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Passenger door won't open from the inside or outside

142K views 28 replies 16 participants last post by  andrewwynn 
#1 · (Edited)
BMW E53 X5 2004 3.0i Sport

Help!

The actuator on my passenger door was playng up recently. When the rest of the car locked or unlocked the passenger door sometimes did not operate but I could still open it from the inside using the door release. it has now stopped working altogether. I cannot open it from inside, outside, from the door unlock button or from the remote key fob?

I have searched on here for any tips and found this link

http://www.xoutpost.com/bmw-sav-forums/x5-e53-forum/63605-door-lock-stuck-fix-pics.html

this does not work either. I can feel the wire going up and down when I pull on the outside door handle but I still cannot open the door.

Is there another way of opening the door so i can replace the actuator?
 
#2 ·
I had another try last night of the method with the welding rod in the link previously posted. I used a coat hanger instead which is thicker wire than a welding rod.

I think the connection from the outside door handle to the lock mechanism is sound as I can feel the coat hanger wire going up and down when I try to open the door using the external handle. I even tried to hook the coat hanger under neath this latch to try and lift the latch but this did not work either.

I also think the connection from the inside door handle to the lock mechanism is sound as when I operate the inside door handle I can feel the connection between the handle and the lock mechanism moving and hear something moving within the lock mechanism.

I am totally stumped by this?

I dont think it is possible to get the internal door card off from the front passenger door whilst it is closed?

The only solution I can think of is to destroy the internal door card - i.e cut a big hole in it so i can get to the lock mechanism to try and release it. then replace the door card with a second hand one
 
#9 · (Edited)
I have the exact same problem as the OP but cannot for the life of me figure out what pieces are shown in the picture. If I can get the door open I can replace the actuator. Ugh I have been fighting this thing for hours this morning. All of this is soooo easy to do...except opening the door lol :dunno:

****edit**** I just noticed we are talking about different cars. I have an e90. But this is the ONLY post that I have found that is even remotely close to my problem. Ugh carry on...nothing to see here
 
#7 ·
Hi chaps, I thought I would just add that it is possible to get the door card off whilst the door is closed, it just requires a certain order to achieve.
My 03 X5 passenger door also had the dreaded actuator failure and I ended up removing the door card and getting the door open by exposing the actuator and then hitting it several times with a small hammer in combination with repeatedly unlocking and locking the doors.
Eventually the solenoid in the actuator released and bingo the door unlocked and opened! Phew....
I would say that if I'd have known about the shortcut that White_lancer took, then I definitely would recommend this first, as it took me a whole day to do it my way!
 
#10 ·
What I did

What worked for me when my actuator went out was push the unlock button on the center console a bunch of times. The lock finally popped open. I was getting ready to cut a hole in the door panel. Once it unlocks, open the door and don't close it until you get the panel off. I read about that solution somewhere in this forum. Good luck.
 
#12 ·
I rread this solution in the forumn after Cabinet Man's berak up the actuator seemed to be the only answer, but hey I found a better way that another has posted before me that works, NO DAMAGE NEEDED DONE.

Door won't open door will not open
I had this problem with our 528i E39 1996. the passenger door seixed and could not be opened by internal or external handle. The lock indicator went up and down electrically/electronically via the actuator but the door would not open.

I tried spraying WD40 or aerosol liquid lubrication into accesible areas. I tried multiple door handle operations inside and outside. I tried thumping against the inside and outside of the door to unjamb it.

I read about making a hole in the door lining to break up the actuator and the risks with the air bag (DISCONNECT THE BATTERY FIRST AND LET THE CIRCUIT DISCHARGE FOR 15 MINUTES BEFORE MAUCKING ABOUT WITH THE EXPLOSIVE AIRBAG!!!), but was reluctant to do this but it seemed the way to go. BUT then I found this and it worked for me. door open, no damage done.

I used a hacksaw blade as a thin stiff insert between the window wound down and fully open and the inside rubber seal to get down to the locking mechanism at the rear of the outside door handle - thst is where you aim for, and then move the tool around feeling for a lever you can push down that is a mechanism that is springy and you can move. After a while of doing this and feeling around with the tool. You can manipulate the inside and outside door handles while doing this trying to open the door.

Finally it opened, no damage! I did scratch the window tint a liitle bit because i used a hacksaw blade but no big deal. Then I used my finger to operate the door lock clasp instead of closing the door again, and opened and closed the mechnism with both door handles many times to ensure it was working. I sprayed al parts with WD40 and removdd the little opening cover next to the lock on the normally concealed door edge to access into the lock area. Make sure you pull out the inner oval like section on this port hole as it comes out and then if you want to you can pull out the outer part of the port hole. At first I levered out the whole port hole cover but found I should have done it as a two step process. You cannot put it back in the hole in the door metal unless you take it apart as the two parts and put the base in before the cover.

Lubricate the lot and keep using the door as I suspect it was seized by moiture or disuse and became stuck as the locking pin that you can feel delatch when you slowly open the door latch with either handle with the door open and using a finger to reset the latch each time. Try practising with a door you can open first so you get the feel of it. Maybe it also teaches the other jammed door what you want it to do?? these cars are getting old and probably imprinting on the owners mentality, so be nice to it :))
 
#13 ·
BMW X5 passenger doors won't open from inside out

Thanks White528iSyd for the great post.:bow: I followed your instruction with a thin metal ruler and within less than 30 seconds the doors opened one by one:thumbup:
My both passenger doors had the same problem in one day one after another and I tried everything including jumping 12V to Blue black and white wires. But I guess my actuators were working fine and they were just stocked. I sprayed a whole can of WD40 from every openings into the door lock mechanism and locked unlocked the doors 100 times or may be little bit less and both doors are working fine now. Thanks again
 
#14 ·
BMW X5 not unlocking and door won't open

Hi people, Iv had a problem where my passenger door don't open from the inside or outside. The central locking was making a nose but wasn't unlocking! Tried everything!!! Then BMW said it would cost me £400 to get the door open and change the whole lock. They also said I will not be able to get the door open..... But I did! I come from a family of car mechanics, so I love nothing more then a big problem and being told only the main dealers can try and sort it. First of all the best way I found to get the door open is to use a hacksaw and cut off the catch bracket. It Can be replaced with a £25max new one.you can do this by opening the rear door and you will see the catch bracket hold the passenger door shut.it don't take long to hacksaw off. Then the door opens and you can then start to fix the problem! So already that's saved me £380! By openin it myself. I have pictures to show how I did it step by step feel free to ask for the pictures!. So once I got the locking unit out of the door I found the problem wasn't the central locking at al!! It was the rubber/plastic that's wrapped around the lock hock that had jammed the lock up. Once I removed that all it worked perfect!!!! So saved myself about £500 witch is what the main dealer wanted for labour and parts! Feel free to ask me anything or ask for pictures! Just want to help you lot save money and not be ripped off by dealers!
 
#23 ·
Hi people, Iv had a problem where my passenger door don't open from the inside or outside. The central locking was making a nose but wasn't unlocking! Tried everything!!! Then BMW said it would cost me £400 to get the door open and change the whole lock. They also said I will not be able to get the door open..... But I did! I come from a family of car mechanics, so I love nothing more then a big problem and being told only the main dealers can try and sort it. First of all the best way I found to get the door open is to use a hacksaw and cut off the catch bracket. It Can be replaced with a £25max new one.you can do this by opening the rear door and you will see the catch bracket hold the passenger door shut.it don't take long to hacksaw off. Then the door opens and you can then start to fix the problem! So already that's saved me £380! By openin it myself. I have pictures to show how I did it step by step feel free to ask for the pictures!. So once I got the locking unit out of the door I found the problem wasn't the central locking at al!! It was the rubber/plastic that's wrapped around the lock hock that had jammed the lock up. Once I removed that all it worked perfect!!!! So saved myself about £500 witch is what the main dealer wanted for labour and parts! Feel free to ask me anything or ask for pictures! Just want to help you lot save money and not be ripped off by dealers!
Asm262, hey budy and thx for all the information
I
m having the same issues with my e71 2012 driverside, luckily the door opened but i was at daycare picking up my kid, so I quickly took the door panel off to be able to get to the door once i close it, of course after i closed it it won't open again.....
I tried pulling on this cable that connect the outside handle cause I could feel it going up and down when opening the outside handle, so i started puling repeatedly and I think i pulled a bit too hard cause it doesn't feel the same anymore. is there a way to get the actuator off and open the door since i have the panel off??
if you could send me the pics, it would be much appreciated.
thx
 
#16 ·
Can you please provide me with pictures. I cannot open the door at all ive tried it all lol. Thanks.
Hi, it's annoying ain't it! lol. I also know an easier way without cutting the £3 latch off. Even though the door is shut, the door card WILL still come off. So take off the door card.... And take off the back door card on the same side. And the back door central locking plug WILL reach the door in front that ain't open. So plug the back door central locking plug in to the broken door and it will unlock it. Hope that make sense to you!?. If not I can send you the pics of how to cut off the latch. But the plug way is easier and fast. Let me know when your done it thanks
 
#17 ·
Door

Thanks for responding. I may and will try the second way but to my convinience i know of a junkyard about 30 minutes away from me with the same exact car. So im hoping it has the parts i need which i think it does lol. If you could send me the pics that would be awesome. I really appreciate your effort to help me.
 
