[bimmer456]

Tap the door panel and it will work.

[tex2670]

Originally Posted by DrivenByE30

Clearly these actuators were designed to fail prematurely.

This is a class action waiting to happen.

I am sick and tired that these fails every 3 years...

My car is now out of warranty and the front pax door is unusable !!

This is unacceptable.

Never such a thing would happen on a Lexus, heck a current Kia . trivial things like that should be super reliable.

What is the solution for those in the same situation as me ?!???

Sorry, but I had a Lexus, and yes it would. The Q is why BMW hasn't issued a TSB for it?

[Sheharyar_rr]

Mine's doing this too sometimes, i feel like this has to do with cold weather

[DrivenByE30]

Originally Posted by Sheharyar_rr

Mine's doing this too sometimes, i feel like this has to do with cold weather

Yours is on the way out.
Wait until it becomes a permanent problem...

It is never cold in southern california (relatively), so this has nothing to do with the weather... Mine wasnt working since this summer.

[tex2670]

Originally Posted by Sheharyar_rr

Mine's doing this too sometimes, i feel like this has to do with cold weather

Unless you are driving a '75 Doge Diplomat, your locks shouldn't fail to work because it's cold out.

If you are still under warranty, take a video if it happens, and make an appointment for your dealer to look at it. The longer you wait, if they give you the "couldn't replicate issue", you may get to the point where your warranty is up and you are SOL. If you complain repeatedly, even if they can't replicate the issue, you have a shot, after the warranty expires, of telling them you've been complaining about it during the warranty period, and it should have been fixed then, so they could perform a "courtesy" warranty repair.

Originally Posted by DrivenByE30

Yours is on the way out.
Wait until it becomes a permanent problem...

It is never cold in southern california (relatively), so this has nothing to do with the weather... Mine wasnt working since this summer.

Never wait till the problem is "permanent." If you have an intermittent issue, always raise it at the next service. It's always better to get on record, in their system, that you were having a problem. So if there's a complete failure of the part shortly after the warranty expires, you may be able to still get it covered under warranty.

[1N54E92]

Originally Posted by tex2670

Don't sell your negotiating skills short. It's at least worth a shot:

"You replaced this, and now it's broken again. Clearly there's something wrong with this part in general--you can't replace a defective part with another defective part and expect that once my warranty is up, I have to pay to replace it again...with third one that's defective? And I'm reading all over the internet that this part fails all the time. You need to make this right and replace it on BMW's dime."

Worst they can do is say no.

Totally agree with this !

[dberry08]

The dealer said my extended warranty would not cover this repair. It only fails occasionally, but I'm sure it will get worse in the future.

[bavarianride]

Originally Posted by 1N54E92

Totally agree with this !

And my dealer did say no.

[bimmer456]

Originally Posted by dberry08

The dealer said my extended warranty would not cover this repair. It only fails occasionally, but I'm sure it will get worse in the future.

Is this a drive train only warranty? Or maybe one of those fine print things where they can argue it isn't covered due to some vague language in the contract.

[wilbur_the_goose]

Any good local indy should be able to replace the actuator if the dealer is trying to rob you.

[HighlandPete]

Originally Posted by dberry08

The dealer said my extended warranty would not cover this repair. It only fails occasionally, but I'm sure it will get worse in the future.

I've had the same experience over here in the UK with my 5-series. Intermittent faulting on the driver's door actuator, both from inside and slow to release locking.

I've an excellent relationship with my dealer, but as diagnostics didn't throw any faults, it could not be authorised for replacement under the extended warranty.

The problem is logged with BMW warranty, so if it does fail completely, I should get a replacement without paying an additional excess.

Strange thing, it has settled into working correctly, this past few weeks.

[bimmer456]

Originally Posted by HighlandPete

I've had the same experience over here in the UK with my 5-series. Intermittent faulting on the driver's door actuator, both from inside and slow to release locking.

I've an excellent relationship with my dealer, but as diagnostics didn't throw any faults, it could not be authorised for replacement under the extended warranty.

The problem is logged with BMW warranty, so if it does fail completely, I should get a replacement without paying an additional excess.

Strange thing, it has settled into working correctly, this past few weeks.

I think it's odd that it would involve the actuator, as it seems to me to be a mechanical setup. I only hear an electronic actuator when I use the central locking system. Also, in video it shows the door lock pin going up as the handle is pulled, just not staying up as if a spring or some other mechanism isn't engaging properly so it won't stay up.

[NorcalMike]

My warranty on my 2014 ends this month. I have had the occasional issue where one of the doors wouldn’t unlock or open and I had to push the dash unlock button to get either the driver or passenger door to open. So I took it in last week for my last free service and they replaced the actuators. I picked it up the next day and stopped at Trader Joe’s on the way home and the driver door Would not open and I had to climb out the other side. I took it right back to the dealer. Hopefully they get it right this time

[iAlexander]

This happens to me every now and then too. It happens on both the front doors. Normally I'm the only person in my car so I don't feel like this is something that will get worse in time. If that were the case my passenger door should work 100% of the time but it fails on me sometimes too.

