[geoff_s]

About 5 times in 2 months the 'boot not closed' light comes on and I have to get out (inevitably in the rain) & shut it to drive away.

The boot is shut properly but the light comes on a few days later during driving, or starting up. Quite why the boot detector decides it is safely shut one evening, but is dangerously loose the next morning is a mystery. [sleep driving?]

When the light comes on the boot does seem to be fractionally loose, but its still on the catch.

I'll get a dealer to check it out, but such problems can never be demonstrated are often a problem, so it's always handy to have the power of a forum establish if another Bmax driver has had the same problem.

 

[makem]

From what you say the dealer should be able to turn the warning on and off by pulling the boot handle.

That would suggest the catch needs adjustment if you can actually feel it is not firmly closed.

I have only had the warning light come on over 2 years when it was actually not shut correctly, ie. not slammed slightly rather than just pushed closed.

Door alarms sound when you twist the bodywork by steep fast cornering.

Edited by: makem

 

[geoff_s]

I can't half shut the boot & get then light to go off & on. Neither can I get the light to come on when the boot is shut by pulling it. So I can't demonstrate the problem at the dealers. But next time it happens, I'll play with it.

Thanks for the B Max side door alarm challenge. So progressively steeper & faster cornering until you get the the bell reward? Sounds fun. If a new B-Max gets listed here soon 'breaking for spares' it's likely mine.

Ford claim the B-Max design produces an even stiffer frame than a Fiesta - If you can twist the frame so much in cornering, that the door contact disconnects, it sounds like that's a marketing fib.

 

[geoff_s]

Just spoke a driver of a different make of car, complaining of a very similar problem.

She too is baffled, but has at least noticed a correlation between driving with the remote in your back pocket (the key with a boot-opening button) & the car's defective catch. Our best guess is that the driver's seat may be very close to the car's wifi receiver & that might produce some sort of resonating feed-back loop?

I'll pass-on the new clue at my next Ford service & if they still can't establish the cause, I'll suggest a general recall to sort-out this dangerous design fault.

 

[KeithW]

Driving with the key in your backpocket doesnt require any fancy feed back loops to pop the hatch, all it takes is hutting the button twice within 3 seconds. This is a very good reason to AVOID driving with the keys in your back pocket.

 

[geoff_s]

Fair enough Keith

Must agree that sitting on the 'open the boot button' is more likely to open the boot than "some sort of resonating feed-back loop with the wi-fi receiver".

However it seems my problem was not sitting on the keys after all, but a shorting fault in the wiring loom, which was replaced under warranty & the occasional problem of my mysteriously unlatching boot has stopped.

 

[KeithW]

I am glad you found the cause, personally I have accidentally pushed that button on more than one occasion. My car has the Stop Start button and so the keys usually live in the centre console and its very easy to pop the boot just by dropping them in there.