[jumpsuit]

As if by magic on its 4th Birthday the Drivers side door lock has packed up ! Slightly odd fault as it simply won,t open via the central locking system but will by inserting the emergancy key.
Rather frustraitingly you can still hear the "clunk" from within the door but the door wont unlock. It will though lock via the fob or as i drive off.

Found this How too in US section

http://www.e90post.com/forums/showthread.php?t=477507

Its very helpful but has added a little confusion as it lists a Part no 51217202143 ? I can,t find this in RealOem but keep coming up with Part No 51217202144

Done a search of Forum and looks like this is a reoccuring problem in the US but very little reported here in the UK

Has anybody else had a similar failure and can anyone else shed light on the Part No mystery ? I,m looking at rectifying the fault myself and any advice is much appreciated.

[sneaks]

different part number in uk for right hand drive?

[gabble]

I had the same issue with my 06 330d. Mine also blew a fuse which meant non of the other doors would unlock either.

There is a PUMA case for this and it should be a pretty obvious one for a BMW dealer. Mine ended up having two fuses uprated and new door lock actuators for both front doors. Fortunately this was covered on the extended warranty - possibly if it is a known issue there will be a bmw contribution.

Hope this helps.

gabble

[Giff]

As above, the fuse is the most likely culprit. Simply change it for a 20amp and you'll have no more problems.

Edit to add: The annoying thing is a BMW dealer will also change the actuators when they are not faulty just for warranty work..

[jumpsuit]

I should have mentioned the fuse is fine. Dont get me started on that fusebox location though !! Limbo Dancing never my strongest point.

Will give the 'How Too' another read through and pluck up the courage to look at acquiring and fitting a new unit myself. Was surprised when i read about the 20Amp fuse upgrade bulletin. Seems a lot for some door locks and bet its no more than 1mm cable !

[Dr Dave]

This is one reason I turned my auto-speed locking off, save wear and tear on the actuators.

[R80TER]

i had to get a new actuator. i boughtg one from a breaker out of a 1 series coupe. cost about £55 delivered from ebay.

[jumpsuit]

Been away so not made any progress getting hold of a unit.

As it seems to be a pain fitting them the plan is to fit a new one. Sure once ive got a price that plan will change !!

As Dr Dave said, auto-speed locking is deffo going off. Thought it was a clever idea when i 1st got the car, that was before i found the locks are made of toffee

Will post the price when i get it so you can all have a chuckle.

[hmi1750]

I had same issue and mine was replaced by an indi garage. What a headache using the emergency key!

I keep the auto-locking on, to prevent strangers jumping in - though more of an issue in London really.

[jumpsuit]

Update on the Actuator

After a search on the internet brought up all sorts of prices, some as much as £100 for what appeared to be pattern parts i bit the bullet and bravely phoned my local dealer .

Could not believe it, £26.25 + vat. The most helpfull parts guys i,ve ever had the pleasure of dealing with aswel . Well happy and obviously a little relieved

Followed the 'How Too' guide mentioned at the start and did it in just over an hour. The guide is slightly out about what level you need the window at as it clearly has to be set at a height where the window can be released by lining up holes with the release dowels on the plastic clamp at base of window. Took the authur 30min instead of the 2 min it took me. It is a little daunting if your not use to taking things apart but with a little patience (and a lot of bottle) its quite dooable sat on the driveway in the sunshine.

Loads of cash saved so very happy. Add to that i now have a very helpful new contact in my local parts dept i think the car falling apart prematurely has been a positive thing for me in the end.

[R80TER]

£25 for an actuator?? did you buy the thing in the bootom right of this pic??



if so, thats a mistake by the dealer, they are £160+ IIRC! fair play!

[jumpsuit]

Thats the thing. Its a fair old chunk for the money

Should have bought a dozen and hawked them on the bay to unsuspecting people (like me)

He did mention that they have recently come down in price alot. i mentioned that its possibly to keep people quiet as they seem a little prone to failing. If they start to become an issue ,at £160, its not going to be long before were back on Watchdog is it ?

[ChrisE91]

Yeah sounds like BMW are acknowledging the fault, without actually doing so. Well done

[mowflow]

Originally Posted by Dr Dave

This is one reason I turned my auto-speed locking off, save wear and tear on the actuators.

Eh! You mean I can turn this off? How do I do that then?

[Dr Dave]

Well I can via idrive, not sure for non idrive cars?

[Sportplus]

Originally Posted by Dr Dave

Well I can via idrive, not sure for non idrive cars?

SHOW OFF

[jumpsuit]

Yes - Non i Drive so dealer recode. Not even mentioned in the user manual. (unless somebody can tell us how ?)

I have removed the name of my local dealer from a previous post as i,m starting to think somebody may have made a hash of the price even though i asked him twice as i was so surprised. Last thing i want is him to get a bolloking of his boss !

[muffking]

It's in the info display on the non i-drive. With the igntion on but before setting off, hit the info button to go through the options and there's one for the autolocking. Just turn it off.

[jumpsuit]

Cheers Muffking
I did look once before and just couldn,t find the setting i was after. The manual isn,t clear enough and i just breezed past the relevant section oblivious to the various locking options !
All sorted now with Autolocking on option 4 (Off) , Like to think new actuator will last a bit longer than 4yrs