Brian, my 2003 X5 passenger door will not unlock from either the inside or outside door handle. However I am unable to get the door open, I've tried your procedure over and over to no avail. History: the power lock was intermittant for a while then just quit a few weeks ago ( I had planned on replacing the actuator )
Any thoughts? Is there another way to get the door open?

Very nice write up, I like it

If I understand you correctly - your passenger door lock will not unlock electrically? The door pin does not pop up on this door when you unlock the central locking?
Can you use a thin sharp tool to try pry up the plastic door pin to manually unlock the door? If this works then you can change out the actuator.

Yes that is correct - and my local Indy was not or was not willing to attempt the panel removal as he feared damaging it. I then scheduled an appointment with the local BMW dealer. But continued to research alternatives, when another post mentioned a body shop! A good friend has a large body shop business, so I discussed the problem with him, canceled my BMW appointment and brought there today. His tech had the door panel off in 20 minutes with no damage! Unfortunately I was unable to see how he did it. He them replaced the actuator and I was on my way I spent about 3 hours there, much was while we waited for the actuator delivery.

So in cases like mine where the actuator isn't working and the door won't open from inside or out and the lock button remains down the door panel must be removed with the door closed and, at least in my 2003 it is possible!

My X5 E53 drivers front door stuck shut inside and out
 

Thanks to Brian in Ireland for this fantastic post, I was able to open up the door using his coat hanger device.

I then played with the striker mechanism with the barrel of a screwdriver and noticed that it was a bit gummed up with dirt/dust and sometimes didn't release when pulling on the handles.

So, I sprayed a liberal amount of INOX lanolin spray into the moving parts of the striker mechanism from the side of the door......then tested repeatedly, using the screwdriver barrel to reset the latch.

Now all fixed..............took 10 minutes!

CRAIG.

Quick question... I am trying to open the drivers side door. The lock is in the lock position and won't unlock from the key hole, fob, unlock button, or inside handle. I ordered the carrier and had it over nighted. Does this sound like a door carrier issue? And with the door locked, will that trick to pop the door open work for me? Thanks!

Hello 215kid,

Yes, the coathanger method to open the door lock should work, whether the problem is a broken carrier or simply a dirty/gummed-up mechanism.

Either way, you will probably have to take the door lining (etc.) off to service the mechanism and fix the fault.

My quick fix worked for a few weeks, but now is still playing up occasionally.....looks like I'll have to take it all apart myself and clean and lubricate it from the inside.

Good luck with your lock.....

Thanks for the reply! I must be doing something wrong because I can't get it. I also just dropped my 18 inch metal ruler that I was using in the door. Great!

Hi again 215kid,

Just follow Brian's post with pics exactly and you should be able to open the door. Remember to make a steel rod with a 90 deg turn at the top and bottom as shown in his pics.... with a 10" mark, so you know where to stop and push firmly. Also, insert it in the spot as shown, and remember to open the door using the inside handle. It takes a little bit of fiddling, but shouldn't take long.

Anyway, your enquiry inspired me to do the job properly. So today I did the whole job myself, following Brian's instructions and it all worked perfectly. The outside door carrier wasn't broken, and the lock mechanism had a lot of rust and corrosion on the levers as indicated in Brian's last photos. The lock unit had to be removed, rust and blistered paint removed, then lanolin spray and grease added to moving surfaces of the levers,, particularly around the pivot points.

All now fixed....... took about 2 1/2 hours! :thumbup:

How did you go??

My problem turned out to be with the lock actuator. That was the reason why I wasn't able to simply pop the lock. So if your having a problem doing as mentioned above, lock actuator.