E90 Door Locks

[Citroënbender]

Trying to understand what’s going on with a car. Googling doesn’t make much sense yet and I don’t have the time presently to pull it apart and learn from dismantling.

Does the driver’s door handle and key barrel actually have physical (mechanical) connection to the lock mechanism? So if there’s a flat battery you can use the cut blade to open the door? At the moment, that’s not happening.

[russellw]

The short answer should be yes. The general reason for having a key blade and at least one keyed lock is so that there is a method of entry if the vehicle battery / remote / RKE system fails so if that isn't working then either (1) the mechanical linkage is broken and if there aren't two key holes (there may well be one in the tailgate for example) then you are screwed; or (2) the key mechanism is only a trigger for the electronic locking system (in case of remote battery failure) rather than a mechanical connection in which case you are screwed if the vehicle battery goes flat.

Without knowing what an 'E90' is I can't provide any more guidance.

[prktkljokr]

It does supposed to work that way, but E90 and for that fact most of BMW cars suffer from the mechanism failing, the E90 mech is either the same or very similar to most of the BMW range, very common problem with them all after time, to the point they make aftermarket mechs for them ( eBay your mech ), the next weak point is the window mechs and the clips that hold the glass deteriorate, they also make them aftermarket along with repair kits, I have replaced many over the years .

[Citroënbender]

Thank you both. So a new door lock sounds like the first order of things. I assume they’re deadlocks like the Frogs have, so when locked the inner handles are inactive (a related complaint). Current means of access is to roll the windows down on the remote and climb in (cue the Dixie musical horn ).

It’s the young buck’s car at work and we all struggle to keep him focused on looking after stuff before it causes grief. He’s not received good parenting, and that includes not learning to think ahead of issues in order to mitigate them. Fortunately he seems to be on Team Kylie, so the next surprise news is unlikely to be a bun in the oven.

[smoo]

You suggested that remote trick when the handle mechanism failed on my X5.
I’ve not long replaced it and was using the remote or leaving the window down to open the drivers door (reaching in to the inside handle).
I probably looked like one of those broke **** Euro owners who can’t afford to fix them
On the X5, the barrel isn’t physically connected to the latch, it somehow stops the handle mechanism from operating the cable to open the door.
Unsure if E90 is the same but a YT video should give you an answer?
New handle was around $100 from run auto.

[Citroënbender]

I’ll be honest, had to do the remote windows thing on an Alfa for a few weeks in 2017 while waiting on a retainer clip for the handle link rod. But they don’t deadlock, so you could then easily open the door with the inner handle. Good enough, except when raining (sunroof opens, too).

Have found the Beemer forums collectively just too hard, too many ill-informed posters or simplistic responses. Analysis and descriptions aren’t their forté.

Im thinking the door is remaining deadlocked as the key barrel isn’t able to do whatever it’s supposed to, and as the master lock it isn’t commanding the other doors to unlock.

[Citroënbender]

I made some time for this today, resulting in a partial success. The mechanical fault to exterior was a detached portion of the release cable assembly between handle and lock. Nothing there was actually broken, just dislodged into the door shell bottom.

Door now locks on the remote but not unlock, and the external handle works whenever it’s unlocked. I’ll check the fuses, as it may have separate ones for locking and unlocking.