BMW X1 Convertible Top Malfunction: LED Error Alert

Hey there! I've got some experience working on cars, and I had a similar issue with my 2019 BMW 3 Series convertible last summer. The symptoms you're describing sound exactly like what I dealt with, the top would get stuck, and that annoying red light kept flashing. Took it to my regular workshop, and it turned out to be just a loose connection in one of the cables near the control module. They had to pull apart some trim pieces to access it, but it was pretty straightforward. Total bill came to about 95 Euro for diagnostic and repair work. Much better than having to replace the entire mechanism! Before I can give more specific advice though, could you share: Is this happening when opening, closing, or both? Does it make any unusual noises? Have you had any recent work done on the convertible top? Let me know these details and I might be able to help further!

Thanks for sharing your experience! This is definitely concerning as my X1 only has 59381 KM on it and was just serviced last month. To answer your questions, it happens during both opening and closing, and there's a slight grinding noise when it gets stuck. Haven't had any previous work done on it. I appreciate the insight about the loose cable connection, that's actually quite reassuring compared to what I was imagining. Maybe I'll have my mechanic check that first before assuming the worst about the hall sensor. Did your repair come with any sort of warranty? Just wondering if I should specifically ask about that when I take it in.

Hey again! Yeah, I totally get your concern about this happening on such a low-mileage car. The grinding noise you mentioned, that's different from what I experienced with my loose cable issue. Mine was more of a clicking sound when it got stuck. That grinding sound actually makes me lean more toward my initial thought about the hall sensor being the culprit. Just remembered, when my cable was fixed, they gave me a 12-month warranty on the work. However, I ended up having the same problem again about 14 months later, and this time it WAS the hall sensor. That repair was pricier (around 450 Euro), but at least it's been working perfectly for the past 8 months. Given your car's age and the grinding noise, I'd suggest having them check both the connections AND the hall sensor. My mechanic actually showed me how these sensors can get misaligned or fail even on newer models. Something about the constant movement and exposure to weather elements. One thing I learned from all this, make sure they do a full diagnostic scan first. My repair bill could've been lower if I'd caught the real issue the first time around instead of just fixing the obvious loose cable. Keep us posted on what you find out!

Thanks for the detailed follow-up! The grinding noise vs clicking sound comparison is really helpful, definitely sounds like I might be dealing with that hall sensor issue after all. That's quite a price difference between the cable fix and sensor replacement though! I'll make sure to ask about doing a full diagnostic scan first. Don't want to end up paying for one fix only to find out it's something else entirely. Really hoping it's not going to hit 450 Euro, but I guess that's still better than replacing the whole mechanism. Think I'll book it in for next week. After hearing about your experience with the warranty situation, I'll definitely make sure to get that sorted upfront. Pretty frustrating that your issue came back just after the warranty expired, talk about bad timing! Thanks again for sharing your experience. It's given me a much better idea of what to expect and what questions to ask when I take it to the shop. I'll update the thread once I find out what's actually causing the problem.