Driver side front door not opening ! (from inside it opens okay) .
 

2003 Bmw X5 4.6is

Out of no where the Door at driver side from will not open anymore, but from inside it opens just fine.

I have open the door cover , and had a quick look inside with a flash light,
and did few tests to see how everything is moving ,the small parts.

The test:
I have locked the x5 with the keys,and then at the latch i pushed the lock into place, now i try to pull the door handle up, and it looks to me that this cable here:

http://i60.tinypic.com/nlbls7.jpg
(sorry not my picture,just founded here in the
forum,and just to show,what cable i am talking
about)

So that cable there looks like is too louse ,and when it pulls up from the door
handle ,is not pulling up unlock trigger at the bottom of that cable.

And also the door handle for some reason will not align with the key hole / cover ,the handle
after i let it go it stops 1/8 to 1/4 out ,and i have to like push it in to be flash ...

Any clue what could be?

And is there anyone that had this problem? also what will be the part number for that cable?



Thanks for any advice.


(Don't have the car home , as i was going to look at realoem.com for some schema regarding the exact
part what i am talking about)

The door handle carrier broke. Replace the piece in your picture it's about 100 from the dealer. Good luck

:iagree:
Plus one
That was my picture and the symptoms you mention match exactly to a broken carrier as mentioned above. Follow the DIY article listed above and it takes approx 1.5 hrs plus waxing and cleaning time

To OP,

Just curious how many miles in the X5?
Mine failed @ approx 80k miles (same front driver side)

I did purchased an OE replacement (not an aftermarket), since I figured it lasted that long :)

Good luck

Sure sounds like a broken carrier. It breaks at the rear of the carrier, near where the key cylinder appears. Aside from not being able to open from outside, a key indicator is the outside handle sitting maybe 1/4" 'off' at the back. Mine failed at around 84k miles. Trickiest part of the replacement is understanding how you have to flex the carrier out from the inside, extending the spring, so as to attach the handle on its front [plastic] pin, then twisting the handle down to join into the carrier at the back [near the lock]. Risk is stripping the front plastic pin, which then requires a new handle, paint job on it, etc. Don't ask me how I discovered this ....

Hmm, i see...

Found on ebay at $35 each (here),

I don't think is a oem , but been very tight with money right now , a cheaper fix with less spending is welcome.

Found at parts dot com for $91 + shipping ,witch is at least $12-14. (here) .

Thank you for your reply!.

Yes, you right ! regarding the picture , as i was searching for the same problem on the forum and found your picture, just to show where my problem was!.

And also where is that "DIY article"? i am searching the forum and could find any info on the Diy.

Thank you!.

(Update, i think the DIY is here and here, Thanks.)

I have around 78k right now.
I guess that door is used a lot and this small parts tend to fail really quick.

Not sure what i will buy, but if i do buy the aftermarket one will be curios how long will that last... there is a $75 price difference from oe to aftermarket.

Thanks.

If you search, you will find some others have experience 'fit' problems with the aftermarket parts vis. OEM on this tricky fitting part. I have no aversion to using aftermarket parts, in principle, but this situation may call for OEM.

Thank you for both posts!


Yes , oe is allways better! but will see what my boss say about it (the wife :D) ,
if she wants to spend the extra $ for the oe or give it a try with non-oe to see what happens.

Thank you for your advice!.

x2, listen to what Riggo says, the aftermarkets dont fit properly as has been noted by many members here.

if you can't pony up the $50 extra for a properly fitting part (and get your CEO's ok) you might want to ditch the 4.6iS now because that shouldn't be an amount of money that breaks the camels back, on a door handle carrier.

Yes , will go with OE , $ are approved by my CEO :D .

Thank you.

no problem i just want to see it fixed right! If I am seeing correctly your '03 has 75k miles on it! If so that is a low mileage gem and take care of it man!

Yea success. The OE is the way to go and it waill save us all about 23 postings on "My handle does not fit flush after buying a cheapo carrier and I can not get the side screw into the carrier" postings. See "My Door handle is broken/ will not work" postings from the last round of 10 degree days here in the USA. There must have been 5 individuals with the same problem at the same time in Jan/Feb.

My own carrier snapped on the driver's side one C O L D morning in spite of lubing the carrier and cable and leaving the door unlocked. It was the first after 9 years so i think it was OK engineering. I think this part was completely re-engineered with the next model of X5. Yep, just doubled checked. Twice as strong.

X5 E53 Carrier and door handle (LEFT)

X5 E60 Carrier and Door handle (RIGHT)


Welcome to ownership of an X5 and to the forum. We all try to share common experiences and knowledge. That is why everyone was jumping up and dowm on the OE vs ebay parts. Fit finish and correct alignment.

Now go buy the part, install it, and lube the other doors BEFORE they break too.

Thanks!

Wow i look again in my book where i put down what i did,and i am at 79900 miles, o boy! will go to 80.000 very soon,wanted to stay low...:D

Anyway ,well is the CEO's Suv (wife:D) , and it only gets about 10-15 miles a day to work and back, i drive too when have the chance , nice power ... but lately , to many things to fix and she
say that maybe is time to move from European cars to some American Cars! i use for my work Dodge ram and never have any problems i even have lots of miles on it...

