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Door will not open from inside or outside...HELP!!!

77K views 28 replies 18 participants last post by  Rubdubb 
#1 ·
I have a 1999 E39 528. About a week ago my front passenger side door would not open from either the inside hande or the outside lock. All other doors work fine. I can hear the electronic locking mechanism working inside the door, but the door won't open. I tried removing the interior handle and manually pulling on the cable, however that didn't work. I went to the dealer who told me that they would have to pry the interior door panel off with the door closed, and said it would be a minimum of 5-6 hours and $600. Any ideas on causes or solutions to this problem would be greatly appreciated!!
 
#23 ·
DO NOT RIP OFF THE INTERIOR DOOR PANEL. I have the same issue and read somewhere (don't recall where I read it) once you get the panel off, you can slide it towards the rear of the car and that should get you just enough room to do what you have to do to solve the problem. Make sure the lock or the stay closed thingy it's wire is connected, pull on the cable that should do the trick.
DO NOT
 
#5 ·
dyami said:
take the panel apart when the door is open then shut the door and lock it and see what happens. the moving parts in the door dont rely on the door panel so its safe to remove when the door is open.
He can't open the door from inside or outside ... which means he can't open it at all ... which means it's permanently closed.

I really have no idea how you would go about fixing this without taking to the dealer though ... I've never heard of such a thing happening.
 
#6 ·
i have the same problem the door does not open anyway

bmw 528 1997 the rear left door dose not open,

i open the panel from inside and knock on the machen with scrow driver and its works after one day its stop opening again i reopen the door panel from inside and hit it again but now way to work l look at it very carfully to see what is the problem but i see nothing wrong, what can i do now?
 
#10 · (Edited)
It has to be a problem with the actuator, its a black box connected to the lock mechanism, it does unclip ....but its a pain in the arse to get off, then you will be able to get a hooked coat hanger and pull the toggle on the lock mechanism, downwards I think, maybe upwards I cant remember, and open the door.

Update:

Here ya go

http://www.realoem.com/bmw/showparts.do?model=DD63&mospid=47585&btnr=41_0061&hg=41&fg=45

You see that hook near #8 thats the hook you have to hook , #2 is the actuator which you have to remove 1st to allow you to get to the hook, as the actuator is hooked to the hook , if you see what I mean.
 
#11 ·
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#13 ·
^^^ dont know what the hell happened there as it wouldnt upload as you can see from the wording tried 3 times so cancelled and wrote it again and now its all appeared weird!!
 
#14 ·
I have the same problem with front passenger door i haven't found anyone that has any ideas on this. i see and hear the door locks go up and down as i lock and unlock door but neither inside or outside handle will open it. taking the panel off while closed is tough because you can pry it off in some areas but where the air duct on the door meets the body there is a screw holding the panel in so that sounds lke a dead end unless you dont mind breaking it.
i really dont want to go to the dealer because i believe its an easy fix as long as its open. if anyone has any ideas please let us know ill try anything at this point
 
#16 ·
It is possible to remove the door panel with the door closed, very difficult but possible. Plan to break the door panel because the odds are against you.

You need to pull the panel back far enough to see the push rod that causes the lock mechanism to open. See if you can stick your hand in and pull it. That should release the door.
 
#19 ·
I used a dremmel w a right ange attachment to hack at it. U may not have to. It depends on what ur issue is. Prying at it or pulling the rods may get it open. 1 last tip- disconnect the battery before u start. Unscrew 4 bolts holding the airbag,unplug and set aside. If this is removed while battery is connected it will trip ur airbag lite
 
#24 ·
The panel that is upholstered where your elbow sits can be removed followed by the removal of the airbag that is right under that panel generally speaking you will damage the damaged tabs that hold this panel in place but it can be put back with a little ingenuity. Opening the door can be accomplished with a little tool made out of wire with a hockey stick on end. This tool can be placed in a slot at the bottom of the locking mechanism that you can feel through the hole that you have created by removing the airbag unit. Removing the airbag unit can be a dicey Thang. I disconnected the battery prior to removing it. I made a YouTube video demonstrating the use of this homemade small tool to open the door latch mechanism.
 
#27 ·
OK I have a 2008 BMW 528i and I had the same problem were the drivers side door would not open either inside or outside. what I did was take the door lock plug off and pulled the top of the panel which is held on by clips off I had about 1 inch clearance to see inside the door. Thank God I knew where the interior door handle mechanism cable connected to the metal clip that opens the door. You can see that by popping off the panel on the passenger door to see how it all connects. Make sure you disconnect the negative terminal on the battery before you do this or you may screw up your airbag. I took a metal BBQ skewer bout 20 inches long and bent the tip(1/4 inch long) 90 degrees. The clip is just below the end of the door lock where there is a screw head right below so you have to go past the screw head and there is a cavity that holds the metal clip, turn the skewer 90 degrees to get into the cavity and push down. This opened the door for me but it took about 30 tries to get it to catch the clip. Good luck!
 
#29 ·
What fixed this for me was replacing fuse 28 in the interior fuse panel under the passenger dash.
Same symptoms - pulling thrall inside handle lifted the lock but it always dropped back and the door wouldn't open. A bit of contortions and you can do this without the door open.
Fuse 27 and 28 but it was 28 for me.
 
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