Door Handle Broke ):
 

It got pretty cold here in NC last night, heavy frost. Privy to the door handles occasionally breaking on E38's - I tugged and the ice had the door frozen, the handle didnt retract all the way, and when it did finally - it was inoperable. :(

Before I move forward, have any of you dealt with this and what should I be looking to buy?

Thanks!

Left Front means Driver Side Correct? #brainfart

BMW E53 x5 Left Front Outside Door Handle Carrier 51 21 8 243 615 Quality | eBay

Im guessing this is what I need....

That's the guy. I fixed mine with some locking wire but the handle doesn't retract completely anymore. This things seem to be a dainty as the window regulators.


Sent from the Thunderdome.

Thanks! Pulled the trigger so it would be on it's way. Groveled about buying it aftermarket - but I figure and hope not many people are making a part like this, so it should be of decent quality based off their sales of them and feedback.

Guess Im rolling the window down with the remote until Dec 17th when it arrives, then installing it post 5pm in the dark outside.....or wait till next Saturday. Ahh...:yawn:

To keep it from happening again, spray some WD40 or liquid wrench on your key, inset, wiggle it around, and repeat. The lubricant will repel moisture and prevent ice from forming. Also, use some spray silicone sealant on the door gaskets to repel moisture there, and your doors will probably never freeze shut again.

Thanks! Im going to poke around for a video...im predicting a knuckle buster.

thanks I was looking for this.. the same thing happened to me last year driver door froze shut and I broke the carrier. On Monday the same scenario saw the ice and all the doors were frozen together. Tested all my doors and dagnabbit they were all frozen. I ended up going through rear hatch pushing seats down and climbed into the front. turned x on and rove to work. Down the highway maybe 10 mins later and the door open alarms go off .. pulled over to side of highway and closed all doors again since they now opened up.

you guys should use silicone on your door seals it works. beginning of winter it got cold and all my doors froze to the weather strip. so I siliconed the weather strips, and doors haven`t froze shut since ,and I even washed the x5 at -15c ,and the doors never froze shut again.

:iagree:

you mean this is how you open it..lol…

.@mikee53 | Door Carrier Problem #bimmerproblems, We have the same problem just this morn... | Webstagram

Yeah. LOL.

Friday night I went and had dinner, and decided to stop off for a lotto ticket for the huge upcoming jackpot, as I never play. I went to a walk up ATM, parked on a 45 and jumped out to get some cash. When I went to get back in the X5, the plagued handle laughed at me, as I glared through the window with my cell phone on the console and it of course was running. I walked to the nearby gas station and called the place I frequent where I'd eaten. A waitress picked me up and took me home to get my spare key, which of course I had to break in my house as my keys were still in the ignition of the running X5. When I returned to the X5 it was surrounded by 4-5 people and the police had been called. I went back to the gas station to buy $10 in tickets, the system had been shut down 2 minutes before I made it back. Luckily, nobody won Friday night, since I am going to win on Tuesday. :thumbup: $650,000,000.00 projected. Which of course means free X5's for a number of people!

Can't wait to get this fixed, rolling all the windows down before entry is tiresome already. LOL

The carrier breaks because it's made of cheap pot metal from the factory.

They all do it, very common E53 problem.

Entertaining door lock story from the NC dookie, but yeah, its a common problem. When the weather warms a little end of the week I'll do mine; I've been doing the 'roll down the windows' thing for a couple of weeks and its getting old. As you see from my sig, my X5 is a late E53, same problem as you 2001 MY owners ....

I guess its good it lasted 187,000 miles worth of pulling and 12+years of snatchery.