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Any BMW owners on here... 11:53 - Dec 12 with 390 viewsBent_double

who've had problems with a door not opening?

My son bought a used 1 series a couple of months ago - from Aspire Cars in Ipswich, now the passenger side door won't open at all.

Apparently its a common problem on BMWs - quality German engineering ,eh! But the warranty doesn't cover it, and if it's the actuator (the device that locks/unlocks the door) it could cost £300-£400 in a BMW garage with their parts.

He's not a happy bunny....

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Any BMW owners on here... on 11:59 - Dec 12 with 358 viewsBloomBlue

Buy Chinese, they're cheaper and quality is better than German.

According to my mad BMW mate, its a well-known problem on BMW series 1 cars, 'failing electronic door lock actuators'
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Any BMW owners on here... on 12:01 - Dec 12 with 340 viewsThe_Flashing_Smile

I wish none of their doors opened, and then none of their drivers would be on the roads terrorising the rest of us!

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Yeah, had the same problem.... on 12:05 - Dec 12 with 332 viewsBloots

....on the wife's Mini (it's the same part).

Cost about £175 for the part and £120 to fit at my local independent garage.

You can add at least £100 to that if you use a BMW garage

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Any BMW owners on here... on 12:07 - Dec 12 with 322 viewsBent_double

Any BMW owners on here... on 11:59 - Dec 12 by BloomBlue

Buy Chinese, they're cheaper and quality is better than German.

According to my mad BMW mate, its a well-known problem on BMW series 1 cars, 'failing electronic door lock actuators'


Yes, so I've read. You'd think they should replace them for free as it's a know problem....hahaha

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Any BMW owners on here... on 12:09 - Dec 12 with 313 viewsKeno

My mate had a BMW on which the indicators worked

he took it back to get it fixed

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Yeah, had the same problem.... on 12:09 - Dec 12 with 312 viewsBent_double

Yeah, had the same problem.... on 12:05 - Dec 12 by Bloots

....on the wife's Mini (it's the same part).

Cost about £175 for the part and £120 to fit at my local independent garage.

You can add at least £100 to that if you use a BMW garage


That's what I thought, £300+

No point going to a BMW garage I guess, their parts are the problem, might as well replace it with a cheaper 3rd party part.

Poll: So what do we think will happen with MM and the Aston Villa job?

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Any BMW owners on here... on 12:12 - Dec 12 with 284 viewsTNBlue

If the car is still under warranty, it should he covered. Otherwise what is the point of a warranty!
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Any BMW owners on here... on 12:14 - Dec 12 with 259 viewsNewcyBlue

It’s a fiddly job.

Tell him to pull on the door handle from inside quickly repeatedly, it should open. Usually works.

If he’s a decent diyer he should be able to replace it himself.

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Any BMW owners on here... on 12:21 - Dec 12 with 241 viewsOldFart71

I had a 1 series a little over a year ago. The only problem I had was when I bought it the steering was a bit vague. I had the wheels balanced and found that the tyres were different makes on the front. So I bought a really decent set of new tyres and it solved the problem.
I may be wide of the mark but a couple of things I would try presumably as the doors lock and unlock on a key fob is to open and close a few times. You could try squirting some WD40 into the lock and finally if you have one of those hand held fault finders that you plug into the ECU you could try a reset. If all else fails and you need a new actuator try a scrapyard, or Ebay.
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Any BMW owners on here... on 12:30 - Dec 12 with 200 viewsBent_double

Any BMW owners on here... on 12:12 - Dec 12 by TNBlue

If the car is still under warranty, it should he covered. Otherwise what is the point of a warranty!


Well, exactly! They told him it isn't though. I've told him to get in contact with Aspire Cars, see what they say

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Any BMW owners on here... on 12:32 - Dec 12 with 188 viewsBent_double

Any BMW owners on here... on 12:14 - Dec 12 by NewcyBlue

It’s a fiddly job.

Tell him to pull on the door handle from inside quickly repeatedly, it should open. Usually works.

If he’s a decent diyer he should be able to replace it himself.


Yeah,watched a youtube video, not sure he wants to try himself.

Told him to try the rapid pulling on the handle though, see if that opens it, cheers.

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Any BMW owners on here... on 12:34 - Dec 12 with 173 viewsBent_double

Any BMW owners on here... on 12:21 - Dec 12 by OldFart71

I had a 1 series a little over a year ago. The only problem I had was when I bought it the steering was a bit vague. I had the wheels balanced and found that the tyres were different makes on the front. So I bought a really decent set of new tyres and it solved the problem.
I may be wide of the mark but a couple of things I would try presumably as the doors lock and unlock on a key fob is to open and close a few times. You could try squirting some WD40 into the lock and finally if you have one of those hand held fault finders that you plug into the ECU you could try a reset. If all else fails and you need a new actuator try a scrapyard, or Ebay.


Found used actuators on ebay for about 15 quid, as long as its the right part, new 3rd party ones are about 30 quid.

He can't open the door to even get to the lock, so can't do the wd40.

Switch it off and on again? Might work if there's a way to 'reboot' from the dash I suppose. Cheers

Poll: So what do we think will happen with MM and the Aston Villa job?

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Any BMW owners on here... on 12:40 - Dec 12 with 150 viewsOldFart71

Any BMW owners on here... on 12:34 - Dec 12 by Bent_double

Found used actuators on ebay for about 15 quid, as long as its the right part, new 3rd party ones are about 30 quid.

He can't open the door to even get to the lock, so can't do the wd40.

Switch it off and on again? Might work if there's a way to 'reboot' from the dash I suppose. Cheers


Does it open on the key ?
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Any BMW owners on here... on 12:44 - Dec 12 with 122 viewsBent_double

Any BMW owners on here... on 12:40 - Dec 12 by OldFart71

Does it open on the key ?


Passenger side doesn't have a keyhole, only on the drivers side. Crazy.

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Any BMW owners on here... on 13:06 - Dec 12 with 63 viewsNewcyBlue

Any BMW owners on here... on 12:34 - Dec 12 by Bent_double

Found used actuators on ebay for about 15 quid, as long as its the right part, new 3rd party ones are about 30 quid.

He can't open the door to even get to the lock, so can't do the wd40.

Switch it off and on again? Might work if there's a way to 'reboot' from the dash I suppose. Cheers


Disconnect the battery and hold the terminals together. This will discharge all capacitors in the ECUs.

Modern cars generally need time for modules to shut down, on our XFS it was a case of leaving the key away from the car for 40 minutes after opening the boot before it was safe to disconnect the battery.

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Any BMW owners on here... on 13:08 - Dec 12 with 58 viewsChurchman

Any BMW owners on here... on 12:09 - Dec 12 by Keno

My mate had a BMW on which the indicators worked

he took it back to get it fixed


Never owned a BMW but I borrowed one through work for six months. Lovely car, but the slightly offset pedals made it literally a pain.

They used to make good looking, stylish cars but now they seem to only make ugly, aggressive, unfriendly looking ones.

As for German engineering, it is historically good. But is it that good? I have an Audi A3 which I absolutely love. Fast, fuel efficient, cracking looking and all the toys. An absolute joy to be in and drive. But is it as mechanically robust as Mrs C’s Toyota Yaris? Tbh it doesn’t feel like it. 6.5 years with the current Yaris and not a hint of a problem. Same with its two predecessors and other Toyotas owned over the years.
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Any BMW owners on here... on 13:14 - Dec 12 with 42 viewsBent_double

Any BMW owners on here... on 13:06 - Dec 12 by NewcyBlue

Disconnect the battery and hold the terminals together. This will discharge all capacitors in the ECUs.

Modern cars generally need time for modules to shut down, on our XFS it was a case of leaving the key away from the car for 40 minutes after opening the boot before it was safe to disconnect the battery.


Touch the positive and negative cables together?

So unlock the car, leave it for 30-40 mins, come back without the key and try that? I'll pass it on.

Poll: So what do we think will happen with MM and the Aston Villa job?

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