I don't think it has anything to do with the weather or any sort of environmental factors. Maybe it's due to hitting bumps in the road. For me it's just a quirk I have to deal with. I just hit the unlock button in the center console, it lets me out, and it doesn't seem to happen for probably another couple months.

What's REALLY annoying about the doors though is how the lock indicator jiggles when you're driving down an old rough road. I've debated whether I should carry some tape on road trips just to make it shush! lol

I don't think there's anything you can do about this issue and the service center would probably just think you're crazy if you told them about it. Maybe try tapping on the door like bimmer456 said or hit the unlock button.

Originally Posted by tsukasa36

Hi

I bought my first BMW (CPO F30 328i xdrive) about 6 months ago and have been enjoying every part of it. However, there is one annoying issue that I have noticed and wanted to see if anybody else has experienced it.

So from time to time and I can't seem to figure out if there is a pattern, but when I turn off the ignition and pull the handle to unlock it, the lock will not unlock. I am able to pull the handle and the lock knob comes up, but it goes back down like it's loaded by spring. It will actually not unlock.

This happens on both Left and Right hand side front doors. I can simply press the center unlock button and I can get out fine, but it's just been bothering me.

Has anybody else experienced this? Am I doing something wrong? I'll take it to the dealership soon for oil change but wanted to hear if anybody else has experienced this. Thank you!

UPDATE:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IAttxl7pmow

Here is the link to the video I just took this weekend, just to clarify the issue. Thanks!

[wilbur_the_goose]

IMHO, this is something that should be reported. In the USA, that can be done at https://www-odi.nhtsa.dot.gov/VehicleComplaint/

I've used this in the past for defects on other makes, and a TSB was issued (eventually)

[Coolhydro]

Because of issues like these, I am looking at other brands for my next car.

The most annoying has been the wind noise issue and insulation cheapness.
My other car that cost half the price of BMW 335i has is better in those aspects (Mazda 3).

Anyways, I tried again and CPO did not help.

Drive safe.

[GoodNewsEveryOne]

I experienced this for the first time a few weeks ago. It has happened an additional 2 or 3 times since then. I was able to take a video of it so the next time I take my car in for an oil change, I'll see if they will fix it as well (sometime next month).

[bavarianride]

Originally Posted by Coolhydro

Because of issues like these, I am looking at other brands for my next car.

The most annoying has been the wind noise issue and insulation cheapness.
My other car that cost half the price of BMW 335i has is better in those aspects (Mazda 3).

Anyways, I tried again and CPO did not help.

Drive safe.

My MY13 used to have wind noise issue above 60-70mph. Since the windshield was replaced a few months back, the wind noise has been improved a lot. It seems to imply the factory installed windshield can have some issues with spacers and such. If your car is still under warranty, do complain to SA and see if they will replace for free.

[badbread]

Finally took my car in for the fuel pump service and had them look at my door-locks. They said because it's a mechanical issue and not an electrical issue the CPO warranty does not cover it and they want something like $963 to fix it.

Anyone successfully get this covered under CPO? This is a huge safety hazard, I can't believe it's not covered.

Originally Posted by wilbur_the_goose

IMHO, this is something that should be reported. In the USA, that can be done at https://www-odi.nhtsa.dot.gov/VehicleComplaint/

I've used this in the past for defects on other makes, and a TSB was issued (eventually)

Thank you, I just filed a complaint and suggest anyone else who had/has this issue to do the same.

Here's a link to the "manufacturer communications" which does mention the routing of the cable which my SA tells me does not apply in my case:
https://www.nhtsa.gov/vehicle/2013/B...Communications

[jeffc83]

The lock pins on my 2015 would move slowly in the 0 degree weather but only when cold. Technically, my issue is completely different as the actuator was working fine, just the pin wasn't sliding up all the way. Once the car was warmed up, they popped up and down as usual.

As an aside, my CTS needed new actuators every three years or so (2x total) FWIW

[jeffc83]

Originally Posted by Coolhydro

Because of issues like these, I am looking at other brands for my next car.

The most annoying has been the wind noise issue and insulation cheapness.
My other car that cost half the price of BMW 335i has is better in those aspects (Mazda 3).

Anyways, I tried again and CPO did not help.

Drive safe.

They need to do a hell of a lot more to keep me in the driver seat next round too if there even is one. The CPO warranty they offer is nothing like other brands apparently. What the hell is covered except the engine and trans?

[anotheran]

Glad this was reported. Comfort access was disabled while the battery has discharged messages due to extreme cold. After it warmed up it’s back