Yesterday I removed the rear Overfinch undertray to clean the framework that holds it in place as it was showing signs of the paint peeling off. I removed the spare wheel to give it a clean too. The ratchet lowered the wheel, however won't wind back up now. Is this common or am I unlucky and it has just failed?

It appears to be held on with 4 nuts and after removing the 4 nuts it would not drop off, so presumed it may also be bonded on.


Anyone else come across this issue? 2010 3.0 TDV6 RRS Overfinch GTS
1987 BMW E30 M3 2.4 Turbo
1990 BMW E34 M5 3.6 Trackcar

I had this problem a few years ago with a previous Sport. After a puncture, the spare wheel unwound ok but it would not rewind. It is not bonded on & should pull off after removing the nuts. Probably a build up of dirt or rust. I then put it into a vice & unwound it fully. If I remember this was pretty hard to do so had to put a fair bit of force on the wire while unwinding (easier with 2 people) Sprayed a fair bit of WD40 into it as I pulled the cable out. Cleaned the cable & wound it in & out a few times until it was easy. Lubed it up finally & replaced it. Pretty easy job. Never had to use it again but I would think lubing it once in a while would be a good thing. It was a far better design than the current piece of webbing which is supposed to help get the spare out of the wheel well. What a joke this is, as the centre of gravity is too far forward to be of any help & the full size spare is very heavy. Its a nightmare & getting the wheel back in is just as bad as it has to fit over the air suspension reservoir

Thanks for your help, will speak to the garage first. 2010 3.0 TDV6 RRS Overfinch GTS
1987 BMW E30 M3 2.4 Turbo
1990 BMW E34 M5 3.6 Trackcar

When you unwound it, did you unwind it until the wheel just touched the floor or give it some slack to help get the centre out of the wheel? If you had slack, the wire may have got bound up inside. You may need some one to pull down on the cable as you wind it out again and then wind it up. 2019 5.0 SC SVA (Current)
2012 5.0 SC AB. Sadly written off by a campervan
23 plate Focus ST (Current)
1942 VEP Ford GPW Jeep (Willys) (Current)
1943 Whites M16 Halftrack (Current)
16 plate Eurofighter Typhoon, 2 x Eurojet engines with 20,000lbs thrust each. 1380mph

No the wheel did not touch the ground. Not sure if when unwinding the ratchet the lowering of the wheel shad stopped even though I was still unwinding.

When I had removed the 4 nuts it would not budge. I hit it with a rubber hammer and still did not move.

The garage has advised to call the warranty company to fix it. 2010 3.0 TDV6 RRS Overfinch GTS
1987 BMW E30 M3 2.4 Turbo
1990 BMW E34 M5 3.6 Trackcar