#21 · (Edited)
2004 z4

hey nice people ,, new to the forum and hope everyone is having a great weekend !!
bobby
Mannyg569 ,, if you could send me the way in which you opened that locked door ,,the lock is actuating but its doing a thumping motion as its trying to open but never unlocks the door , I have a 2004 Z4 and it will not unlock so I can changed the actuator ,, changed the drivers side a month ago but I was able to get the door open on it !! thanks for your help ,, am about to cut the hook on the body if I can figure this dang thing out !!:mad:
 
#22 ·
well kids with the advice of a shop manager here at a local BMW dealer ,,he said we see this all the time ,, heres what ya do ,, take a hammmer and a pry bar and put the end of the pry bar on the actuator lever down inside the door and hammer it to break the internal gears and the door will pop open ,, so i did and walla it opened after a few good whacks ,, was kinda scarey but it worked ,, if you're not comfortable doing this please take it to the dealer ,,they do it all the time he said !! got the actuator changed and the doors works fine !! :)
 
#24 · (Edited)
Door latches in E53 X5 go bad in time... I think the key problem is grease which dries after years of use making the metal parts rotation harder and electric motor can't operate or burns from overload..
Of course there might be other problems - like a broken part, but if you can still open door from inside I would say it is not the case.
After replacing 2 latches already , 3-rd started to "act" - I can still open it from inside but remote is not always able to do it... So, waiting is not going to make anything better- need to replace latch now or maybe try to lube it??

I decided to take a closer look at ale and did some "brutal surgery" on one of the old one's to see if and how they can be lubricated.
There are two places where lube dries - one being where the is small electric motor which is turning plastic wheel which opens the latch when you push the remote or electric button and this is pretty much sealed - the only way to spray grease there would to drill hole in housing but that would be quite difficult w/o risking to damage it.
But the main area where there is lots of grease and lots of moving parts can be greased quite easy. When you open the door - there are 3 bolts holding the latch - unscrew the one on the very top (closer to the car inside). Since the thread is all the way through the latch housing, you can stick a lubricant spray tube through it and blow some grease all around the inside (up/dn and to the sides).. You will likely see it dripping so have some rug handy to wipe it...
Should help. I would say if you notice one of the latches being "lazy" do it or if you have not replaced the locking mechanism for sever years, chances are that it may help also.. If grease dries too much motor may burn and there only way to fix it is to replace $200 part but lubrication bay extend its life.
 
#25 ·
BMW E53 X5 2004 3.0i Sport

Help!

The actuator on my passenger door was playng up recently. When the rest of the car locked or unlocked the passenger door sometimes did not operate but I could still open it from the inside using the door release. it has now stopped working altogether. I cannot open it from inside, outside, from the door unlock button or from the remote key fob?

I have searched on here for any tips and found this link

Door Lock Stuck - Fix with Pics!!! - Xoutpost.com

this does not work either. I can feel the wire going up and down when I pull on the outside door handle but I still cannot open the door.

Is there another way of opening the door so i can replace the actuator?
I popped the window switch assembly out from the passenger door. I unplugged the white connector and placed +12v on pin 12 the blue wire and 0v on pin 7 the black wire and my door unlocked

DIY: PASSENGER DOOR WONT OPEN FROM INSIDE OR OUTSIDE - Xoutpost.com
mate can you explain this to me as I'm a bit thick and don't understand where to put the wires
 
#27 ·
I had a similar problem for the passenger door of a 2004 E46 3-series. I already knew that the electric actuator to open the door was broken, so I had to use the inside handle to open it. Today the inside handle would not work which led me to these posts. The owners manual said that in an emergency, put the key in the driver's door lock and turn to the left to unlock the doors. I did this and there was a mechanical sound on the passenger door. Although it did not unlock the door because of the broken actuator, the inside handle now worked to open the door. There must be some sort of a security system for the passenger door that the owners manual does not explain.
 
#28 ·
The secondary lock motor is stuck.

You can usually get it to work after a few tries but it will happen again

Internal door handles are defeated whenever the car alarm is set (eg lock car from outside).

The emergency egress method will usually work to get the double lock disengaged.

1. Get in the car

2. Lock the car (with key fob or though open driver window)

3. Lock a second time (disable motion sensor)

4. Press (may have to hold) Central lock button.

5. Pull door handle on sticking door. (You should feel the door unlock)

6. press key fob or reach out window to unlock car and doable alarm.

7. If door didn't unlock go back to step two it can take a couple times


The procedure is basically the same as when a door unlock motor doesn't work the first time.

You have to lock and unlock the secondary lock until it unlocks.
 
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