outside door handle stuck

[CrazyOneToo]

Originally Posted by RoPoDAWG

Thanks guys. @upallnight, it is a cheap one from ebay. Live and learn. Just proves what my wife says... I can be cheap sometimes. She would have just gone straight to the dealer but I wanted to save $ ... and prove to her I could fix it? Now it's probably headed to the dealer anyway if the carrier is in fact broken again. And if I did cross-thread that hex screw.

Go to.... ECSTuning.com



-

[upallnight]

Originally Posted by RoPoDAWG

Thanks guys. @upallnight, it is a cheap one from ebay. Live and learn. Just proves what my wife says... I can be cheap sometimes. She would have just gone straight to the dealer but I wanted to save $ ... and prove to her I could fix it? Now it's probably headed to the dealer anyway if the carrier is in fact broken again. And if I did cross-thread that hex screw.

Hey my wife says the same thing about me.

Doesn't a new carrier come with a new hex screw? In some cases, X owners have reused the old screw from the old carrier when installing a new carrier because the quality control is really lacking on those cheap ass carriers. I think the supplier sell the carriers rejected by BMW on ebay.

[RoPoDAWG]

Don't remember if I re-used the screw or not. Just remember it being a bitch to get it started right. Maybe that's because of the cheap carrier.

[upallnight]

Originally Posted by RoPoDAWG

Don't remember if I re-used the screw or not. Just remember it being a bitch to get it started right. Maybe that's because of the cheap carrier.

Here's a guy that was having the same problem as you.

http://www.xoutpost.com/980864-post15.html

He brought an aftermarket carrier also.

If you skip to post #43 toy will find the solution.

http://www.xoutpost.com/981233-post43.html

[RoPoDAWG]

Thanks again Upallnight. Wish had seen all this before doing the switch with the cheap part. Unfortunately, I'm headed out of town for a few weeks and won't have time to work on it before I go and the wife needs to be able to drive the car. So it may be going to the dealer.
But I will know what to do next time. And hopefully others will see all this and follow the advice - Buy the BMW carrier.

[StephenVA]

Originally Posted by RoPoDAWG

Thanks again Upallnight. Wish had seen all this before doing the switch with the cheap part. Unfortunately, I'm headed out of town for a few weeks and won't have time to work on it before I go and the wife needs to be able to drive the car. So it may be going to the dealer.
But I will know what to do next time. And hopefully others will see all this and follow the advice - Buy the BMW carrier.

Dealer will be $500+

Good luck to all

[upallnight]

Originally Posted by StephenVA

Dealer will be $500+

Good luck to all

Well if your dealer is charging you $500+ bucks for a door carrier, they deserve the term stealer, but you can buy it on line from a genuine BMW Dealer (not STEALER)for just under 130. It's about a hour shop time so even if they charge 200 bucks an hours that still leaves over 200+ bucks unaccounted for.

Carrier, outside door handle, front left. DOOR CONTROL FRONT for BMW X Series X5 (1998 - 2007). #51218243615

[RoPoDAWG]

So if it ends up at the dealer while I am out of town I will report back on the costs. Hoping a friend will be able to guide her to a more reasonable local garage. Also have a friend who is a former bmw mechanic but no longer in the local area. Anybody want to come to Colorado and fix this for me while I'm gone?

[upallnight]

Originally Posted by RoPoDAWG

So if it ends up at the dealer while I am out of town I will report back on the costs. Hoping a friend will be able to guide her to a more reasonable local garage. Also have a friend who is a former bmw mechanic but no longer in the local area. Anybody want to come to Colorado and fix this for me while I'm gone?

If there was enough powder on the mountain I would consider it. Got some new to me skis and I want to try them out.

Show the wife this video and she'll be o.k.

Repairing door handles on a BMW X5 2000 thru 2006 - YouTube

[gregk]

Ok I used the welding wire method and opened the door in about 5 mins. I have now fixed the whole thing. I am of the opinion that maybe these keep breaking because the door lock mechanism rusts over time and creates more friction causing you to pull harder on the handle and breaking it. Either way I wont be buying a BMW ever again thats for sure.
I made a little video that notes some of what I have said here.

https://youtu.be/WjhBT5Y3HpI