Did so much with our X5 lately !

Got it at: $16000 with 68.500k miles

*at 69k changed battery (other one was going dead )

*rotors for rear done with pads (abs and brake sensors replaced-69.500 miles)
*also same miles front new tires

*starter changed at 72k
*purge valve and gas cap changed at 72.900miles

*rebuild transmission - at 75.467 miles
( did it my self to save money-was kicking really bad- still runs fine at allmost 80k)

*at 76.200 changed driver side front window regulator

*at 77.500 miles a/c and alternator belts

*at 78.400 change hood struts
( was checking the oil level one day ,and the hood come in my head )

That's all the maintenance i did , plus of course the change of oils.


So anyway, i love the x5 a lot , 3rd one in our family and had mostly only European cars ,
but expensive to fix and everything breaks down lately.

This is life....goes on.

Thank you for your guys advice will keep the tread updated.

Now regarding that cover around the key,that part snaps out?


Thanks

Yes Oem will be the best, i had quite few problems before with non-oe stuff,some work , some don't...



Is there any lube at the autozone to use? and what brand?

I have some of that Valvoline grease (here), unless there is some other grease to use .

Thanks.

I Used WD40 to shoot through the door openings as it will replace water and provide some lube There are many have other options. Some have posted Antifreeze but I would not use that. When you have the carrier in your hands, add a touch of brake/Caliper grease (hi temp, will not wash off, etc) or the Valvoline grease to the pivot points as the part manufacturer does not add much.

The key cover has two long fingers that go into the key mech and have locking tabs at the end. Use a plastic pry tool and start with the bottom working around the edges. That part takes longer to get out than the whole job takes.

NOTICE: Take your time, do not force it and break it. The fingers are LONG and straight into the body of the door. Look at my "Wax" image below and you can see the 1 inch fingers.

Nice pix, StephenVA, and Bosanci28, I'm glad the CEO/CFO was not 'penny wise and pound foolish' on her daily driver! With your description of the work you have done, you clearly have the skills needed to maintain the vehicle at reasonable cost, particularly with the help you can get here. Don't give up on that low-mileage E53 too soon! With the CEO's short drives, you might watch for the CCV 'mayonnaise under the oil filler cap' issue and keep an eye out for oil leaks around the valve cover gasket and oil filter - those seem common at this mileage/age point, though more so with the 3.0L, if I remember correctly.

I guess here are few places where to grease up:

http://i61.tinypic.com/hwizr8.jpg

Not given up , yet ... but it all depends on the CEO :D.

YES YES and More Yes

You can see from this old part the wear areas. Over time it will bind and break the pot metal end near the barrel spring. (Left side on this image. On the car it is really reversed as it is mounted towards the interior of the X5...hence on the backside (OUTSIDE of the car) it will be on the right side of the handle just under the sheet metal). Now that was complicated....

Here is my post from 2.09.2014 when I did this repair:

Followed the bright and informative HOW TO ARTICLE to repair my outside door handle carrier
E53 Broken Outside Door Handle Fix
LINK:
http://www.xoutpost.com/articles/x5/...andle-fix.html

Easy project took approx 2 hrs labor and 2 hrs of cleaning and waxing all the parts like door panel, Amour ALL the rubber bits and lube everything else. The hardest part to remove was the key hole wrap part. Did not get the idea that there were just two L O N G fingers. Took longer to pry the sucker off that it did anything else.

The previous posters did all the work, I just followed their instructions. Easy...

Basic X5 repair times
1st time hard
2nd Time easier
3rd time you can do this with your eyes half closed

I thought this door carrier saga is every 10yrs or 70-90miles for front driver side 90% of the time.

Once replaced, we can forget about it for a long time ;)

Did you experienced replacing on the other side(s) of the same vehicle?

I have not had that experience as the X5 is driven mostly with one person. So the other doors are rarely opened when compared to the driver's door. Plus I am in the MidAtlantic area where normal winter temps are in the 40's. Most of the failures appear to be from the frozen rustbelt areas and in Canada.

On my X5, there has been one door handle carrier replaced on the driver's side during it's 9 years of life. I place this in a replace and forget catagory. Lube all the doors each year regardless of mileage as a preventative measure.

Just want to thank everyone that contributes on this forum. I just replaced my drivers side carrier thanks to this thread and it's links. Pretty easy job once you figure everything out....next time will be easy peasy. Replaced a door lock gromet and the exterior hatch emblem as well. The X is looking and driving nice again AND ALL of the the doors open!

Well i changed it and my door works , but sorry guys i end up buying a new one for $20 , off course aftermarket one , from one of my friends that has a european mechanic shop and he said that he has quite few of this jobs on the x5's, he did not have any used or new oem , and i said , lets just try and see how long will this last! Did not have issues with the fitting all went really well,hope that will last, if not next time oem.

Thanks

Congrats on the fit and solution. If it lasts more than 1 year, you are well ahead of the game. :thumbup:

Thanks!, will see how long will it last!...
Thanks to all for helping!.