I had people thinking I was auditioning for the Dukes of Hazzard today at a CCA event.
My door, out of nowhere decided not to open. The latch will unlock it, as does the remote, but it will not open on the second pull.
The strange thing is, after driving it home, it worked just fine again.
Then, after visiting the gas station... the same problem occurred again.
It seems that whenever there are people around who can see me being ghetto as hell, it acts up.
It has nothing to do with the key, ignition, window, top position.. can't make any sense of it. I tried bumping it, and tried putting upward and downward pressure on it to see if maybe something was a little skewed off.
I had the same problem. Intermittent non opening of the drivers side door.
My shop looked at it and called BMW several times. It's something referred to as a door lock or latch cable. It's located in the mechanism that controls the door latch obviously. It slips out of line and then stretches and frays. Problem is you have to remove and replace the entire unit and it's not easy to do. It was not made to be replaced. He said BMW responded that they had never had this problem come up before and that it's the same unit used in several other cars including the 5 series. Million of units and no failures reported... Hmmmmm
My mechanic got it done but it took him a while to figure it out. It failed while he had the car so he knew what I was talking about. He said, luckily being a convertible, he was able to open the top, take out the drivers seat to get at the door and remove the door panel. From there he was able to pop the latch to open the door and then get the unit out. Replacement unit was about $200. Labor was $300 at an independent shop.
Don't know what a dealer would charge but maybe you have an extended warranty?
Lime Rock Park... the most fun you can have in a mile and a half.
Thanks a lot. That is exactly what was going on yesterday. Today it is ok. I should get an extended warranty, really. That does make sense, since yesterday morning was a lot cooler than today.
OK,
The problem is not gone, as I had hoped it had magically gone away. Looking at this diagram, I would think the probable defective part is either 16 or 11.
16 is the Bowden lock actuator for the door. 11 is an actuator rod for the lock. The parts are not expensive.
I guess the question is: what lies behind the door?
Is it one of those pains in the $$$ where there is sticky gook and sound dampening material all over the place and everything is difficult to get to, not to mention the airbag issue or are things somewhat accessible?
Anyone have experience with opening up the door panel? I've replaced windows on other cars, but don't want to attempt something that is meant for the pro's.
Removing the door panel is not difficult. Removing the components inside the door is difficult. Something I wouldn't do myself. And the actuator unit had to be chiseled out. GL
Lime Rock Park... the most fun you can have in a mile and a half.
Just an update for people who may have this problem in the future.
I replaced the door lock actuator and the problem persisted.
It was easy to do.. just make sure the window is up, the seat is all the way down and back, that you disconnect the battery and wait a while for the airbag to de-power.
When you replace the actuator, you have to make sure the lock part on the back (white hole) is neutral and that you guide the door lock into it so that you can use the key to unlock the door (I learned this the hard way).
Anyway... since the actuator was not the culprit, I did realize that the door lock actuator cable was kinked / slightly frayed, and was not securely held to to door latch carrier. There is a little bracket that the cable is sort of held/clipped into. That thingy was allowing the bowden cable to move, and when it moved too much, the door would not open - from the inside or outside because it interferes with everything.
You can leave the door in a semi-disassmebled state and verify this.
I just ordered a new cable, and will securely attach it to the carrier bracket however necessary to prevent it from moving around.
If I have any more information of pertinence, I will pass it on in about a week to ten days after I install the new cable.
Not hard - just have to be careful and slow removing the adhesive that secures the foam to the door, and study the diagrams such as the one on realoem.com to understand how everything fits together.
The Culprit.
Frayed Bowden cable on the door lock actuator to outside handle.
PITA to access and remove / install the cable to the door latch carrier, but doable.. easier with smaller hands.
#7 Frayed. It is the one that connects to the exterior handle. In my case, it prevented me from opening the door from inside and out, but it was the #7 cable you see in the picture that you also need.
Happy I could help someone out.
Just make sure you don't reconnect the battery until the airbag is reconnected or you will have to reset it at a dealer, unless you have the tool.
What a pain in the ass nightmare.... I replaced #7 Bowden over the weekend (actually, twice) and I wouldn't wish it upon anyone.
Symptoms: My exterior handle seemed to 'stick' and took multiple pulls to successfully open the door. Sometimes it would open on the first try, but it took a bit of a tug. In my case, the inside door handle did not feel any different, even though others might've had problems there are well.
