[robby818]

Originally Posted by polychromatic

Nice work, however I don’t know what I’m looking for. I see three round objects, is the middle one a sensor?

NP. I had the cover off to get it painted....The sensor is the tube shaped object. The antenna is the flat piece above it. You need all of that equipment in that location for kick to open to work, thus why the NA hitch isn't compatible with kick to open.

[polychromatic]

Originally Posted by robby818

NP. I had the cover off to get it painted....The sensor is the tube shaped object. The antenna is the flat piece above it. You need all of that equipment in that location for kick to open to work, thus why the NA hitch isn't compatible with kick to open.

I’m lol’ing. So it appears that if you were to “kick” anywhere along the tube it would trigger...no? BTW, you might have to highlight the antenna for me too!

Were you doing a color change to the cover? That’s one of my pet peeves, the body color paint on that cover. Probably doesn’t matter so much on darker colors, but with white it does matter. My opinion is they all should be black, since the receiver and plugs are black. With a white background, it just accentuates the hitch, etc.

[philooo]

I hope someone figures out how to retrofit the kick open for those of us with the US tow hitch... someday...

[nosnoop]

Originally Posted by philooo

I hope someone figures out how to retrofit the kick open for those of us with the US tow hitch... someday...

I won't bother. I had it on my previous BMW, and I hated it.
A lot of times, it wouldn't work on my first try, and it only made me look like a fool dancing at the back of the car. Other times it would open when I had no intention of doing so. I haven't missed it a single time, and the trailer hitch is so much more useful.

[NightCrawler_]

I had it on my Audi and loved it. Once I got used to it I could get it to work 90% of the time on the first kick. I wish BMW had moved the sensors to the sides as Land Rover has done with the Range Rover. Allowing for both the tow hitch, and the ability to open the tailgate with a kick. But I knew the tow hitch would remove the ability when I bought the car, and it wasn’t a deal breaker.

[taybo20]

I should have read a little more before getting the hitch. I didn’t even think about the kick open. And I don’t need the hitch

[MystroX5]

Originally Posted by taybo20

I should have read a little more before getting the hitch. I didn’t even think about the kick open. And I don’t need the hitch

I was the opposite. I had the kick to open on my G05 and never used it. This time I wanted a way to transport bikes on vacation and the box hitch has 100’s of accessories to fit it.

[taybo20]

Originally Posted by MystroX5

I was the opposite. I had the kick to open on my G05 and never used it. This time I wanted a way to transport bikes on vacation and the box hitch has 100’s of accessories to fit it.

To be fair I’ve never had the kick open on any vehicle, so maybe I won’t even know what I’m missing.

[MystroX5]

Originally Posted by taybo20

To be fair I’ve never had the kick open on any vehicle, so maybe I won’t even know what I’m missing.

I had it on my last 3 and never used it. I find it less convenient than using the power handle or key fob that is significantly more discreet. Then there is that kicking motion that doesn’t always work the first time and well,.... When my hands are full with luggage, I can’t get close enough to the back end of the car to kick without the luggage hitting the bumper which I really don’t want to do and defeats the purpose.

[biterror]

Originally Posted by MystroX5

I had it on my last 3 and never used it. I find it less convenient than using the power handle or key fob that is significantly more discreet. Then there is that kicking motion that doesn’t always work the first time and well,.... When my hands are full with luggage, I can’t get close enough to the back end of the car to kick without the luggage hitting the bumper which I really don’t want to do and defeats the purpose.

Umm.. When I have hands full of grocery bags, I really like kick to open. And you don't need to stay that close to the bumper at all for it to work. It's been working quite well for me so far - only once it failed to work, I wonder if that was because I had been driving in snow for two hours.

[VTENGR]

I use it mostly when I'm getting things out of the back. If my hands are full then I will use the kick to open to close the tailgate so I don't have to set anything down.

[Noneya]

Originally Posted by nosnoop

I won't bother. I had it on my previous BMW, and I hated it.
A lot of times, it wouldn't work on my first try, and it only made me look like a fool dancing at the back of the car. Other times it would open when I had no intention of doing so. I haven't missed it a single time, and the trailer hitch is so much more useful.

