One off window/door handle prob, please help

[X Foomph]

Today we had an unfortunate event with the front passenger door handle. My wife's mobile (cell) phone had a small bit of bling in the shape of a heart hanging off it on about 4" of very light cord, this piece of bling got caught inside the small cover piece as she got out of the car and closed the door whilst holding the phone in the same hand. We only realised this later in the day after opening then trying to close the window, it wouldn't budge. I checked it out when we got home and saw the bling sitting inside the cover piece. Fkn thing took me about 45 minutes to get it out as it was sitting snugly in the small space inside at the bottom of the cover piece. She initially thought the bit of bling just fell off on to the ground and under the X.

What's the chance of doing that ?? You couldn't repeat doing that if you tried.

So the end result is: 1) The window is stuck open and 2) The whole outer door handle is sitting out too far. The door opens and closes fine and the lock works as well.

Does anybody please know what may be damaged and how would I go about fixing it ?? Don't forget guys, I'm in Australia therefore front LHS door is passenger = no lock cylinder.

[X5 Meister]

Never opened it up myself, but I'd suggest you do a thorough read of door handle/panel removal write-ups on this board so that you can open it up to, at the very least, tighten up what might now be loose, disconnected, or worse, broken. The job looks like a PITA to do, but it's definitely a DIY project as taking it to a dealer for something like this will cost you dearly.

Are you thinking divorce too?

[X Foomph]

Thanks mate,
I appreciate your feedback. My biggest problem is that because I haven't removed a door panel yet (touch wood re regulator) and moreso disassembled a front door lock I won't know what will be wrong by just looking at it. I'm hoping that when I go to start open heart surgery on the lock mechanism the problem will be evident. If it isn't I won't be guessing and potentially buggering things up.

I have mixed memories of days gone past where I tinkered & repaired door locks/handles on old GMH (Chevy) cars and remember how intricate they were. I shudder when I think about having to repair a BMW door lock. But I will have a go none the less, maybe 'Weasel' or someone else who has managed lock repair work will chime in.

PS; solicitors on hold at present.

[butundo]

It is very easy to remove that piece. You don't even need to remove the door panel. You do need to remove the black plug in the side of the door. Once that is removed, you will have access to the bolt that holds on that piece. Once you remove that, you will have access to the handle. Hopefully that is all it takes to fix your issue. If you need to go further, you will need to remove the door panel. See here for the plug and hex bolt: http://www.xoutpost.com/articles/x5/b...tml#post550399

[X5 Meister]

Good advice butundo. X Foomph I'd suggest reading the write-ups and getting in contact via e-mail with some of the authors. (There also a guy on bimmerboard, I think, who did an amazing write-up on one) Once you do that then you can take photos and send them off for advice. It should give you some additional comfort in doing the job yourself.

[UCrewX5]

The way the door handle looks in the picture it almost appears like the door handle carrier unit is broken. butundo is correct, that cover cap just comes right off (there are clips on the top and bottom holding it in place, be careful not to break them off). The article referenced above tells you everything you need to know about the whole mechanism. I just replace my passenger side unit a few weeks ago and used that article to get me through it.

[X Foomph]

Hi guys,
Have started to pull door trim off and would like to confirm if I need to disconnect the battery before I remove switch connections on the window switch.
Thanks

[UCrewX5]

Originally Posted by X Foomph

Hi guys,
Have started to pull door trim off and would like to confirm if I need to disconnect the battery before I remove switch connections on the window switch.
Thanks

No need to disconnect the battery in order to remove the switch connection. Just don't unplug the airbag. Simply unbolt it from the door frame and move it out of the way.

[X Foomph]

Thanks Jeff,
I understand not to disconnect battery or airbag.
Window switch unit: 2 x small switch connections are very hard to remove, I don't want to break anything, large one came out easy.

[X Foomph]

I managed to remove smaller sw units. A pivoting black plastic arm needed to be rotated back after depressing tab. Thanks anyway.