# 2001 740i driver's door won't unlock. Can't get in!



## emmsys (Nov 6, 2005)

Hi,

I have a 2001 740i and all of a sudden my key won't unlock the driver's door. My key's battery has been dead for a while so I've been manually opening the door. I can unlock my trunk with the key manually no problem but I can't get back into the car. When I turn the key absolutely nothing happens...no unlocking sounds, no interior lights lighting up etc. I charged the battery thinking it could be that but still no go. It's raining now but tomorrow morning I'm going to try disconnecting the battery for a while then reconnecting it. Maybe something will get reset and I'll be able to get back in the car. I had just unlocked the door about 35 minutes earlier and now all of a sudden I can't get in. I'm going to call CAA to get it opened but what could be causing this? On a side note, remember the days when you could unlock doors from the passenger side??? I sure miss those days now. I have until Wednesday to get in my car before getting a parking ticket so hopefully someone can help me with this! Oh, my key looks ok but a tad scratched because of all the manual use it's been getting (BMW dealer wants $250 to replace my key. :rofl: :rofl: ) Thanks in advance for any feedback as to why my car won't let me in all of a sudden.

e


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## crewdog843 (Mar 15, 2006)

Try lifting the handle and then turning the key all the way to the left past the detente.

IIRC, this is the procedure. If you have the manual, check it out. If you don't have one, download one from www.e38.org

jake


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## emmsys (Nov 6, 2005)

*worked!*

YESSSS! THANKS!!! I gripped the key with both hands and got the door unlocked by turning the key to the left with more force than normal.

:thumbup: But when I opened the door the alarm still went off. I put the key in the ignition and stopped it. The central locking button doesn't do anything so that seems to be the problem. Could it be a fuse? I'm going to check what the other doors are doing but I just had to thank you right away! I'll keep you posted.

e


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## emmsys (Nov 6, 2005)

Ok I checked the passenger and rear doors. They don't open when I pull on the handle while in the car. The little lock knob at the top of the door panel just goes up and down as I pull and release the handle. I'm going to check the fuse. Please let it just be a fuse. I've got a loooong list of things to fix on this car and I certainly didn't need another expensive problem. Cross your fingers for me! :yikes:

e


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## emmsys (Nov 6, 2005)

Hi,

I checked all the fuses and they look good. I will take it to my mechanic tomorrow morning but if anyone has tips in the mean time I would really appreciate it! Thanks for the help so far.

e


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## crewdog843 (Mar 15, 2006)

There's a module in back of the glove compartment which will probably need to be replaced (at least that's where I remember it being).

Well, at least you can move the car to avoid the parking ticket. 

Keep your key(s) charged by driving the car regularly. If you don't have a spare key with a tranmitter, spend the money and get one. Also, take a look at your battery (the one in the trunk)....sometimes when they start to go bad, little things like this start to happen. You may have enough voltage/amperage to start the car but not run all the accessories. If you've had the battery for a while or owned the car for a while without replacing the battery, this is a good place to start.

Montreal....what a great town. Especially like the restaurant Baton Rouge, wonderful food and lots of it. Up until a couple of years ago, I worked for a company called Kawneer which has a service center in Montreal. Went up there on a business trip about five years ago.

Bonne chance avec votre 740.

jake


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## emmsys (Nov 6, 2005)

Hi,

Baton Rouge has some great ribs hehe. I love the "bring-your-own-wine" restaurants. As for the Bimmer, my mechanic was able to restore functionality to all of the windows when using the buttons on the inside of the car...but they can't seem to lock/unlock using the key on the outside. I think I just have to reprogram the key. The BMW dealer is willing to do it for free...yikes. I will ask the mechanic what they did to get everything working. On a side note, I had a rattle at the front on the passenger side...it turns out there's play in the control arm. That's going to be replaced next week. My engine light was on because of a cut wire behind a vapor canister? Anyway, that's been fixed as well. So far, all sensor errors I got were from cut wires. Is this normal, or is there a squirrel or rat chewing on my wires?

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## crewdog843 (Mar 15, 2006)

Cut wires are not normal....you've got a critter problem up in there somewhere....I vote squirrel, but you guys have different critters roaming around up there.

I asked several people up there what 'smoked meats' were and no one could tell me. Just as when I asked what 'Je me souviens" meant on their license plate. They couldn't tell me what they were supposed to remember,

Love Canada though!!!!! If it didn't get so friggin' cold, I could live there.

jake


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## emmsys (Nov 6, 2005)

Hi,

My key works all of a sudden! When I went to pick up the car from the dealer, even though the doors were unlocked I still turned the key and the rear doors unlocked! It's been a few days and so far the key is unlocking all the doors no problem. Also, now that the vapor canister wire was fixed, I am definitely noticing much better fuel economy. Not sure if that makes sense but there is a difference!

As for smoked meat, here's a link to the most famous Smoked Meat restaurant in Montreal:

http://www.schwartzsdeli.com/index_eng.html .

I've had so much of it I don't know if I can take it anymore hehe.

Here's the wikipedia take on smoked meat: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Smoked_meat

Montreal is a great city because of it's international flare. We have Formula 1 races, Champ Car and now even Nascar! Then there's the Jazz Festival, movie festival, comedy festival, International fireworks competition etc. etc. And don't forget the Poutine! :thumbup:

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## crewdog843 (Mar 15, 2006)

Good for you. Hope your problems have gone away for good, but experience teaches me otherwise. Best to get a working key which you can trigger instead of physically inserting the key into the lock.

I wish I could remember the name of the street Kawneer is located on (Kawneer is a subsidiary of Alcoa, and they have a service center there in Montreal). I stayed at the hotel just down the street (forget the name, but very close to the S/C). I came up first on business and later, while my son was in soccer camp at Colgate in upstate New York, my wife and I drove up to Montreal and stayed a couple of days (because I was so impressed with the town). Wish I was a lot closer, but Las Vegas is closer to Calgary than Montreal. 

jake


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