Door unlatched while driving!

S

SonnyZ4

Member
 Driver's Seat
****when I say "unlatched", I mean it was like you didn't fully latch it while closing it. I can't think of a better way to word that haha****

About 3-4 months ago, the passenger door unlatched while driving. I was on a bumpy road, so I assumed it was a bad bump that caused it. Fast forward to roughly a week ago, it did the same thing again. But that time, it did it over a very minor bump. Now today, it did it on a smooth road...

I did a little bit of research and read where BMW has a feature that unlatches (opens?) the doors in an accident. I couldn't find a name for this or much on it. I also couldn't find much of a fix or what to check to fix this... :headbang: a lot of the threads on this are old and have dead links

Any ideas on what to check? What the problem may be? And does anyone know if this is an actual feature and if it is on the Z4? I'm lost as to what to search for on them internets

Thanks!
 
Mine did this, check under carpet for damp, I replaced the airbag module which is bolted to cill under carpet towards rear wheel.

It was £200 from dealers as mine had water corrosion, I have a brand new passenger SBSL module spare if you need one, can do it for a lot less than dealer price.


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I had that happen once on my 2003 3.0i. I hit a pothole at highway speed and the passenger door just opened a fraction on an inch. My dealer could not find anything wrong and it never happened again...
 
Mac: I'll look for any dampness in that area. I do have an air-bag light on the dash from a bad "b-pillar airbag module" that I keep neglecting to order, but its for the drivers side. I'd definitely take that module off your hands (especially since your passenger side is my drivers side and thats the bad one), but we're an ocean apart! :lol:

WLH: the first time was over a really bad bump, but this time was on smooth highway. Hopefully I can get lucky too and it quit happening! haha
 
This happened to me.

I was going at a fair pelt down the M62 (*ahem*) on my way back to Manchester from a gig in York a couple of months, must've been about 1am, and BANG/WHOOSH, the drivers door opened - as you say, not swinging open, just not 'clicked' into the locked position.

Even more weird as my doors lock automatically, so it should've been impossible.

I pulled over into the hard shoulder, had a good look round the car, couldn't find anything wrong/broken, it opened/shut/locked/unlocked fine, and haven't had a problem since.

I just put it down to a freak "one of those things" as no damage done, but looks like it could be a more common issue?
 
There's a few threads on other forums for other BMW models about this happening

The only solutions I've found are:

-lock your doors while driving (I lock mine as soon as I close the door)
-its auto unlatches the door when in an accident and the module that controls that may be malfunctioning (but I can't find any info on this feature)
-Mac's suggestion of checking the airbag modules in that area for damage

Mine did the same as yours Johnny the most recent time it happened.
 
Happened to me a couple of times over the years.
Once on a big bump and more recently at high speed on what seemed a flat smooth dual carriageway.

My doors auto lock when driving and I have no electrical issues.

I believe it's just the chassis flexing and perhaps the latch adjusted to close to the point it's not correctly latched.

Scary but I don't worry about it as air pressure will keep the door closed as will the secondary catch.


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Mine did the same, passenger door a couple of times three years ago, the only thing I did was re adjust the door clasp on the b pillar, never done it since.
 
I'll adjust that and see what results I get

UPDATE: adjusted the striker (latch?) and moved it closer to the center of the car. Seems to let the door close better, and the door is better aligned with the rest of the body work

Thanks guys!
 
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