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PSA about why you should NOT use auto lift trunk struts

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The three pictures say it all. After five months, one of the struts came apart when I opened the trunk, went sideways under force and cracked my rear glass in my M3. The 2nd struct when I pulled it out, has a crack running through the plastic head but had not broken yet.. it was on it's way though. The vendor, s3xymodels, won't reply to my email. I know they buy the struts from the same place that everyone else does but not responding sucks.

These the the typical "auto lift" struts which the helper springs to pop the trunk up a few inches when you open it. I see them for sale everywhere. I will not be using them again.. I would strongly advise you if you have them, to take them off and look at the plastic caps very closely or just to chuck them and not take the risk. That back glass is going to be expensive :/. I'm going to try a windshield repair kit to "patch" it for now and see if I can't kick the can down the road a few months. since it will be an out of pocket expense.

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That glass damage isn't going to spread, if you don't mind looking at it, just put some silicone over the damaged area and be done with it if it doesn't bother you.
There are radial cracks but I know what you mean.. I used some windshield fix-it resin today to see if I can limit the damage. Waiting for the UV/Sun to set the resin right now.. looks a lot better other than the small bite taken out of it. that glass is tough stuff.
 
So I took a close look a the broken strut.. there is ZERO marking as to who or where it's made. Unlike the OEM strut which has the company origins on it. With that said, the two side by side look identical in size, fit and finish. Apparently there is a difference in the plastics ends though or they just can't take abuse the little coil over adds. There is also one more different I found last night. I could not replace the broken strut with the OEM until I removed both of the lift struts. Why? Because the OEM is about 1/2 longer when extended than the extra lift strut. You literally cannot install the old strut with the replacement in place because it's too long. Did not catch that on the original install because I took both OEM struts off at the same time then put in the new ones.

I can post some pics comparing the two if anyone is interested but side by side, you would think they were made by the same company. One reason I didnt think twice to install them. No red flags of any kind that there may be an issue.
 
You get what you pay for.

"Spend a little more and get something nice. You will never disappointed."
Agreed, if it's available. We know he is not a penny pinching sort of chap......... he bought a Tesla!

My X3 SE came, I was a little disappointed to learn, without an automatic tailgate. However, I have managed OK. That said, I am really looking forward to my Y. with its remote controlled hatch.

I will not be buying an auto lift for the front trunk. That is not to say that I don't have a spare room full of after market items awaiting the arrival of my Y. At the risk of repeating myself from another thread, when I staggered up the stairs with my horrendously expensively imported Modern Spare, (but you get what you pay for...I hope) SWMBO, with Tesla fatigue quite evident in her voice asked " Where are you going with that now? "Why where else" I replied, "The spare room of course".

Now then....... how big a bunch of flowers do I need to buy....they won't be cheap!

PS Great Avatar:)
 
You get what you pay for.

"Spend a little more and get something nice. You will never disappointed."
Only if you are lucky.. My experience with a couple of BMWs in the past showcase that. Just go back to the Mercedes M272 engine debacle. There is an endless list of high toys that failed to meet expectations given the price.

Take away ? Price does not always equal quality.
 
Only if you are lucky.. My experience with a couple of BMWs in the past showcase that. Just go back to the Mercedes M272 engine debacle. There is an endless list of high toys that failed to meet expectations given the price.

Take away ? Price does not always equal qualityThere
Life holds few certainties beyond death and taxes and a long wait for your Tesla. In the UK we pay high taxes when we buy the farm.

Now then ......where is my US English phrase book...Yep! correct; buy the farm... but originally, only for death is action. And now for something cheerful? ....Nope; can't think of anything🥲
 
Only if you are lucky.. My experience with a couple of BMWs in the past showcase that. Just go back to the Mercedes M272 engine debacle. There is an endless list of high toys that failed to meet expectations given the price.

Take away ? Price does not always equal quality.
But cheap and cheerful rarely equates to long term customer satisfaction. :)

Waddaryagonnado!
 
I bought a set of these back in November and while I didn’t have the breaking issue you experienced, I had an issue with the struts rusting around the washer and spring assembly which was very unsettling to discover. The washer also got stuck one time on the strut, and I was almost unable to close the trunk.

They were from a reputable company, but clearly there are design flaws with many types of these spring loaded struts, regardless of where you buy them.

Now I have power frunk and power trunk because…I never learn lol