I did the same thing. I wanted to see what was broken before I took it apart. I couldn't. If you've seen some of the pics on here, there's a little piece that breaks. It's the same piece that was broken on mine. On thing though, I can't lock/unlock my doors manually anymore. :dunno: No idea what the heck I did to screw that up. Hope my battery in my key never dies.

Just worked through this. Thanks a ton for the instructions. Took me about 1.5 hours from start to finish and everything works great. As the second owner of the vehicle, it became pretty clear to me that I wasn't the first person to replace this. I could see telltale signs that someone had gone through the process before me. Hope this lasts for a while.

By far the hardest part was getting the white collar snapped into place with the new carrier. It took a LOT of pressure, and I had to be careful to make sure the collar lined up correctly as it had a tendency to turn slightly to match the angle of the cable.

The price for the part has gone up quite a bit since the original post. The cheapest I could find an OEM part was $114 from BMW Parts, Porsche Parts, Audi VW Mini Volvo Saab Mercedes Auto Parts - RM European Auto Parts.

THIS happened to me this morning. It's been REALLY cold the past week and I've read that this can happen during cold weather. However, it warmed up today and it was probably 50-60 degrees (F).

When I left for work this morning I unlocked the door (keyless) just like normal, opened the door, started the engine...everything was normal. Then I realized I forgot something inside. When I got back out the door was "locked" or so I thought. I pulled up on the handle again and I could hear a faint sound like something broke off on the back of the handle and fell down (inside the door). Opens just fine from the inside, so I'm not stuck inside (good).

Thanks for the great write up. I'll review and figure out how to do this repair!

Found the part on Amazon
URO Parts 51 21 8 243 615 Front Left Outer Door Handle Assembly : Amazon.com : Automotive

Cheaper than in the original post, but then again that was several years ago and this part isn't OEM.

Beware of parts from Uro; they are a Chinese manufacturer whose parts are known for inferior quality. Fit and/or longevity are the biggest complaints about Uro parts. Better to spend a few bucks more for a quality product, and avoid having to repeat the repair in a couple years.

Thanks for the heads up! Wasn't aware of their reputation.

Did this repair over the weekend. Big THANKS to PersonaNonGrata for this thread as well as the other's who have pitched in to share some tips.

I wanted to "give back" a little and do what I can to help the next person coming along attempting to do this repair so I'm going to add some photos and some tips I came up with.

I got the part from the local BMW dealership for $132 after tax. Yeah, that's higher than I could have gotten it elsewhere but I wasn't going to wait. It was -2 degrees outside and I'm tired of crawling into the truck from the passenger side. The passenger door actually stopped working too (still don't know why - it works fine now) and I was having to get in from the back door. I'm 6'3"...this was a PITA for me, and quite comical for my co-workers to watch. :(

I take pictures of my progress throughout a project in case I have questions of how it all goes back together...what screw went where, etc.

An image like this helped me remember what plug went where...but I'm not sure you could really put them in the wrong slot anyway. But you get the idea...

This is the window control switches once you remove them from the door

http://img37.imageshack.us/img37/6015/img0915s.JPG

This may be obvious to people already...but you have to slide this clip "out" to get the wire to unplug.
http://img267.imageshack.us/img267/3041/img0916dr.jpg

Now it practically just pops right off
http://img266.imageshack.us/img266/9177/img0917bb.jpg

I know the OP said that there are instructions for the door panel removal posted elsewhere, but somehow I missed those instructions when I first reviewed all of this. Don't forget to take off these trim pieces. I was able to pull them off with my fingers and a small plastic putty knife

http://img41.imageshack.us/img41/4096/img0921lg.jpg

http://img9.imageshack.us/img9/130/img0923rc.jpg

http://img685.imageshack.us/img685/1549/img0922dr.jpg

Once you have the trim pieces removed and you have removed the screws behind the trim pieces you can start prying the door panel off. There is one screw in the side pocket on the door that you don't have to remove.

I couldn't find a good PLASTIC trim removal tool (the putty knife wasn't rigid enough to really "pry"), so I just used this metal one. I covered it was masking tape to help protect any metal on metal contact.

http://img829.imageshack.us/img829/3143/img0919hx.jpg

BE CAREFUL when you pull off the door panel, OP mentioned that there is still one cable attached to the back of the door handle to the door lock, wrapped in foam. But there is also a small power wire that runs to the light in the door handle area. Without much force, you could easily rip this wire out if you pulled the door panel away without realizing this was back there.

http://img255.imageshack.us/img255/4513/img0925az.jpg

(Looking down between the door panel and the door with the panel held up a few inches away from the door)

Door with panel removed...you can see the foamy material that is glued to the door. This can be a pain to remove without damaging. A sharp knife has been suggested.

http://img341.imageshack.us/img341/9784/img0926ll.jpg

This is the tool I used (bought at Auto Zone) and it worked great.

http://img831.imageshack.us/img831/7527/img0929an.jpg

I didn't have a bungee cord to use when I removed the airbag, so I just used some tape. I was able to "customize" the length just fine. :p:

http://img708.imageshack.us/img708/6540/img0930aj.jpg

Getting the outside handle to seat back into the carrier was a little trick because I had read about stripping the gromet or shearing it completely off and I didn't want to risk that. I found pushing from the back side helped. (Used the trim removal tool again)

http://img189.imageshack.us/img189/3207/img0931zg.jpg

When I was re-inserting the bolt on the back of the door lock, I was paranoid that the bolt was going to fall off the wrench and down into the door, so I taped it to the driver and once it was in seurely, I pulled the driver out and removed the tape. And yes, I scratched the hell out of the door trying to get that darn gasket out, but it's all covered up by the gasket when you re-install so I wasn't too upset.

http://img12.imageshack.us/img12/503/img0935ws.jpg

http://img841.imageshack.us/img841/9404/img0934nk.jpg


Re-attaching the cable was tough too. The cable (naturally straight) needs to bend a little for it to line up with the metal bracket. There is a nice photo of this in the OP. Getting your hands in there can be a little tough also. I used the trim removal tool to hold the white clip in place and then pushed into the bracket using a hex wrench.

http://img831.imageshack.us/img831/4217/img0938m.jpg

http://img694.imageshack.us/img694/4968/img0942vq.jpg

HOPE THIS HELPS!


Update: 1/24/22 I came back to this post after all these years and it looks like my photos are no longer hosted. I don't have them anymore. Sorry.

Thanks for taking the time to post your photos and additional insights! Every little bit helps the next person! Thanks again!

very interesting option....
 

i wonder how DEEP in China these are created.

regardless, for the savings, it might be worth a shot. hell, i wouldn't be above doing the safety wire trick preemptively.

My $50 "made in china" carrier is still going strong after around a year or so... Side by side vs. the old broken OEM unit you really can't tell the difference.. They are actually made very well... lets see if it lasts.... :popcorn: