My drivers door won't open?

WAYNEDALEY

MEMBER
2003 BMW Z4

Interior problem Manual 65000 miles

My drivers door is stuck shut. The central locking works and opens the passenger door, using fob and internal switch. But my drivers door is stuck shut. Also my drivers window does not work.

Any help would be great, this site rocks

5 Replies

KEN L

MASTER CERTIFIED MECHANIC
47,643 POSTS

Hello,

It sounds like one of two things could have happened, first you will need to remove the door panel which means the drivers seat, Here is a guide that will give you an idea how to remove it.

https://www.2carpros.com/articles/door-panel-removal

Once the door panel is off look for a lock rod that has fallen off of the lock arm of the latch.

Here are some diagram (below) on what it is on your car.

Second is the latch itself has fallen apart and will need to be replaced. This can be rough since the latch will need to be taken apart inside the door.

Please let us know what happens, we are interested to see what it is.

Cheers, Ken

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Friday, June 30th, 2017 AT 2:16 PM

JEASTER3

MEMBER
1 POST
2003 BMW Z4
6 CYL
2WD
MANUAL
44,000 MILES

Electrical problem
2003 BMW Z4 6 cyl Two Wheel Drive Manual 44000 miles

My door open warning light is on and won't go off. I believe it is the passenger door because the window won't go all the way up as is normal if the door is open. The interior light goes off as it should. I am unable to find the switch that gives the open condition both on the door and the trunk. It may be the trunk if not the door. Where is the switch and is there an easy way to determine if the switch is bad?

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Friday, June 30th, 2017 AT 2:17 PM (Merged)

DOCHAGERTY

MECHANIC
9,601 POSTS

The door lock assembly houses the "door closed" switch. Part# 51-21-7-036-167. The new BMW cars have gone away from using mechanical switches and instead it is a hall effect device. Your diagnostic seems logical to me, if the window wont go up all the way, I would suspect the passenger door lock is faulty, however, the system is readable for faults with the proprietary BMW software and I recommend reading out these faults before the repair attempt is made.

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Friday, June 30th, 2017 AT 2:17 PM (Merged)

SCOTT COOPER

MEMBER
1 POST

My 2004 Z4 passenger door is closed and locked. The driver side door can be locked and unlocked manually or with the fob. The interior door panel is now removed and although I can manipulate the lever action for interior handle, this has no effect. Door remains locked and closed. I saw another poor sole's YouTube video where he drilled through the hole for the locking post to root-out locking actuator inner parts to release the locking and open the door. I hope someone can offer better method to get the door open.

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Tuesday, November 7th, 2017 AT 5:26 PM

KEN L

MASTER CERTIFIED MECHANIC
47,643 POSTS

You will need to get to the latch on the inside to see if the lock mechanism has come undone like a rod or cable has fallen off. It might be best to remove the seats so you can get in there. Send pictures of the latch so I can see what you are dealing with

Cheers, Ken