Drivers Door won't open - after changing handle carrier

[h2ofreezes]

Originally Posted by MrFixIt

Aimster,

If your door handle is sticking out a little bit like in the photo, most likely the carrier is broken vice the cable or the cable latch.

My driver's side door handle did the same last month. The cable and latch are actually pretty solid. Most of the breakage is near the spring--the weakest point. There is only about 5mm of metal on that particular point.

I replaced mine right away, and it took about 1.5 hrs. I didn't want to take any chances of the inside door handle breaking at the same time--and with the door closed! I recommend getting it fixed ASAP.

can you point out where the break or broken piece is on the old carrier vs new?

[Marceltj4.6is]

I'm having the same issues as you after replacing the carrier. Seems like there is not enough tension on the cable or cable is too long. Maybe actuator getting worn? Were you able to resolve this on yours?

[mrBrigante]

on my way down this road myself, sucks how this happens to our x5s

[glassjoe]

Originally Posted by BrianX54.4is

Hi Sheepdip - glad the post was of help in changing out the carrier. Seems as if the lock mechanism where the carrier cable attaches has stuck or at least not returned fully to the rest position. You should be able to free it again using a wire coat hanger as described in the begining of the how-to post without having to disassemble anything.

Did you lube the lock mechanism during the carrier replacement job?

Check that the carrier cable was re-attached to the door lock in the right position - this may be causing the problem - see pic.

I'm bringing this 8 year old post back from the dead just to say THANK YOU A TON!!! I recently replaced my left rear door carrier and the door opened/closed upon testing but the other day I couldn't get it back open from the inside or outside. There's no way the door actuator all of the sudden stopped working and after trying all of the double lock tests and various other things (to include beating on the damn thing) I found this post where I had apparently installed the Bowden cable to high in the fixing bracket which did not allow the mechanism to reset in the low position. I popped off the cable from the bracket and actuated the lever and BAM... the door pops open.

So if you have recently replaced a door carrier and had to remove this cable, be sure you reset it in the position shown in the post by BrianX54.4is. Thanks my brother because I was about to take the nuclear approach and rip the actuator assembly apart from the inside... LOL

[glassjoe]

Well, I thought I had fixed my issue by resetting the Bowden cable but it was a positive negative. After resting the cable I could open and close the door from both the inside and outside, but as soon as I locked the doors with my key FOB or the central locking button and then unlocked them, I could no longer open the door from the inside or outside. I was thinking WTF???

So, after tearing everything back apart and removing the lock actuator I hooked it up to car power and cycled the lock a few times holding the exterior door handle mechanism approximately where it resides when everything was hooked up and noticed an internal latch wasn't releasing. As I slowly extended the mechanism it would release. So after scratching my head for a second or two, I figured out the problem. The damn cable that came with the Chinese door carrier I replaced was shorter than the OEM cable which wasn't allowing the door actuator mechanism to fully extend allowing the door to be opened. So I yanked the new carrier out of the car and, luckily, I still had the broken OEM carrier and compared the two cables and sure enough, the Chinese crap I got from Amazon has a cable assembly that was about a half-inch shorter. Lucky for me, I was able to remove the cable from the OWM unit and replace it on the new unit and after getting everything back together again, the door functions normally in all scenarios.

I was really close to buying a new door actuator and am glad I didn't because the OEM is $200+. So BUYER BEWARE if you buy an other than genuine BMW door carrier because the cable might not be long enough. I had this issue on my left rear door so I'm not sure if other are affected.

Hope this helps someone!

[wpoll]

I recently changed my left front door handle carrier and I noticed the same thing - the cable on the after-market part (Autopa, FWIW...) is marginally shorter than the OEM cable. In my case, the difference was not anything like 1/2 inch, maybe more like 1/8" at most. Door works fine - in fact I prefer this to the old one, as the new one opens the door with much less of a pull on the exterior handle than the old one did.

[nigwhyrito]

So I got the dreaded door carrier issue this would be my 3rd replacement in 12 years not bad. But all three were after market. I also have a window regulator on passenger side I need to replace where is everyone getting the OEM parts from. As I need to get one ordered ASAP. I'm not messing with Ebay aftermarket. I need to go to OEM. any links or do I just call the local bmw dealer.

[Purplefade]

Check out FCP Euro, great service and so far great parts:

https://www.fcpeuro.com/products/bmw...or-51337165596



Sent from my iPhone using Xoutpost.com

[cn90]

- So it is my turn for "difficult to open door from outside".

- Info on door panel removal is in my "Window Regulator Clips DIY".

- You NEED to watch this video by "BIMMER ZEIT":

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ge7-HJ0DUz0


- If you ever repair bicycle cable, you will know that it is NOT the steel cable that stretches with time (it does NOT), but rather...the OUTER sheath SHRINKS with time, as repeated force is applied on the cable.

- If you are good with bicycle cable repair, maybe you can add something to LENGTHEN the OUTER sheath by 1 cm. I don't know how to, so I bought a brand-new BMW door carrier for $105. My research shows me the aftermarket stuff is bad. The factory door carrier lasts some 130K miles, so I cannot complain.

- Photo to show old vs new and you can see the OUTER sheath shortens with repeated use...


---

[andrewwynn]

I had the exact opposite problem: the outer sheath rusted and got longer. This effectively made my cable shorter. I pulled the outer sheath out of the end, cut out a couple rings of the rusted expanded steel and made my cable effectively about 1/8" longer and solved my problem.

When I repaired my DHC recently I noticed it was a crazy additional force required to pull the door handle through the cable so I'm working on a no outer sheath solution (at least for the front doors).

I'm thinking of adding brass/bronze bushings to guide the inner cable then adjust the length perfectly to get it to work.