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.

Hi guys, my driver door can't open from the outside. The mechanic quoted me New Zealand dollar $635 (equal US$550) to get it fixed. He said $250 for part and the rest is 3 hrs labour plus 15% tax. The labour here is between $60-80 per hr. People are expected to pay more when dealing with European cars. By doing the math, $250 + $240 ($80 x 3 hrs) =$490+15%gst tax = $563, he is overcharging me for 100 buck.
Anyway, the living expenses here is far more than living expenses in US.
My question is does he need 3 hrs to get it fixed?

Do it yourself
 

You can do it yourself for under $100. There are plenty of diy links on here. After owning an x5 for 10 years, i can do them in under an hr.

I know I am resurrecting a 3-month old post...but this post was very helpful to me. i have recently completed the full carriage update based on all the great posts here. I thought I had done well and saved lots of $$. However, now, about a month or so later, the handle is getting harder and harder to use. I have to pull very hard and my wife cannot open it at all.
I plan to pull off the door panel tomorrow to see what may be wrong.
My biggest concern: I think that I may have cross-threaded the final screw that goes in to the locking mech. ( you know, that screw behind the black plastic plug that is so hard to find). So if I did cross-thread it do you think that I have also ruined the locking mech.? And if so, will I have to replace that AND the keys?
I'll re-post after pulling the door panel and looking to see if something else is loose. Not sure why the handle would have so much play that it would not open the door.
Any thoughts? Thanks!

Original BMW carrier brought at the dealer or some Cheap Ass Crap brought on eBay or Amazon? If you brought it at the dealer there's a two years unlimited mileage warranty on the part. If you brought it on eBay or Amazon you're shiT out of luck.

Whatever you did, you will not have to replace the key. The locking cylinder is a different part. Good luck!

Thanks guys. @upallnight, it is a cheap one from ebay. Live and learn. Just proves what my wife says... I can be cheap sometimes. She would have just gone straight to the dealer but I wanted to save $ ... and prove to her I could fix it? Now it's probably headed to the dealer anyway if the carrier is in fact broken again. And if I did cross-thread that hex screw. :banghead:

Go to.... ECSTuning.com



-

Hey my wife says the same thing about me.

Doesn't a new carrier come with a new hex screw? In some cases, X owners have reused the old screw from the old carrier when installing a new carrier because the quality control is really lacking on those cheap ass carriers. I think the supplier sell the carriers rejected by BMW on ebay.

Don't remember if I re-used the screw or not. Just remember it being a bitch to get it started right. Maybe that's because of the cheap carrier.