If you experience anything similar on EITHER handle, order the #7 cable right away since the exterior bowden cable has becomed a bit stretched and will fail soon (it is linked to the interior cable, read below.) It is only a $10 part.
Replacement: Disconnect the battery first (windows up!) since you will need to disconnect and remove the airbag. You must remove the door panel AND the exterior handle to access both ends of the bowden cable. Even with both removed, small hands are still required and they WILL get bloody. BMW requires special tools to remove the handle, but a couple of skinny screw drivers, a rubber mallet, and a ton of patience sufficed for me. Make sure the airbag and all other electronics are reconnected before you reconnect the battery.
Result: Once I installed the new cable (bloody knuckles), I replaced all of the panels/wiring and reconnected the battery. Apparently I didn't snap the cable in correctly because after 10-20 handle pulls, the cable fell completely off of it's mounting location and I had to start over.
If the cable fails completely, THE INTERIOR HANDLE BECOMES DISABLED AS WELL! You do not want this to happen because it's a huge pain in the ass to remove the door panel with the door closed. Ask me how I know.
Fast forward... I reinstalled the cable and snapped it correctly in place. The handles now open with a slight touch. It's like a new car.
Old thread but thank you very much for this info.... my exterior driverside doesnt work and for the last 4-5 months i have had to open the passenger door... reach all the way through to the drivers side interior handle and pull it or stick the key in, roll down my driver window and reach in to open from the inside.... pain in my ass for the last few months but BMW wanted to charge me $160 just to inspect it to see whats wrong... basicly charge me $160 just to remove the door panel and look inside lol
so im going to order #7 today and give it a shot this weekend.... THANK YOU for all of the info in this thread!!! this should be put in the DIY section.
Let me know if you have any problems. You should not though... identical issue. If you carefully peel back the black sound insulation, it will not be damaged, and is completely reusable. Other than that, it is only about at 3/10 on the difficulty scale, and about a 4/10 on frustration scale.
Not sure if it says it, but make sure to disconnect the battery for a few minutes first, and after everything is done, make sure not to reconnect the battery until the airbag is reconnected, or you will have a light to reset at a BMW shop $$$
got my first cut so far lol and i finally got the door panel off....
oh my god.... cant be serious.... there is no way to get the upper part unhooked from the exterior handle.,. removed the air bag and cant get my skinny hands up in there
.... ohh i gotta remove the exterior handle... i thought so, i'll give that a try
ok so now the old one is off (was broke in half) and i got the lower part of the new one connected but having the biggest problem getting the top part connected... o well ill finish it tomorrow... im gon crazy over this
Last edited by ChrisZ4ATL; 01-09-2010 at 08:39 PM.
Reason: Automerged Doublepost
You just have to study the interior with a flashlight. It is simple, but unfortunately it does not seem that way until you are finished. It's all about knowing where everything goes.
I would just look at everything closely with a strong flashlight. Also, You can make sure it works before reinstalling everything to make sure that it is right before final reassembly.
You will agree afterward that it is like a 3/10 difficulty, but the frustration is about 4/10.
My hands are probably smaller than yours, but you could always get your girlfriend to dress up in some naughty mechanic clothes and watch her put everything back together for you, but don't complain when she realizes how easy it is and how much she saves you on BMW rates...
lol im about to take a pictur eof where im at... one part i cant get clipped in because of how small the space is. its the final part i have to clip in... on the top i can get the small white ball into the lever but the black part under that with the rubber i cant clip into the little housing for it... its on the back side that my fingers cant get in to... and all 130lbs of me, i really have long skinny fingers.... i think the long part is killing me though lol
Don't do that.. try removing the lock mechanism.. the one with the two torx bolts and then assemble everything that way... then reassemble the lock into the door after the new cable is attached.
I probably have bigger hands than you, and I got it done.. no drilling.
With the lock mechanism removed, it rotates around a little.. enough to get the parts onto the proper spots.
got it all back together... so far everything works. Thank you for all of the advice and help. Would have been a year this spring since it first broke and to not have that hassle on my hands and have saved hundreds of dollars is such a relief....
Now i hope i never have to do that again! lol
Next weekend will be my passenger window and cup holders..... i just hope those arent as frusterating!
FS: Leather Recaros (PP)
BMW requires special tools to remove the handle, but a couple of skinny screw drivers, a rubber mallet, and a ton of patience sufficed for me. Make sure the airbag and all other electronics are reconnected before you reconnect the battery.
Posting Permissions
Reply With Quote
Bookmarks