Doors locked when battery died

[lynhnn]

Good to know BMW engineers cover the edge cases... I have not tested out those yet.

But don't we all agree that X5 should have a mechanical lock/unlock lever like any other cars so we have zero dependency on power and/or studying the manual books?

This is similar to my 07 model when the plastic parking brake button is broken and the car stuck in P for good. Only poking into the hole with a screw driver and some luck to "click" right on the release switch... That first experience was scary as well.

The design principle should be "you should be able to open the door without the assist of any electric power"

[jgold47]

Originally Posted by lynhnn

Good to know BMW engineers cover the edge cases... I have not tested out those yet.

But don't we all agree that X5 should have a mechanical lock/unlock lever like any other cars so we have zero dependency on power and/or studying the manual books?

This is similar to my 07 model when the plastic parking brake button is broken and the car stuck in P for good. Only poking into the hole with a screw driver and some luck to "click" right on the release switch... That first experience was scary as well.

The design principle should be "you should be able to open the door without the assist of any electric power"

I dont get it. You can open the door without power. Unlock with key and open. You cannot open the other doors without manually unlocking them or the liftgate without manually futzing with it, but you can gain access to the car.

you can then pop the trunk, and jump the car with the handy terminals under the hood.

once you hook up power via the remote terminals, you can then open all the doors you like using the power, including the trunk.

[lynhnn]

Let me reiterate the situation:
1. You lock the car with your key or all doors are in lock position
2. You lost battery power
3. You can't open rear doors nor lift gate because they need power to get unlocked first. There is no manual lever to unlock the rear doors

[jgold47]

yes there is. pull the door handle 2x

[TerminatorX5]

there is single locking and double locking - one locking is without alarm arming (central lock button) when the fuel cover is not locked (US cars) and the doors can ba opened from inside with double pull on inside handles... the other locking is when the alarm is activated, the fuel cover is locked and the doors can NOT be opened from inside.

In case of the electrical failure, the mechanical lock is still operational to open the vehicle from the driver's door, and then the system needs to be energized in order to unlock the rest of the doors

[lynhnn]

Originally Posted by TerminatorX5

there is single locking and double locking - one locking is without alarm arming (central lock button) when the fuel cover is not locked (US cars) and the doors can ba opened from inside with double pull on inside handles... the other locking is when the alarm is activated, the fuel cover is locked and the doors can NOT be opened from inside.

In case of the electrical failure, the mechanical lock is still operational to open the vehicle from the driver's door, and then the system needs to be energized in order to unlock the rest of the doors

+1

So, there was a bad choice BMW engineers made not to have a manual override unlock lever. Double pull or double lock concepts only add confusion to the consumers.

Back to the drawing board, it should reminds the engineers the very first principle of building any system that "MAKE IT SIMPLE SO IT WORKS"

Cheers

[jgold47]

Originally Posted by lynhnn

+1

So, there was a bad choice BMW engineers made not to have a manual override unlock lever. Double pull or double lock concepts only add confusion to the consumers.

Back to the drawing board, it should reminds the engineers the very first principle of building any system that "MAKE IT SIMPLE SO IT WORKS"

Cheers

nope, still dont get what you are saying. Double pull door handle are an annoyance but thats germans for you. You sort of have to do this on any car you are trying to open thats locked. Whats annoying is that the car doesnt automatically unlock when you take the key out (thats another issues).

there is a manual override, just for the drivers door only. you can open it with a key. End of story.

I dont believe TX that the other doors dont open when locked with no power, but I am not pulling apart my car to test this. otherwise you would hear the power locks cycling when you open it using the handle (two pulls) normally, which I dont believe you do.

if the issue is the rest of the doors. I dont understand why you would need to open all the other doors. you can pop the hood. you can jump the car. its a BMW not a chevy, call a wrecker and have them give you a jump.


lastly, its a BMW. if you were German this would make all the sense in the world. German engineers love fucking with the rest of us.

how else do you explain the cup holders and the climate control system.

[lynhnn]

Originally Posted by jgold47

nope, still dont get what you are saying. Double pull door handle are an annoyance but thats germans for you. You sort of have to do this on any car you are trying to open thats locked. Whats annoying is that the car doesnt automatically unlock when you take the key out (thats another issues).

