E46 drivers door not locking

[Cerberus]

Hi Fanatics,

I made a startling discovery after taking my car out for a lunch time spin :rollsmile: - the drivers door does not lock! :thumbdo:

When I use the remote the knob/actuated thing goes up and down, giving it the appearance of locking, but when I use the door handle the car opens right up and the alarm goes off.

I became suspicious after parking - I only used the inside handle once and the door opened - as opposed to all the other doors where the first action unlocks it and the second opens it.

This is a terrifying nuisance and I want to know what I can do about it! :argh:

What stealer/mechanic in Pretoria should I take her to?

Many thanks

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* Sorry I guess I posted this in the wrong subforum. Should be in the 3 Fanatics section

 

[Cerberus]

:bump: :bump:

:rollsmile:

 

[RAArmstrong]

Thread moved to 3 Series Sub Forum :thumbs:

 

[Cerberus]

:bump:!

Has anyone had this issue before?

 

[Ralf*]

happened once or twice in the 12 years I owned my E36

it was normally one of the linkages in the door locking mechanism that has "popped" out of its located eye hole.

remove door card, find loose linkage, push linkage back into its relevant eye-hole.

problem is that it will occur again, probably the teflon eye-hole has become enlarged due to wear, or the retaining clip has failed.

Not a major issue for someone with a bit of experimental DIY skills to fix on a Saturday afternoon.

 

[Philip Foglar]

Not that I've heard of. Maybe the mechanical part of the locking mechanism is stuck or just not working anymore. Has the car had its windows tinted at some point? If so, maybe they stuffed something up.

Hope you get this niggle sorted out! :thumbs:

 

[Cerberus]

Thanks for the advice chaps!

Ralf I wouldn't mind trying it out if I had a decent shady spot to work in and some tools - but I don't have either yet :flyfun: so I will be visiting a mechanic :thumbdo:

Philip it's really strange because if I stop somewhere and turn off the ignition I only need to use the handle once to open the door, but the knob doesn't pop up. Only after I have opened the door and I use the internal handle a second time does the knob pop upwards...so I really am a little puzzled.

The vehicle has never had tinting done - though next month she will be getting some form of anti-smash and grab treatment, I feel like it's necessary in Gauteng.

Understandably such a fault would be easy to miss - how often do you try and open the driver door to a car that is visibly locked?

 

[Philip Foglar]

That is very strange!

 

[Cerberus]

Indeed!

:bangdesk:

 

[Cerberus]

Ok I'm booking the car in at FastServ Auto in Hazelwood tomorrow morning, we have concluded that it's not the actuator but the lock itself. They quoted me R2120 including labour. Spoke to Ewald, nice guy.

I phoned the dealership that sold me the car and told them of the fault (car has 1000km or 30 day warranty excl. electronic components), they said they will get back to me tomorrow to discuss the matter.

I believe they are obliged to pay for the remedy of this problem.

Let's see how we go.

Sent from my GT-I9500 using Tapatalk

 

[Philip Foglar]

Yep, unless you agreed to it being this way, they need to cover the cost of fixing this and the new parts etc! :thumbs:

 

[Cerberus]

Bad news - it's an electronic fault. The door actuator is the problem...and it's going to cost R3395.00 (incl. labour) :bangdesk: the original sellers will not cover this.

No doubt this is a good price for work done, but the price of the new part :thumbdo:

 

[ChefDJ]

Have you tried any other places for a quote, now that you know the problem?

 

[Cerberus]

Unfortunately I have already booked the car in, and I told them to just do it. What with long weekend approaching I don't want to sit with a car that doesn't lock properly.

In future I will obtain more quotes for such things - I even phoned the garage I bought her from in Pietermaritzburg - they said they could have had it done for quite a bit less...but I'm not taking any chances now. :thumbs:

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They are working on her as we speak

 

[ChefDJ]

Glad to see it's getting sorted.

This is a common problem on VW also and is the same problem my girlfriend is having with her car. Parts on her Jetta can be more pricey than on my BMW.

 

[Cerberus]

Thanks man :thumbs:

 

[Ralf*]

I was gonna offer that you bring it to my shop, even though not a mechanical repair shop, I have a very talented "all-rounder", and if the spares were available at Goldwagen across the street, we could have done it for you.

but

alas you have already booked her in

 

[Cerberus]

I really appreciate that Ralf, :thumbs:

Apparently they have been waiting for the part to come all day. If it still hasn't arrived yet by 17h00 then I'll gladly take you up on your offer!

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...:fencelook: I assume I would be entitled to do this?

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[Ralf*]

I really appreciate that Ralf, :thumbs:

Apparently they have been waiting for the part to come all day. If it still hasn't arrived yet by 17h00 then I'll gladly take you up on your offer!

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...:fencelook: I assume I would be entitled to do this?

Sent from my GT-I9500 using Tapatalk

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if it comes to this, then lets search for the "offending" part using "real-OEM", then first trace the part, before bring it around, no use bringing it in if the part is as elusive to find as Air Malaysia MH370
:rollsmile:

 

[Cerberus]

Indeed :rollsmile: will let you know if I pick her up tonight!

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