Replacing Door Lock Actuator

[RuhRoh]

Thanks TTGTR for the comment. But I can't open the door at all - fob doesn't work, central lock won't do it and the handle on the inside won't do it either. Can i remove the door panel from inside the vehicle with the door closed and then access the parts for R&I?

Thanks again.

[14thbmw]

I had a problem with mine the other day and thought I would have to tear into it, but I was able to open the door from the inside and I flipped the child lock, then it worked from the outside but of course not the inside. So we locked and unlocked, then opened and re-flipped the child lock to allow access from inside and it works again. Can't be long for this world, however.

One tip I saw was to sit inside, hold the door handle in the open position (pull all the way) and lock/unlock from your key fob or someone sitting up front. Then release the handle and try again.

If that doesn't help you open the door, I have no idea how to open it - but I don't think there is any non-destructive way to remove the interior panel without opening the door. Maybe a locksmith with a slim jim can do it?

[RuhRoh]

Thanks for the reply and suggestion. After 3 days of not being able to access the rear drivers side door, this morning it decided to operate with the fob just fine. I'll need to install a new one ASAP as I don't want to miss this window of opportunity.

[applecran]

Thanks for posting this, I did this today and it was pretty straight forward.

Mine was on the front driver's side and there is a minor extra step needed on the drivers side. The door lock itself goes into a small socket on the actuator to activate it when the key is turned. You need to remove the door lock in order to get the actuator back in (and make it easier to get it out). I followed the instructions in this thread to remove the lock.

Hope this helps someone!

[oldskewel]

Originally Posted by applecran

Thanks for posting this, I did this today and it was pretty straight forward.

Mine was on the front driver's side and there is a minor extra step needed on the drivers side. The door lock itself goes into a small socket on the actuator to activate it when the key is turned. You need to remove the door lock in order to get the actuator back in (and make it easier to get it out). I followed the instructions in this thread to remove the lock.

Hope this helps someone!

Thanks for the tip. I'll be doing mine soon, so I expect this little tip will be very helpful.

[oldskewel]

Originally Posted by vfwjed

2000 X5 Passenger Side Door.

My lock actuator was weak for about a year, sometimes it worked, so I ignored it.

The result of not replacing the weak motor caused another problem.
When the lock did not go up electronically with the motor, I would use the inside door handle to raise the lock.

This worked for about a year until the plastic snapped/broke where the cable attaches to the assembly.

Moral, if the actuator weak or intermittent, replace it before it becomes a bigger problem...

I've got the ~weak actuator problem on my left front door, so I'll fix it soon.

This post refers to how a weak actuator caused something to snap. Is the thing that snapped part of the actuator assembly? Any ideas how a weak actuator caused the damage? Was it the manual door-handle override?

What is usually the lowest level fault here? A weakened motor caused by carbon buildup from worn brushes? Does the actuator assembly wear out other than just the motor? On other cars I have had success just replacing the motor rather than the full assembly, and would prefer to do that here if possible. I know that taking it to the dealer, or buying a new car would solve this problem too ... not looking for help along those lines. I'll be climbing through the window before either of those things happen.

Thanks.

[oldskewel]

I finally did this the other day.

That tip on the need to remove the lock was definitely needed. I actually got stuck on that before I remembered that helpful comment. The Bentley leaves that part out.

In my case (to answer my preceding question), the ONLY failure in the actuator was the unlock motor, whose brushes had basically worn out completely along with a couple of plastic bushings keeping the shaft axially located within the motor. I repaired just that broken motor and the thing is working like new. The following thread shows photos

http://www.xoutpost.com/bmw-sav-foru...or-repair.html

It should be applicable to all E53, and may be helpful to the similar-but-different E39, at least.

[cslee]

If anyone still on this thread:

A couple of question:
(1) Are the Dorman Brand worth it? Since it take a bit of effort to replace it and it's such a critical component.

(2) My drive door lock sometimes gets stuck from inside. I.e. when it's locked, pulling on the handle feel stuck and I cannot unlock it. When that happens, I usually use the unlock button next to the hazard light. Then the door will open with the door handle. This is only occasionally. I.e. once every few weeks. I wonder if it's an electrical gremlin instead of a failing actuator.

thanks.

[duboy]

Originally Posted by cslee

If anyone still on this thread:



A couple of question:

(1) Are the Dorman Brand worth it? Since it take a bit of effort to replace it and it's such a critical component.



(2) My drive door lock sometimes gets stuck from inside. I.e. when it's locked, pulling on the handle feel stuck and I cannot unlock it. When that happens, I usually use the unlock button next to the hazard light. Then the door will open with the door handle. This is only occasionally. I.e. once every few weeks. I wonder if it's an electrical gremlin instead of a failing actuator.



thanks.

Not sure about Dorman actuators, I wasn't super pleased with a Dorman fan that I installed on a Mustang a while back though, but it held up ok. speaking of critical component, the OEM actuator I installed is still going strong 6 years later haha.

It sounds like your issue could still very well be the actuator unit. But it might just be the cable itself. Maybe something came loose or wore down so it makes it difficult for pulling on the cable to actually manually unlock.


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