Double pull won't open the rear doors if they were locked by the remote or were in "alarmed lock"

Originally Posted by jgold47

there is a manual override, just for the drivers door only. you can open it with a key. End of story.

There is a need to open the rear doors + the lift gate to take things out.

Originally Posted by jgold47

I dont believe TX that the other doors dont open when locked with no power, but I am not pulling apart my car to test this. otherwise you would hear the power locks cycling when you open it using the handle (two pulls) normally, which I dont believe you do.

Two pulls won't do the trick. The rear doors can't be open from inside or outside.

Originally Posted by jgold47

if the issue is the rest of the doors. I dont understand why you would need to open all the other doors. you can pop the hood. you can jump the car. its a BMW not a chevy, call a wrecker and have them give you a jump.

Ok, my car was loaded with furniture and the rear seats were folded down. In the leg room, there is a charger that I carried with me because I know the battery could give up any time. In order to take the charger out to jump start the car,
I need to pull the seat back straight up. In order to pull the seat back straight up, I need to unload the furniture. In order to unload the furniture, I need to open the doors or the lift gate. I can't open the doors. So end of story

Originally Posted by jgold47

lastly, its a BMW. if you were German this would make all the sense in the world. German engineers love fucking with the rest of us.
how else do you explain the cup holders and the climate control system.

Open the doors are basic operations that should be free to do. It's the very important and safety function that anyone
should have regardless of the vehicle state (except the car is in alarm lock state). Once you can open the front door with the key, you should be able to open or unlock other doors.

Minor things like cup holders and climate control can be messed up big time like you said.

[TerminatorX5]

Originally Posted by jgold47

I dont believe TX that the other doors dont open when locked with no power, but I am not pulling apart my car to test this. otherwise you would hear the power locks cycling when you open it using the handle (two pulls) normally, which I dont believe you do.

You should not beleive me - the best way to prove me wrong, is to test it, and then let us know... you don't have to take your car apart, just get in the car, and lock it with the remote while inside the car... and then try to get out of the car without using the remote...

As a matter of fact, I am curious to see if this will work as stated or not...

[Qsilver7]

Originally Posted by lynhnn

1. So, there was a bad choice BMW engineers made not to have a manual override unlock lever.
2. Double pull or double lock concepts only add confusion to the consumers. ...
Cheers

1. For many of us that understand BMW's central locking system...we may not feel its a bad choice. In spite of instructions given on how the system works for the scenarios you presented...you still state there is no manual override...when there IS a manual override to unlock the vehicle to gain access. You may not have a lock cylinder on the exterior of each passenger door & tailgate...but you still can open those doors...even when they've been double locked (starting with 2000 model year build date).

The majority of e53 X5s were built after the change to the double locking feature. Prior to the 2000 model year, once double locked there was no way to open the doors from the inside or outside...since the 2000 model year, you can press the central locking button on the center console, then revert back to two pulls of the handle, and the doors will open.

I seldom bring up this change in operation because I rather like that potential thieves think they have an extra deterrent. The double lock feature makes it difficult for smash & grab car thieves because if they break the window...the only way into the car is to crawl over the broken glass if the car is double locked. The door pins, nor door handles will work by just pulling on them...which means they have to spend more time trying to enter & exit your BMW. Hopefully this pushes them to look at the vehicles around your car instead of burglaring you.

Again, there's no way kids in car seats or other passengers would be double locked in the rear seats because...if they were...the alarm would go off 30 seconds after you locked them in the vehicle..and a battery wouldn't die that quick between the doors being locked and 30 seconds before the alarm goes off. If the battery voltage was that low...the doors wouldn't lock.

If the battery dies while parked & double locked, you can manually override the drivers door and tailgate to gain entry. At this point, why would passengers or kids need to be in the back seat of a vehicle that won't start? The drivers door and/or tailgate access is all you need. You can pop the hood and connect jumper cables or a battery charger if you need access to the locked doors. Or you can crawl in and manually release the tailgate if you need to pull the battery out.

2. Yes, some owners are confused by the double pull of the central locking system but those numbers are the minority...perhaps as you wrote...they don't have time to read the owners manual...or they just may find the double pull annoying. That is their prerogative...and as much as I'd like to ...I have to recognize that everyone doesn't feel the same about all things.

How Central Locking Works: e38/e39/e53