How do I break into my Z4?

B

ben g

Elite
 Essex
So basically, both my keys have died on me. The car is currently locked on my driveway, so it's not a massive issue, apart from the fact I can't get into it!

Red pull cord in the boot doesn't do anything.

Drivers door lock barrel just spins around. I believe the metal clip that holds it in place has fallen off.

Both doors are locked with the remote (it worked to lock the car but didn't unlock straight after, just my luck).

Managed to pull the door glass out enough to get a metal rod inside to pull on the interior door handles, but they appear to be deadlocked.

Any ideas, short of breaking the glass?

Ideally I need to get the batteries replaced to check if the keys then work, but I'm not sure where this can be done at short notice. There's a guy I used last year in East London, but there's no guarantee he'll be there tomorrow and may need the car, which is obviously a no go...

Seriously stressed out and the cars parked in the middle of the driveway, so is causing an obstruction to my missus who now can't park correctly :headbang:
 
have you tried pushing a thin pole into the car and pressing the unlock button near the handbrake you will need to pull the door glass out a bit to get a pole in and maybe some bluetack on the end of it so it does not slide off the button when trying to press it.
 
That sounds odd, i thought if the car was locked the interior door handles would unlock the car?
That and the fact both fobs don’t work makes me think something else has happened to the door locking module :?
Rob
 
PDJ said:
have you tried pushing a thin pole into the car and pressing the unlock button near the handbrake you will need to pull the door glass out a bit to get a pole in and maybe some bluetack on the end of it so it does not slide off the button when trying to press it.
Click to expand...

Won’t work with car being deadlocked.
 
Smartbear said:
That sounds odd, i thought if the car was locked the interior door handles would unlock the car?
That and the fact both fobs don’t work makes me think something else has happened to the door locking module :?
Rob
Click to expand...

Deadlocked :wink:
 
If you’ve got an electric toothbrush, put the key on the toothbrush charger...it should charge the battery. :thumbsup:
 
1000rr said:
If you’ve got an electric toothbrush, put the key on the toothbrush charger...it should charge the battery. :thumbsup:
Click to expand...

Currently trying this after some googling earlier. Hasn't worked yet, but it's only been charging 30 mins. Hopefully an overnight charge will sort it.

If not, I'll try disconnecting the battery for a bit and see if that resets anything.

Hopefully one of these work or the door glass is getting put through :cry:

Thanks for the tips guys. I think this is the last straw of the love affair between me and my Z4. It's let me down one too many times and it's just not worth the hassle anymore, unfortunately :thumbsdown:
 
ben g said:
1000rr said:
If you’ve got an electric toothbrush, put the key on the toothbrush charger...it should charge the battery. :thumbsup:
Click to expand...

Currently trying this after some googling earlier. Hasn't worked yet, but it's only been charging 30 mins. Hopefully an overnight charge will sort it.

If not, I'll try disconnecting the battery for a bit and see if that resets anything.

Hopefully one of these work or the door glass is getting put through :cry:

Thanks for the tips guys. I think this is the last straw of the love affair between me and my Z4. It's let me down one too many times and it's just not worth the hassle anymore, unfortunately :thumbsdown:
Click to expand...

Don’t do anything rash Ben, any car will be an issue if the remote goes flat :?
Rob
 
ben g said:
Currently trying this after some googling earlier. Hasn't worked yet, but it's only been charging 30 mins. Hopefully an overnight charge will sort it
Click to expand...

Hopefully that will work, but 30 minutes isn't long - my toothbrush isn't fully charged after 12 hours. :o

Actually I really hope it does work because looking at your signature your car sounds like a great example of a Z4. :thumbsup:
 
Tooth brush charger will hopefully sort it. Is there any way you can wedge a thin edge in between the barrel and the door to stop it spinning.
 
It’s a shame you hadn’t left a handbag on the front seat, I’m sure it would be open in the morning 😁
 
What is the proper use & maintenance schedule for the key fobs?
Do they need regular use ( recharging while driving maybe? )
At what interval should the battery be replaced to avoid failure?
TIA
 
Chippie said:
It’s a shame you hadn’t left a handbag on the front seat, I’m sure it would be open in the morning 😁
Click to expand...

There's a lovely metal rod in there at the moment which fell in whilst we were trying to open the interior handles :lol:

Apparently pressing the door lock/unlock button next to the hazard light button and then pulling the interior handles twice will unlock the doors, but I'm at work so can't try it yet.

Also need to find another door handle puller from somewhere, or try and fish the one in the car out :lol:
 
OK so an update...

Managed to get down to an auto electrician who checked the signals from the key fobs. Only one was putting out a signal, so he replaced the battery in the dead key fob and it now puts out a signal.

Got home, tried the key fob with the new battery and IT WORKS!!! Thank god for that :lol: :thumbsup:

Weirdly though, my other key fob which was working up until yesterday is still dead, despite the signal being checked and showing as working. So not sure what's going on there, but at least I've been able to unlock and move my car without causing any further damage.

Interior door handles are a bit battered from the metal rod, but they're only plastic so, although annoying, isn't too bad.

Car will be going either via sale or scrap in the near future, as I need something more practical and more reliable.
 
OK another update 8)

The key fob that was working yesterday but suddenly died simply needed re-syncing to the car. Once I had done this it functioned as it should.

Now I need to glue it instead of using tape to hold the key fob together :lol: :thumbsup:
 
I feel for you, had a similar situation with an E46. Did you try programming the keyfob using the master key? Or is the battery dead in that one too?

If you want to glue the keyfob back together try that sugru stuff, apparently it's ideal for that kind of job.
 
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