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Thread: Getting into a locked BMW (325i in this case)

  1. #1
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    Post Getting into a locked BMW (325i in this case)

    So, today, my gf's car decided to lock her out of it (01' BMW 325i), with the car in the ignition and running as well. Not a big deal, we have a spare, right? Ooops, the spare was locked in the car as well. Well, thankfully, I'm both from Newark, NJ and a genius.

    I looked at the car from the outside and this car is notorious for not being able to be broken into. In fact, it has a multiple locking deterent systems.
    The first lock is the electronic locking system and sets that one. The second, is the full lockdown state, if it were to run out of gas and the battery were to fail. The third is the key itself, which as I've come to understand from searching BMW forums for a solution that you have to get it to the dealer or they have to order it from Germany and at a price of around $170 or such. F*ck that, not happening.

    Okay, first steps first... find the weakest point in a link. The car is well made and solid, however, it's weakest points are at three places...

    - The windows obviously (which you could smash one, the rear passenger is the cheapest, not the smaller one though) and although a solution, not one I would do unless bringing to a chop shop.
    - The door locking mechanism... which on this car, cannot be "slimjimmied" open. However, by a pro (ahem) and with the car in the first locked state (not locked down) it could be rockered open.
    - Finally, the door itself... My preferred method.

    In the old days, cars didn't have the electronics that they did today. The windows themselves were easier to get into as they would give way to mechanical failure and could often be pulled downward enough to make a 1/8" to 1/4" of space in order to make a hangman's noose with string, lower it down and basically grab the door lock button nib that is at the drop of the door panel. Hook that and pull up and you were in, presto.

    As of the past 20-30 years, power door locks became fashionable and with that, the method for entry had to change a bit. In that instant, forget a slimjim, if you didn't have a slightly opened window, you needed to access through the door itself, specifically, the door seem along the top part of the car door.

    So, using a screw driver first, one simply pulls on the weakest part of the door... between the car frame and the top rear part of the car window/door itself. On cars with dried out seals or water channels, you could simply use your fingers and pull it open a good 1"-2" (like on a shitty 80's or 90's civic or similar... just sayin', lol).

    Place something in there (another screwdriver or something wider) to hold that part open.

    Now, unfortunately for most, car manufacturers are dumb enough to place the power button to open door locks on the armrest of the door itself. Convenient for you, even more so for a carjacker...

    So what do you use? Well, in the past, I've helped many a drunk people by "borrowing" the old style hard antennas that were right there on theirs or another persons' car. Simply unscrew, stick between that gap you made, line it up with the door lock botton and take a jab at it... "CLICK!" Presto, you unlocked the doors.

    Problem is, this isn't so on German cars... Hmmm, they put the door lock button on the center console so it makes it more difficult to access.

    Unfortunately, although everyone here in the BMW forums said my only options were:
    A. Break the window.
    B. Call AAA (and watch them not be able to enter it).
    C. Get a new key made from BMW (for $170+).
    D. Use the spare (ha, no sh*t sherlock).

    I decided of course to go with option E.... and be the MacGuyver that I am and do what I do best, improvise to win. I saw the objective and knew what I needed to do.

    I went through the garage and started identifying everything I had in it like Arnold as the Terminator. I was looking for something long, flexible yet rigid. 12" wouldn't do and the girth would not get past that tight opening so, I had to think of something else.

    I got it!!! I had some heavy gauge wire from the drop ceiling and a 2' metal sleeve from another project I needed to finish on. I twisted the wire into a semi braid (two strands of it) and put the sleeve over the end of it (to give it weight and to be a rigid finger).

    Going back to the car, the trick was to get the sleeve part of it over to the center console and then once there, line it up to give it a PUSH. It took about 2 dozen tries, the hardest part was the wire wanting to turn in so many directions and being unwielding and the other was the end of the metal sleeve wanting to slide over the hard plastic button. If I didn't get it in a few more tries, I would have remedied that with the end of a door stopper (that thing the cat likes to play with that goes, "twwwaaaaaannnnggg") to fix it.

    It was kind of funny as it felt like playing one of those arcade games with the crane and trying to push the button on the console itself.... Miss, miss, f*ck, miss, CLICK!

    Photo here: http://i.imgur.com/zMjHmzp.jpg

    Car still running, radio going and doors were open... Total time: 8:27. Future time: Be able to do it in under 2 min.

    So there you have it, that's how you get into a 2001 BMW 325i and this is only being shared for PERSONAL use, not criminal.

    PS - For those of you who will reply, "Why not use the spare" or "the car can't lock when it's running", well...

    The reason (I am guessing) that the car locked the doors on itself while running with the key in the ignition... Because the driveway is slightly sloped and the door wanted to close on its own anyway, when my gf shut the door to go and get something inside, the motion sensor (probably a mercury switch or similar) moved enough from that door slamming and it thought the car was in motion (usually over 5-10 mph). With the additional incline of the driveway, the mercury was already unlevel, therefore it gave a better chance for the contact to be made to engage that mechanism... just sayin.
    Last edited by JackConner; 10-02-2014 at 10:39 AM.

  2. #2
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  3. #3
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    Do you really think posting up about how you broke into a BMW, be it your own or anyone else's, is really beneficial at all to the community?

    Congrats and all but I'd advise people to call AAA before I posted publicly about how I broke into a BMW.

    Going into my TENTH YEAR of providing high quality reproduction BMW fabrics!

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  4. #4
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    Good that you got it done. But I would be more interested in how you managed to lock up both keys while it was running.

