E34 door lock issue

[itsnevo]

I know there are tons of threads that talk about door lock issues, but unfortunately I didn't see one that has the exact same problem as I seem to be having recently.

A couple days ago, I noticed when I came out to my car that my doors were unlocked. I drove around and noticed shortly after I locked my doors, a few seconds to a few minutes after I locked the doors, the doors unlocked. If I re-locked the doors, they would just do the same thing.

Now the driver door seems to be acting up even more. I can unlock all the doors outside through the driver door, but when I try to lock the door outside on the driver side, nothing happens.

Any ideas?

Also, I heard that there was a way to reprogram the door locks by putting the key in the lock and turning it a certain way, would anyone know what the proper way to do that is?

[KBHumphrey]

I had a similar problem last summer. Driver's door would pop back up on its own after I locked, sometimes other doors too. Eventually they all stopped working. Replaced the general and relay modules but no change.

Now I just do it old school manual locks

[HausBimmer]

Search about the actuator (power lock motors) and lubricating the lock mechanism - I helped a guy in GB who did a pretty good write-up a few months back. Basically the lock mechanisms get dry and stiff and can usually be lubed up and the power actuator motors can wear out and get weak.

[flyeryan]

Hmm, I have this problem too. I'll try lubing stuff because the new actuators don't seem to help all that much. Mine only does it when cold, though, which makes sense I suppose.

[NateB26]

I had the same problem, i would lock the doors and then they would immediately unlock again, but if i locked them a second time they would stay locked. i got into the habit of just turning the key twice but that got annoying. I spent about 5-10 minutes one day just unlocking and locking the doors repeatedly with the key and it somehow fixed itself. Also try to manually lock driver door with the door open, close it, try to unlock it with the key and see if that works

[chrisdaph]

I think the problem might be faulty door/trunk/hood sensor(s). As you walk/drive away they think about whether the doors etc. are properly closed, eventually decide one or more is not and open everything up. I'd try the doors first-a good dose of WD40 in each door lock to clear out the stickiness, while working the lock handles, followed by lithium grease once the WD40 is dry. That should free up the door sensors, which are plunger type and are in the door locks.

You might also resynchronize your door locks:

How to resynchronize the door locks:

• After manually locking or unlocking the the door locks may become unsynchronized. To synchronize the locks, close all doors, trunk lid and tailgate. Lock the passenger door by turning the key clockwise into the emergency locking position (approximately 110 degrees from position O). Unlock the driver's door. If any of the locks do not operate, repeat the locking procedure until the locking system is synchronized. This might happen if a door which is not completely closed is locked, or a is lifted before the interior lock button is raised.

[HausBimmer]

Also check the wire bundle on the driver's side trunk hinge - the trunk lock actuator can short the system. I had to lock twice on my 89 535iM until I found cracked and shorted wires in this bundle - found two other cars since with this problem.

[johnmeyer]

I have had this happen twice, and it was caused by one thing the first time, and another thing the second time.

The first time it was caused by a frayed/broken wire in the bundle that is attached to the trunk lid hinge on the driver's side. To check this, undo the tape and ties that hold the wire bundle in place, and check for abrasion and chafing. If you lie upside down in the trunk and look up at this while you move the trunk lid up and down (yeah, don't get all the way into the trunk and lock yourself in ! ) you'll quickly see where the bundle of wires rubs against the trunk structure.

The second time (and actually third time, because my first fix wasn't strong enough) was caused by the cable support for the trunk lock having come loose. Remove enough of the inner lining behind the trunk door button and you should be able to reach in there and see and/or feel how the actuator and cable are secured. What you'll find is that one of the nuts that holds things in place is actually placed over an oblong hole that lets the thing move left and right for adjustment. If this slips, the actuator sensing mechanism gets right on the edge of being able to tell if the trunk is open or closed, and it gets confused and sends a signal to open the locks. Usually this happens within five seconds of locking, but I did have a few cases where I came back to an unlocked car.

This second one is much easier to find and fix, so I guess I'd recommend starting with this.

[itsnevo]

It could very well be those wires. When I first got the car, one of the license plate lights where only occasionally working and I noticed that there were several wired that were broken and I fixed the ones that were broken at the time. I could have a few more wires that broke since then.

