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Door won't open - Fixed! See First Post

Discuss problems you have had or are having with your Z4
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EdButler
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Door won't open - Fixed! See First Post

Post by EdButler » Sat Apr 18, 2015 8:22 pm

Hi all, I'm normally one to offer help but this has me stumped!

I'm in the middle of fixing my roof motor, and the pax door is stuck shut! I need to open it to finish the job unfortunately! This makes the car pretty hard to drive to a garage also :(

The internal and external door handle don't work. I've taken the back side of the door card off, and manually operated the mechanism to rule out the cables but that didn't work either - there is not the usual click of resistance you get when the lock releases. When operating the locks with the key it sounds like they are working fine. I have also tried lifting/pulling/pushing the door while trying to unlock to no avail.

The only thing I can think it's the door latch (not lock) is physically stuck within the lock?

FIXED!!! See Below

This is a common problem for BMW's as they all share the same door lock! The problem was that the latch was so gummed up that it was stuck closed. You therefore have to free it off with the door closed! I tried lots of wiggling to no avail - so i had to take the door card off first - God knows why the images are in crazy directions, tehy look fine on Photobucket!! Just click on them to expand, theyll be the correct way up!.
Image

Undo the screws (Behind inner release handle, Grab Handle, and airbag tag) and push the door card with something which is sympathetic to Leather (my door cards are leather, i think some are plastic?) Wood is usually a good bet, or a plastic pry bar. Once you do this, you can see some (enough thankfully) of the lock mechanism.

If your bowden cable for the inner door handle is snagged or stretched, first try pushing down where it meets the lock (red circle). If that doesnt work, then your lock is likely stuck. In this case, spray some Graphite grease, WD40, Brake Cleaner, or any parts cleaner/lube into the lock where marked. I just used a slim tin of WD40 and a straw. This freed my lock. Hurray! :D

Image

Be sure to clean all the gunk out of the lock and activate it many times while cleaning (move it to all positions by hand and the releasing with the handle). It is advised not to use WD40 to lube the lock - you should use graphite grease. If you clean/lube it regularly however, some PTFE/Grease will do just fine :)
Last edited by EdButler on Mon Apr 20, 2015 8:47 pm, edited 3 times in total.

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pvr
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Re: Door won't open - Deadlocked? Please help!

Post by pvr » Sat Apr 18, 2015 9:06 pm

Does the central locking still activate anything in that door?
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EdButler
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Re: Door won't open - Deadlocked? Please help!

Post by EdButler » Sat Apr 18, 2015 9:39 pm

Yes mate, the pin moves and the door 'sounds' as though it's working correctly.

I've just seen a thread saying that the latch can get jammed. The hard part will be trying to get to it, to free it!

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Re: Door won't open - Deadlocked? Please help!

Post by Sp33dy1 » Sun Apr 19, 2015 7:24 pm

This sounds daft but have you tried both fobs

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fixit man
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Re: Door won't open - Deadlocked? Please help!

Post by fixit man » Sun Apr 19, 2015 8:24 pm

Hi,
Try pushing the door in..more closed and then at the same time try the handle, the latch might be under tension stopping it from flicking up (open). Maybe something is jammed in the door that is causing this tension :)

jamesditchy
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Re: Door won't open - Deadlocked? Please help!

Post by jamesditchy » Sun Apr 19, 2015 9:29 pm

This happened to me. Try reaching inside the door and where the external bowden cable fits into the actuator there is a black rubber boot sleeved around the cable. Pull this boot out from the clips so the cable end is free and the door should release. I had tried taking the slack out of the cable on mine where the external door wouldn't open and that's when mine jammed shut.
Image

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EdButler
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Re: Door won't open - Deadlocked? Please help!

Post by EdButler » Mon Apr 20, 2015 12:54 pm

Thanks for the replies all. I have already tried all suggestions unfortunately. The latch seems jammed and even wobbling the door wont free it. Im going to try get some penetrating lube in there somehow tonight. If not, try some kind of slim-jim action to free the lock with a welding rod.

I also had a little idea last night - Im going to try and cycle the lock mechanism repeatedly with the engine on. The extra 2 volts to the relay may give it a bit more impact to loosen off.

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EdButler
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Re: Door won't open - Fixed! See First Post

Post by EdButler » Mon Apr 20, 2015 8:13 pm

Fixed - Update in post 1. Sorry for the crappy image rotation. God knows why...

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fixit man
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Re: Door won't open - Fixed! See First Post

Post by fixit man » Mon Apr 20, 2015 8:22 pm

Well done , what a ball ache :driving:

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paddy wright
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Re: Door won't open - Fixed! See First Post

Post by paddy wright » Mon Apr 20, 2015 9:23 pm

Ed strikes again! When your z is back on the road (and mine is) fancy a local run out mate?
Z4 2.2 sterling grey,Msport seats,retrofit cupholders,cruise,footwell lights,sound gen and mfsw,18"ellipsoids,xenons+light washers,ZHPknob,folding mirrors,3"stubby,update wheel caps,gateway300 ipod, wind deflector to keep the wife happy!

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EdButler
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Re: Door won't open - Fixed! See First Post

Post by EdButler » Mon Apr 20, 2015 9:39 pm

Yeah Paddy definitely! Although i'm thinking of selling up soon regrettably :(

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paddy wright
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Re: Door won't open - Fixed! See First Post

Post by paddy wright » Mon Apr 20, 2015 9:41 pm

EdButler wrote:Yeah Paddy definitely! Although i'm thinking of selling up soon regrettably :(
Really?? After all this time surely not! :thumbsdown:
Z4 2.2 sterling grey,Msport seats,retrofit cupholders,cruise,footwell lights,sound gen and mfsw,18"ellipsoids,xenons+light washers,ZHPknob,folding mirrors,3"stubby,update wheel caps,gateway300 ipod, wind deflector to keep the wife happy!

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Door won't open - Fixed! See First Post

Post by Marco » Sun Oct 29, 2017 10:20 am

Hi, the images are no longer on this post, does anyone have the original images by any chance? The same thing seems to have happened to my door :-(

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Door won't open - Fixed! See First Post

Post by mattyl1990 » Sun May 20, 2018 10:40 pm

Had the same problem as jamesditchy, i've got a stretched Bowden and took everything apart to remove the slack from the cable. The door works perfect the fine for a while until the latch doesn't have enough room to reset and jams from both interior and exterior.

Is the a way of adjusting the latch biting point or should i just fork out to get the new handle carrier and bowden?

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Door won't open - Fixed! See First Post

Post by allx » Sun Jun 30, 2019 8:51 pm

mattyl1990,
Had the same problem some time ago.
Actually there were 4 attempts to solve it, got a new bowden - 2 months then stuck closed again.
Then got a used latch off ebay - only a week and stuck.
Then got a brand new latch - 1 month and stuck.
And lastly decided to replace handle carrier and finally realised what I did wrong over time, and hope it will help someone:

Long story short there are two variants of upper bowden bracing that without seeing it feel equally right (at least for me). The wrong one (easy to guess which one, I suppose) leads exactly to "not enough room to reset".
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