Door lock issue on 03 E85 ?

S

SamuelL421

Member
I've had some odd door lock behavior over the past year or so with my 2003 E85. At first I didn't think much of it, a few times I had to press "lock" and then "unlock" to get the doors to actually unlock for me, at the time I thought it was a weak battery either in the key fob or the actual car (not the case as it turns out). Last year I drove significantly less due to work from home and the Z4 stayed parked quite a bit... at some point last year I noticed the door issue again but this time the passenger door would not unlock, even cycling presses of "lock" and "unlock" on the key fob. At the time, the driver door and gas cap would unlock but the passenger door would not. This happened twice but I wasn't driving much so it was not a major concern. In both cases, I came back a week later and the entire car unlocked without issue.

I started driving again and the car has been fine for some months. This week the issue has appeared again except no doors unlock: the passenger door does not unlock at all, the gas cap does not unlock at all, and the driver door can only be unlocked manually with a key.

Does anyone know what the root cause could be? I have a local independent BMW mechanic who does decent work, but I'm reluctant to try them out as I can't add any fuel and the car may not have enough in the tank to make the trip...

Open to any suggestions or advice, ideally do not want to break the gas cover off of the car but I have yet to find a way to unlock the passenger door or gas tank manually.

EDIT: Worth mentioning, center console button makes the lights flash / attempt to unlock but the door locks do not cycle locked/unlocked. Pressing lock/unlock on the key fob has similar result.
 
Scanning it with a code reader should bring back some fault codes that may point you in the right direction as to whats at fault. BMW INPA and BMW Scanner should be able to read the module concerned with the central locking.
Fuel Filler Flap
The fuel filler flap is incorporated in the central locking system. There is an emergency
release for the fuel filler flap inside the trunk on the right side under the trunk lining.
 
colb said:
Scanning it with a code reader should bring back some fault codes that may point you in the right direction as to whats at fault. BMW INPA and BMW Scanner should be able to read the module concerned with the central locking.
Click to expand...

Good idea, I have a BMW scan tool somewhere, the car doesn't display check lights but I'll dig out the tool and see if shows anything. I'll report back :thumbsup:
 
Fuel Filler Flap
The fuel filler flap is incorporated in the central locking system. There is an emergency
release for the fuel filler flap inside the trunk on the right side under the trunk lining.
 
colb said:
Fuel Filler Flap
The fuel filler flap is incorporated in the central locking system. There is an emergency
release for the fuel filler flap inside the trunk on the right side under the trunk lining.
Click to expand...

I knew there had to be a manual release for that somewhere, thank you!
 
Yep, almost certainly duff relays in GM5 module. I have them in stock at mo and can professionally replace for you no problem. £40 + p&p
 
It has been a minute, but I wanted to follow up on this. The GM5 was indeed the issue and replacing relays solved the locking problems.

Thanks all for your advice and feedback :thumbsup:
 
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