Recently the door unlocking thing hasn't been happening for the last couple days. What has happened recently is that the drivers door lock will only work for locking the doors but when you try to unlock the door, the key just turns and it doesn't do anything. It doesn't have any abnormal resistance when you turn the key it just doesn't unlock. I have to unlock the doors from the passenger door lock.

[carmaniac13]

I had the same problem with the wiring bundle in the trunk. It gets pinched in one spot, and eventually frays/breaks wires.
One of my trunk lights wouldn't always come on, but i let it slide. Last week my doors started unlocking themselves and so i inspected the bundle after reading this thread. Sure enough there was a spot where all the wires were fraying. 2 were completely broken and most were exposed. I taped and soldered as needed, rewrapped the bundle, and both issues are now solved.

[itsnevo]

I almost guarantee that this is the problem with my car too. I have had to reconnect some of those wires in the past when one of my reverse lights went out and I also had some other wires that were broken in that bundle that I fixed, but I'm sure it's probably one of the remaining wires that I didn't already fix that broke.

Unfortunately I have a "not starting" issue on my car right now and so that issue will have to wait a little bit until the starting issue is resolved.

[NoBummers]

It could very well be those wires. When I first got the car, one of the license plate lights where only occasionally working and I noticed that there were several wired that were broken and I fixed the ones that were broken at the time. I could have a few more wires that broke since then.

Recently the door unlocking thing hasn't been happening for the last couple days. What has happened recently is that the drivers door lock will only work for locking the doors but when you try to unlock the door, the key just turns and it doesn't do anything. It doesn't have any abnormal resistance when you turn the key it just doesn't unlock. I have to unlock the doors from the passenger door lock.

Did you ever get to the bottom of this? My car is doing the exact same thing. Driver door lock will not unlock with the key, but passenger side will. Can lock all of the doors with the key in the driver door lock. Tried replacing the actuator, which worked for about 3 days, then back to same situation

[samteezy]

Hate to revive an old thread like this, but I've the same issue as NoBummers and itsnevo before me in regards to the driver's side door.

I plan on checking the wire bundle and resetting the GM tonight, but I doubt that's going to help based on what I'm reading here. Any more ideas?

[Carzzi]

Mine does the "needs to be locked twice" thing, and the trunk cannot be locked, even manually (it seems jammed when I try to turn the trunk lock to the permanently locked position).

[jehu]

I had mine kick back when remote locking tonight and it turned out to be the Driver's Door Lock Button,the rod must be bent slightly misaligning and causing exess friction between the plastic screw on botton top and the door panel opening where it slides up and down during operation. I merely unscrewed the lock button and it wwas back to normal. I'll need to eventually remove the panel and straighten out the rod so it rides up and down freely.

[czadek]

Mine does the "needs to be locked twice" thing, and the trunk cannot be locked, even manually (it seems jammed when I try to turn the trunk lock to the permanently locked position).

Hello. I have the same issue with my trunk. It doesn't lock in anyway i try it. It didn't work when I got the car but then it fixed itself for couple of days and stopped again. Did you ever fix this issue? Please let me know.

[paperplane94]

search for the other threads like this and the actuator repair DIY in the sticky.

[TechBeam]

The same thing was happening to me....checked the checked the bunched up wires on the arm of the trunk on the passenger side and sure enough there were 3 wires pinched..one of which broke off as soon as I touched it..I spliced this wire and taped up the others and BAM!! lock/unlock PROBLEM SOLVED!!

'95 E34 530i

[elloso712]

Can anyone help me with my E34 driver side door not opening, it was working fine yesterday, but this morning my keys wont even open it, but my passenger side works perfect, now i have to get out from the passenger side door. Which is a little embarrassing.

[jehu]

so if none of these steps fixes a double locking kick back where when you manually lock the driver's door either with the key or pull/push button and only the driver door locks but no others yet when you either use the remote or manually lock the passenger door ALL doors lock together where is the fault likely? The driver's door lock actuator?

Seems no electric signal when locking driver's door to the other doors but signal does reach the driver's door lock when locking from another door or the remote...