Perhaps previous implementations were worse. I use mine frequently and it hasn't had a single false positive or negative to date.

[Rockport69]

Well, I ordered the car with the hitch - no one told me that I'd lose the ability to kick-to-open. What a drag!

The 2019 Ford Escape I traded in has both a Hitch and Kick-To-Open
Is it possible to retrofit appropriate sensors elsewhere to allow the kick open feature to work? Has anyone messed with this? Sounds like European models do not have this limitation?

[X5 45e]

Originally Posted by Rockport69

Well, I ordered the car with the hitch - no one told me that I'd lose the ability to kick-to-open. What a drag!

The 2019 Ford Escape I traded in has both a Hitch and Kick-To-Open
Is it possible to retrofit appropriate sensors elsewhere to allow the kick open feature to work? Has anyone messed with this? Sounds like European models do not have this limitation?

Correct I have both. But the hitch is different. It is an electric folding hitch. I don't think it is available in the US.

[guardodoc]

I've had my rear hatch open while spraying my car off at the car wash.
Unnecessary technology adding complexity and just one more thing to break.

[rawskyb]

I haven't seen the design of the BMW US-spec hitch in detail, but it is obviously possible for BMW to have designed it so the kick to open could co-exist. Stealth Hitches managed to retro-fit this capability, so BMW certainly could have designed it to work if they wanted to.

Although the Stealth install was a PITA, I really like retaining the kick to open features and also having the hitch invisible when the receiver is not installed, unlike the factory hitch option which permanently defaces the lower part of the rear bumper.

[sailvi767]

Originally Posted by Kotkot

That’s not true statement. Hidden hitch tow rating is even higher than factory option.

That’s not really correct. The tow rating of a vehicle is based on the capability of the car or the hitch whichever is less. Putting a 8000 lb hitch on a car rated to tow 5600 lbs does not raise that tow rating. To get the 7200 lb rating you need the beefed up axle and anchor points plus the trailer stability mode.

[Two4me]

I had my dealer install a Stealth Hitch but they disabled the kick-to-open. Any idea how to re-enable it?

[jad03060]

Originally Posted by Two4me

I had my dealer install a Stealth Hitch but they disabled the kick-to-open. Any idea how to re-enable it?

It would depend on whether they did it with s/w or removed the sensor and possible both. In parts of the world that use the gooseneck...those use a different safety trailer retaining system, so it's less likely to be a problem than the more common chains used with the receiver in the USA (and Canada for the most part). So, where that system is in use, they do not remove the kick to open feature. You could cause some significant damage if the lower hatch opened into your trailer (maybe the jack or whatever might be sticking up back there).

[swainbmw]

Originally Posted by omaralt

thanks guys. i never use the trailer hitch and would have preferred the kick to open/close. was hoping the sensor was still there so i can simply remove the hitch and use it. no big deal. thanks

I think the kick to open option was discontinued in 23 altogether

[modesa]

I have kick to open on my '23, and honestly I agree with the previous poster and wish I had gone for the hitch instead. I think pre-LCI the hitch also included bigger brakes?

The Kick to Open works like 80% of the time, which is just enough of a PITA that I mostly just don't use it rather than look like an idiot in the parking lot.

[SocietyDisillusioned]

Originally Posted by modesa

I have kick to open on my '23, and honestly I agree with the previous poster and wish I had gone for the hitch instead. I think pre-LCI the hitch also included bigger brakes?

The Kick to Open works like 80% of the time, which is just enough of a PITA that I mostly just don't use it rather than look like an idiot in the parking lot.

When I installed my hidden hitch on a 22m50i my kick to open sensor was just dangling(Crap factory install) so after installing the massive tow plate that anchored to the frame I zip tied the sensor in a spot that could actually read motion…Has worked perfectly ever since without having to look like an idiot kicking under the vehicle. I’d bet your sensor was placed in a garbage spot and hanging loose if it’s not working as mine was.