Originally Posted by jaycotter

Hi everyone, Just joined the site and found my problem straight away !! (great site by the way). I have stripped the door down and removed the carrier to find the same fault. The question is does anyone know where I can find a reasonably priced new door carrier in the UK? Have tried ebay but no luck...it is drivers side on a uk spec car. Any help would be appreciated.

Originally Posted by PJ1R1

ok well guess what i have the secret i dont know how to post pics on this site and if you ask i can send to your email but here we go . if your door carrier is broke on the outside and then the cable or smething breaks on the inside first thing you need is a slim jim ! slim jim is a flat peice of metal that they use to unlock the older door locks (very flexable and bendable) on the inside of the door with the glass window all the way closed you need to slide the slim jim down the glass 11" where the front part of the outside door handle is , then with your thumb pressing against the slim jim against the bottom edge of the glass move the slim jim toward the back of the car . (the reason you must kep your thumb pressed up against the glass is to get around apeice of foam that is glued to the door under the door carrier).then roughly 2" from the back part of the glass (just about where the door lock pin is ) with the top 2"away from the edge of the glass continuing sliding the bottm of the slim jim toward the back of the car (if the slim jim was running from 12 oclock to 6 oclock the bottom of the slimjim would be at the 7 oclock mark and the top at 12 oclock. that is where the lock mechinism is slightly move the slim jim up and down to a spot where it feels stuck then pull up that should open the door . to set up the slim jim you need to lay it flat down with the pointy end facing down on the slim jim then 7" in from the point bend the slim jim so it is off the surface 1 1/4 inches and using a magic marker, mark 11"from the point so you know how far down to go when sliding it down the window . you will then be able to take off the door panel and work on you other problems you have. good luck if you need pics shoot me an email and i will send you the photos i am sure pictures say 1000 words

Originally Posted by gregwx5

Here the write up I made when my driver side carrier broke!

Had same problem...seemed complicated at first but is actually very easy!

http://www.xoutpost.com/x5-e53-forum/...tml#post421172


WOW!!! Can I say Thank You x5world!!! I managed to fix my door handle and the problem was exactly with part #15. The actual metal structure that held one of the parts fatigued and broke off making the handle inopperable. I bought my part from the dealership..$112 but $89 with CCA


For future reference these are the steps I followed:

1) Remove door panal using instructions on main page. I disconnected my battery. You have to unbolt the airbag, but do not have to disconnect it. I just taped it to the door so it does not hang by the cable.

2) Pop off the painted trim piece that is around the key hole on the exterior of the door.

3) Pop off the black plastic oval on the side of the door. (2 pieces)

4) The hex screw (#17) that holds the carrier is located inside this hole. You will NOT see the screw by looking directly into the hole towards the front of the car. You must look into the hole as if you were looking at the side of the door (It took me a while to find this screw, just don't look into the hole directly because the screw is off to the side). The hex screw that holds the carrier screws into the lock assembly, you could see the hole from the outside. Once you find the screw remove it.

5. After removing the hex screw, the lock assembly (key hole) is lose. Gently pry out the entire assembly (the end of the shaft has a star shaped structure that presses into another piece when putting everything back together)

6. Now you could see the bolt and nut that holds the handle to part of the door carrier. The bolt has a square head. Remove this bolt.

7. Now the handle could be removed by pulling the handle up and twisting. The handle will pivot on the left side, then pull it out of the carrier.

8. Once the handle is removed, remove the rubber seal and the philips head screw (#16) holding the carrier is exposed underneath.

9. Disconnect the cable on the inside of the door. Unsnap the white plastic piece, and the metal cable with ball.

10. The old carrier could now be removed, and the install the new one using the same idea.

Originally Posted by primetime

Slim Jims don't work on X5's....

Originally Posted by WOOD56

If the Slim Jims is not the answer. then how do I get the door open???

Originally Posted by primetime

PM sent..

Problem solved..

Originally Posted by mark scheurer (Post 616693)

I spent the last 3 hours removing the old handle and installing the new one which i bought for $60 on Ebay. I found to my dismay that the round detent as shown was too large for the ball that fits in it, which is not part of the carrier, and consequently it kept popping out. So, tomorrow I have to go down to the stealer and get the OEM part, while shipping back the bad part and hoping that I can get my money back from the Ebay merchant. The attached picture shows the female end of what I am talking about -- this is the original part, the bad one is still in the car. What a PIA!