** » Fri Mar 06, 2020 7:20 pm

It will most likely be a microswitch issue.

It will just need replacing. Take it to a BMW dealership, it will probably cost you around £220 to have fixed.

If it is a hall sensor fault, it will probably cost £350ish as the cost of those has gone up somewhat recently.

The best thing you can do is have BMW diagnose the fault.

Mokuso · Post by **Mokuso** » Fri Mar 06, 2020 8:23 pm

Deepseaskateboard wrote: ↑Fri Mar 06, 2020 7:20 pm It will most likely be a microswitch issue.

It will just need replacing. Take it to a BMW dealership, it will probably cost you around £220 to have fixed.

If it is a hall sensor fault, it will probably cost £350ish as the cost of those has gone up somewhat recently.

The best thing you can do is have BMW diagnose the fault.

Thanks, shame it's going to cost so much. Only bought the car in September and I haven't even had the chance to have the roof down yet.

flybobbie · Post by **flybobbie** » Fri Mar 06, 2020 8:55 pm

Well it could be the old broken wire in boot problem. The boot light might be on, but that doesn't mean the wires aren't at fault. They might be connecting when the boot is full up.
If you have no practical experience of fixing, take to a independent garage with a short list of possibilities.

1/ Give the car a good run to charge the battery.
2/ Go buy the two salmon relays in boot £30. Just go to BMW dealer they know what they are.
3/ Get the indy to run a code reader, but my reader said i had several switch problems, that didn't exist?
Get them to check your battery and fit the relays, only a five minute job.
Bite bullet ask them to remove the boot pull down motor mechanism and check the wires.
I would just copy and print off what others have done on this site and show the indy.

Just hope you haven't bought my business partners, grey 23i Friday afternoon lemon

I'm Stourbridge area i can PM you.

RobbiZ4 · Post by **RobbiZ4** » Fri Mar 13, 2020 9:22 am

Mokuso wrote: ↑Fri Mar 06, 2020 2:39 pm Hi all,
I hope you can help!

Any news?

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