  5. #5
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    Quote Originally Posted by wcr3d View Post
    Good that you got it done. But I would be more interested in how you managed to lock up both keys while it was running.
    Me too, since the wheel speed sensors are what gives the door locks the signal for drive-away locking (not a mercury switch), and hitting the central locking button won't lock the doors if the driver's door is open.
    Quote Originally Posted by B4SH View Post
    If anyone knows, it's this guy who knows literally nothing about everything.
    Quote Originally Posted by fcvapor05 View Post
    Do you even OT? The mean 401k around here is probably about $6, what with all the shiny cars and $1,000 watches and donations to get other members' Volvos running.


  6. #6
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    This happened to me... Engine running, stepped out of car to walk my daughter and come back to a locked car. Had to ask my brother to pickup the spare and drive it over. my wallet and phone was inside the car. Luckily, i was local and able to borrow my father in laws phone to call my bro. Had to call my wife first for my bros # since cell phones have killed the necessity to remember phone #s. Took ~ 40 mins for this ordeal.

    Car was not on a slope and i didnt do anything out of the ordinary i can remember. Car is an automatic, shifter was set to P.

  7. #7
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    Did either the OP or HC^^ have an aftermarket alarm with locking capabilities installed?
    Quote Originally Posted by B4SH View Post
    If anyone knows, it's this guy who knows literally nothing about everything.
    Quote Originally Posted by fcvapor05 View Post
    Do you even OT? The mean 401k around here is probably about $6, what with all the shiny cars and $1,000 watches and donations to get other members' Volvos running.


  8. #8
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    Quote Originally Posted by Critter7r View Post
    Did either the OP or HC^^ have an aftermarket alarm with locking capabilities installed?
    No, i have the factory alarm installed. I've only experienced this once.

  9. #9
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    No offense OP, but I can't shake the possibility that you just might be a crook making up that fancy story in order to learn ways to break into a locked bimmer. Just sayin'...

  10. #10
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    I had this happen in my e38. I had taken my dogs for a walk, loaded them into the car, started the car and then remembered that I had left the dogs' bowl outside. I got out of the car, to get the bowl, and closed the door behind me. One dog walked from the front seat to the back and stepped on the central locking button on the way through. Locking me out. She then promptly fell asleep with her face in the rear A/C vent.

    My wife was at work so couldn't get the spare key to me. The only option was for a Roadside Rescue guy to come and use an inflatable airbag to pry open the rear door frame enough to get a long wire to the rear window switch and wind the window down. We could then reach through and activate the central locking.

    He said that I would have been screwed had the car not been running.

  11. #11
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  12. #12
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    Quote Originally Posted by BimmerBreaker View Post
    Do you really think posting up about how you broke into a BMW, be it your own or anyone else's, is really beneficial at all to the community?

    Congrats and all but I'd advise people to call AAA before I posted publicly about how I broke into a BMW.
    Quote Originally Posted by wcr3d View Post
    Good that you got it done. But I would be more interested in how you managed to lock up both keys while it was running.
    To reply to some of you...

    First off, it's my girlfriend's car, not mine and she came in the house saying she locked herself out. I told her that I didn't think it was possible (I have an 05' E500) and didn't think it would lock when the car was already running.

    Well, sure enough, the damn thing was locked and guess what? The spare was in her purse, on the front seat.

    As far as being called a "crook", before I came up with the idea of how to get into her running car, I must have read about 3 dozen links and posts about how this car goes into lockdown mode when the power runs out and guess what, I wasn't about to spend $150+ dollars in order to get back into it.

    So, just an FYI... I drive a BMW K1200LTE motorcycle, but I am not a BMW guy (never was, never will be), but I am one of those helpful dudes that knows how to do just about anything and thought I'd be helping a few of you out in this forum if it ever happens to you.

    Take care and I hope it helps a few of you.

    PS - I didn't mention it, but the only damage to her car, was a slit in the weather seal inside the door that the metal tube and wire went through, however, when the door is shut, it's compressed and hasn't let any rain in whatsoever.

  13. #13
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    Quote Originally Posted by JackConner View Post
    PS - I didn't mention it, but the only damage to her car, was a slit in the weather seal inside the door that the metal tube and wire went through, however, when the door is shut, it's compressed and hasn't let any rain in whatsoever.

    You might consider gluing it back together, if water gets inside the weather strip it can cause problems too.
    Sorry for the welcoming you got.
    Last edited by ross1; 10-17-2014 at 06:50 PM.

    If you can leave two black stripes from the exit of one corner to the braking zone of the next, you have enough horsepower. - Mark Donohue

  14. #14
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    Moon

    Quote Originally Posted by JackConner View Post
    To reply to some of you...

    First off, it's my girlfriend's car, not mine and she came in the house saying she locked herself out. I told her that I didn't think it was possible (I have an 05' E500) and didn't think it would lock when the car was already running.

    Well, sure enough, the damn thing was locked and guess what? The spare was in her purse, on the front seat.

    As far as being called a "crook", before I came up with the idea of how to get into her running car, I must have read about 3 dozen links and posts about how this car goes into lockdown mode when the power runs out and guess what, I wasn't about to spend $150+ dollars in order to get back into it.

    So, just an FYI... I drive a BMW K1200LTE motorcycle, but I am not a BMW guy (never was, never will be), but I am one of those helpful dudes that knows how to do just about anything and thought I'd be helping a few of you out in this forum if it ever happens to you.

    Take care and I hope it helps a few of you.

    PS - I didn't mention it, but the only damage to her car, was a slit in the weather seal inside the door that the metal tube and wire went through, however, when the door is shut, it's compressed and hasn't let any rain in whatsoever.
    Thanks for the info and to the person saying about being a crook, I don't know to many car thief's that are steeling 14 year old BMWs. There is no money in it. So he is not to smart to start with. Lol Thanks again.

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