Passenger Door Won't Open

[JonHC]

Hi. I've got a problem with the passenger door on my E53 which won't open. The actuator seems to work as the button goes up and down but neither the inside or outside handles will open the door. I gave a work colleague a lift home last night and when we got to his house he pulled on the handle, but as the door was locked it wouldn't open on the first pull. He's a ham fisted oaf and was really pulling on it. I told him he had to pull it again to open, which it did.

This morning I picked him up but when he went to open the door, it wouldn't open. I tried from inside, but it still wouldn't open. I locked and unlocked a couple of times but with no luck. I think he may have broken something in the mechanism. The problem is, how do I remove the door card with the door shut, or can't I?

Any help here would be greatly appreciated.

[Greydog]

Morning Jon

Welcome to the Forum

Not an unknown problem the internal mechanism can get rusted by water ingress and stick, (don't tell your colleague) It does mean removing the inner door card which is possible with the door closed. It is easier with the passenger seat unbolted and tipped back (if you unplug the seat connections make sure the battery is disconnected first)

Once the door card is out of the way use a heat gun or hair dryer to soften the adhesive holding the inner membrane and peel it back if you tear it make sure you tape it when it goes back. Awkward to see but inside the door you will see the mechanism with the Bowden cable attached get some lube in there WD40 or similar and with a long screwdriver or bent piece of metal work the mechanism it should operate and you can open the door making life easier. Keep operating the lock and lubricating until its working as it should then I smothered mine in spray grease to protect against water ingress rusting it again (tip don't close the door till your happy all is working as it should guess how I know that!!)

Its a fiddly job not hard to do with basic tools the door air bag can be moved and supported with a bit of bent coat hanger without disconnection, if you disconnect the airbag with the battery connected you will trigger the SRS warning lamp needing the diagnostic program to reset it. 

Dave

[JonHC]

Fantastic, thanks for the quick response Dave. I'll try and have a look at it this weekend along with the list of other jobs I've already got on! 😩 I'll still blame my colleague though!

[Greydog]

😂 don't let him off, the wife was really nice to me for ages when she "broke" mine 😁

There are some great "How Too's" with pictures on the www.pelicanparts.com website it is an American site so steering wheel on the wrong side but all the bits that matter are where they are on our cars. There is also www.realoem.com if you aren't using it already, a BMW Parts List put the last 7 digits of your Vin into the search box it will call up your model. Then search the sections for what you need, it will ensure if buying stuff (second hand or new) you get the right part, there are also useful exploded drawings so you can see where stuff fits.

Dave

[JonHC]

Ha ha! I won't! 

I've used Pelican Parts before to help me remove the rear bumper, really useful website. Not heard of realoem.com though, so thank you for that info.

[JonHC]

So, I managed to get the door open, but I’m not entirely sure what was wrong with it. Bear in mind that before i started dismantling stuff, I tried the door again in case it was just a one off thing. I repeatedly locked and unlocked the door whilst trying, and the button was going up and down on the door. Pulling the handle on the inside of the door also raised the button if locked, but it still wouldn’t open.

So, I disconnected the battery, removed the passenger seat, (heavier than I thought!), then proceeded to remove the door card which was a bit of a faff because I had to slide it out from between the door and the end of the dashboard which resulted in several destroyed plastic clips, however, I had spares.

I noticed that someone had been in the door previously to me owning the car as parts of the membrane were already ripped, so it made me wonder if it’s happened before. Anyway, I removed the airbag and had a good look at the mechanism but couldn’t see anything out of the ordinary. I noticed the button on the door lock was down, most likely knocked by me removing the door card. Pulling it up by hand only resulted in it dropping back down so the door was probably locked at this point. I reconnected the battery and tried the locks via the key fob and all the locks worked apart from the passenger door, so my initial thought was that the actuator was broken, but then remembered it worked fine before I removed the door card. It didn’t take me long to realise the window control box needed to be connected for it to work, so I reconnected it, pressed the unlock button on the key fob and hey presto, I could open the door!

I was baffled and couldn’t work out what had gone wrong with it, but at that point i didn't care, it was working again so I gave the mechanism a good greasing, tried the door a few times then put it all back together. So far, all good.

Only thing now is that since I reconnected the battery to test the locks whilst the airbag was disconnected, the SRS warning lamp is now lit. Yeah, I know you suggested just moving the airbag out of the way with a coat hanger, but I wanted it completely out of my way (and the seat!). I did disconnect the battery again before I reinstalled the airbag and seat, but I didn't know any better as I'd never removed an airbag before. Fortunately, I have access to a Launch diagnostic tool so I’ll be able to reset it.

 

[Greydog]

Hi Jon

The actuator will be fine normally, the issue is water gets onto the the actuator arm that is attached to the rising arm that the signal pin is attached to rust builds up and they stick button rises and falls but actuator arm sticks. As the passenger door gets little use compared to the drivers door it suffers, rear doors the mechanism is at an angle so fairs better. Loads of lube is the way to go, I used Stormsure Tape (the wife buys it to mend her horse rugs) to repair my membrane as its water proof

Every days a school day as the old saying goes. 🤣 well it is if you have an X5

Dave