outside door handle stuck

[rogerkiu]

Originally Posted by primetime

Honestly..you will need to get this fixed very soon..Or you won't be able to open it from the inside either then you have a major problem on your hands...

I don't agree this statement, since the inner latch uses seperate mechanism to control the door, it uses the other cable to direct connect to the lock actuator, so the outside handle locking mechanism definitely does not affect the inner locking mechanism. In the other word, you can live with the outside handle locking mechanism unfunctioning forever as long as the inner latch and the lock actuator still work fine.

[mojo719]

Where the carrier breaks near the spring, you can use a piece of thin wire to hold the rod that the spring sits on in place, just make sure the level that pulls in the cable up is seated in the right postion. Its definitely not a permanent fix, I actually used the wire out of a small spiral notebook. One thing that is not mentioned in most of the DIYs for this fix, take out the lock first, its makes it much easier to take out the carrier and to reinstall. When I take our my temporary one, I'll take a picture and post it.

[14thbmw]

Just want to say thanks for this and related threads. My door had the symptoms this morning, so we bought the carrier at the local dealer (who almost matched RealOEM's price) and I took a bit over two hours to do the deed. Works fine now.

I did have quite a bugger of a time getting the hex screw to seat and it still doesn't look quite right - may have to go buy a proper Allen wrench of the right length to do this better.

But all in all, you guys saved my bacon and a lot of potential hassle and expense getting this fixed, so thanks!

[X5nHI]

Yep, thank you forum for this info. It took me much longer as I struggled to get the inner door panel off not wanting to break anything. The top part didn't want to budge so I thought there was an additional fastener but nope those clips on top were just extremely stubborn but with a huge pull up/tug it finally broke free. Outside the blank cap was a PITA to remove and so was the non-lock piece underneath. I put tape all over to protect the paint but still ended up with tiny nicks. Crazy rubik's cube project.

I didn't know how to unclip the inner lever cable so just unbolted the assembly and levered it out through the hole in the panel keeping everything attached. I found the fiber optic cable was installed too but it broke off and the cable so short - someday will extend it to make r&r easier and reattach to the cup. Was so dim it barely lit up the cup anyways, without the "light pipe" was so much brighter. For now duct taped it to the cup best I could but the angle is off.

Also working by myself for the reinstall that panel is very awkward when putting the connector back on (only have 2 hands afterall) so what I did was bring a chair over and a box on top to hold the panel up for me. Fiddling with the outer door handle rounded off the bayonet key so I did the screw with washer trick. Hoisted the panel back on the door and popped it back on.

I still have to fiddle with this project as the central locking button nor the drivers side window switch works on the passenger door, only the controls on the passenger door itself work. Will try pulling those fuses and reseating the switch connectors to see if that "resets" and corrects the problem.

Anyways long winded post. Here's a pic of what breaks inside leaving the outer door handle useless. Pot metal piece breaks off, ugh. It's supposed to stay on that rod with the spring. Just too easy to break.

update: umm, weird, so the driver's side switch can now control the pax window no problem but still not the door lock. I didn't do anything it just started working. didn't reset the connectors yet maybe tomorrow.

[Blowout]

If you look at the pic of the carrier on the previous page, you will see a cable that is attached. That is what connects to the latching mechanism of the door. If I am not mistaken, the inside door release is attached to the carrier and opperates the cable as well.

I am assuming your cable is possibly broken. I don't have any suggestions on how to get the inside door panel off to get to the cable when the door is closed.

[PJ1R1]

Originally Posted by gnehzekul

i tried to lock my car when i walked away and was noticing the alarm was not turning on. so i walked back, opened the driver door then closed the door.. then i tried to open the door again and i can tell the door handle was kinda stuck out a bit more than normal and it wont open from the outside....

i can still open the door from the inside. what do you guys think the problem is?



01 3.0 5

okay just opened up the door. it appears that when i pull the outside handle the metal wire no longer holds as much tension and thus the opening mechnism does not go up as high. does anyone have the schemetics to the drivers door locking/opening device? has anyone had this happen? do you think I have to replace the whole thing? if you had the dealer fix a problem like this how much was it?

thanks,

Luke

i recently had this problem but is was the door carrier, it is on the inner side of the door . i suggest you pop off the door panel and look at the cable, look at door panel removal in this site before you do any thing in the pannel i suggest you remove the negitive battery termanal on the battery so the air bag can deploy. bettter safe than sorry , all the info is here if you look for it. the carrier is any where from $55 to $90 on ebay .the job is not bad to do. the dealer isnt cheap . thats up to you , if you want to drop me an email , i will give you my phone # and help you to understand the entire job. [email protected]

[primetime]

Originally Posted by PJ1R1

i recently had this problem but is was the door carrier, it is on the inner side of the door . i suggest you pop off the door panel and look at the cable, look at door panel removal in this site before you do any thing in the pannel i suggest you remove the negitive battery termanal on the battery so the air bag can deploy. bettter safe than sorry , all the info is here if you look for it. the carrier is any where from $55 to $90 on ebay .the job is not bad to do. the dealer isnt cheap . thats up to you , if you want to drop me an email , i will give you my phone # and help you to understand the entire job. [email protected]

He can't do any of this if the door doesn't get opened first. His door won't open from the inside door handle or outside door handle.

[kalsingh1]

Hi everyone,

My guy from BMW opened my door and replaced the door carrier for £30 labour and £50 for the carrier.
He would not tell me how he opened the door without damaging it, I guess BMW must have secret ways to open door.
Many thanks and Happy New Year.

[PJ1R1]

ok well guess what i have the secret i dont know how to post pics on this site and if you ask i can send to your email but here we go . if your door carrier is broke on the outside and then the cable or smething breaks on the inside first thing you need is a slim jim ! slim jim is a flat peice of metal that they use to unlock the older door locks (very flexable and bendable) on the inside of the door with the glass window all the way closed you need to slide the slim jim down the glass 11" where the front part of the outside door handle is , then with your thumb pressing against the slim jim against the bottom edge of the glass move the slim jim toward the back of the car . (the reason you must kep your thumb pressed up against the glass is to get around apeice of foam that is glued to the door under the door carrier).then roughly 2" from the back part of the glass (just about where the door lock pin is ) with the top 2"away from the edge of the glass continuing sliding the bottm of the slim jim toward the back of the car (if the slim jim was running from 12 oclock to 6 oclock the bottom of the slimjim would be at the 7 oclock mark and the top at 12 oclock. that is where the lock mechinism is slightly move the slim jim up and down to a spot where it feels stuck then pull up that should open the door . to set up the slim jim you need to lay it flat down with the pointy end facing down on the slim jim then 7" in from the point bend the slim jim so it is off the surface 1 1/4 inches and using a magic marker, mark 11"from the point so you know how far down to go when sliding it down the window . you will then be able to take off the door panel and work on you other problems you have. good luck if you need pics shoot me an email and i will send you the photos i am sure pictures say 1000 words

[jaycotter]

Hi everyone, Just joined the site and found my problem straight away !! (great site by the way). I have stripped the door down and removed the carrier to find the same fault. The question is does anyone know where I can find a reasonably priced new door carrier in the UK? Have tried ebay but no luck...it is drivers side on a uk spec car. Any help would be appreciated.