# M3 remote entry



## dewing (Oct 28, 2003)

Hello from M3 Forum newbie - recently purchased used 1995 M3, Alpine White, Black interior, great car, standard interior, non-Lux. Since this car was purchased from a friend and the vehicle history prior to one year ago is unknown, how do I determine if the car has remote keyless entry system? Maybe all M3's delivered to the US had remote entry? 

I have ordered the book, Original 3 Series, which might discuss remote entry however the book hasn't arrived yet.

Also, the doors seem to be out of phase, passenger locked, drivers side unlocked and vice versa. Do no better than to force the door handle. When everything else fails if I lower the window the door will usually unlock. Any ideas how to trouble shoot this? TIA.

Regards,

David Ewing
1995 M3


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## Jetfire (Jun 20, 2002)

No E36 M3s were delivered in the USA with remote entry. BMW sells an E36 alarm/remote entry kit, and so do some other companies.

I don't understand what you're saying about the door locks. Can you elaborate?


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## TD330ci (Dec 29, 2001)

Jetfire said:


> No E36 M3s were delivered in the USA with remote entry. BMW sells an E36 alarm/remote entry kit, and so do some other companies.QUOTE]
> 
> Jetfire or TD. Any Idea how much this kit is installed?


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## Guest (Nov 3, 2003)

TD330ci said:


> Jetfire said:
> 
> 
> > No E36 M3s were delivered in the USA with remote entry. BMW sells an E36 alarm/remote entry kit, and so do some other companies.QUOTE]
> ...


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## TD330ci (Dec 29, 2001)

TD said:


> But it from Pacific and install it yourself. You can install it in about 90 minutes and it doesn't need to be activated by the dealer. I installed my own. It's pretty easy.
> 
> IIRC, the kit was under $300. And much of the system is already in your car. You're just installing the horn and a receiver/controller unit. All of the sensors are already in your car.


Great, thanks TD. Does it come with clear instructions. Is there a lot of wiring and panel removal involved?


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## Guest (Nov 3, 2003)

TD330ci said:


> Great, thanks TD. Does it come with clear instructions. Is there a lot of wiring and panel removal involved?


 No wiring. The most complicated part is installing the controller unit behind where the glove box is. But once you get the dash apart, you just plug the unit in and you're done. The horn plugs in too.

There is NO wiring you need to do. The trickiest part is putting your passenger side dash back together.


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## TD330ci (Dec 29, 2001)

TD said:


> No wiring. The most complicated part is installing the controller unit behind where the glove box is. But once you get the dash apart, you just plug the unit in and you're done. The horn plugs in too.
> 
> There is NO wiring you need to do. The trickiest part is putting your passenger side dash back together.


Oh great, as if there are not enough rattles, I get to create more of my own. 

Hehe...


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## zcasavant (Jun 26, 2002)

TD330ci said:


> Oh great, as if there are not enough rattles, I get to create more of my own.
> 
> Hehe...


I was thinking exactly the same thing.


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## Jetfire (Jun 20, 2002)

TD330ci said:


> Oh great, as if there are not enough rattles, I get to create more of my own.
> 
> Hehe...


 Nah, you won't get extra rattles. But I do remember having some difficulty with lining up my glove box after removing it for something else. My glove box door was alternately falling down on bumps and staying shut even after pushing the button. I eventually got it back to where it was.

Anyway, it's not very difficult to install, but TD is right -- you end up taking apart a lot of interior pieces. Not a huge, huge deal.


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## zcasavant (Jun 26, 2002)

Jetfire said:


> Nah, you won't get extra rattles. But I do remember having some difficulty with lining up my glove box after removing it for something else. My glove box door was alternately falling down on bumps and staying shut even after pushing the button. I eventually got it back to where it was.
> 
> Anyway, it's not very difficult to install, but TD is right -- you end up taking apart a lot of interior pieces. Not a huge, huge deal.


Still, I worry I will forget to reinstall some seemingly unimportant screw or nut and the whole dash will fall off in my lap while I'm driving. 

The alarm is on my list of things to do. I am tired of sticking the key in the lock and being ridiculed for having a $45K car with no keyless entry.


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## TD330ci (Dec 29, 2001)

zcasavant said:


> Still, I worry I will forget to reinstall some seemingly unimportant screw or nut and the whole dash will fall off in my lap while I'm driving.
> 
> The alarm is on my list of things to do. I am tired of sticking the key in the lock and being ridiculed for having a $45K car with no keyless entry.


EXACTLY!!! :tsk:


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## zcasavant (Jun 26, 2002)

TD330ci said:


> EXACTLY!!! :tsk:


And no tilt wheel.


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## Guest (Nov 3, 2003)

zcasavant said:


> And no tilt wheel.


 Tilt wheel is WAY overrated.

I'll post a pic of the dash disassembled tonight from home.


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## Jetfire (Jun 20, 2002)

Seriously, I never thought the lack of keyless entry or a tilt wheel were issues with my car. In fact I kinda took pride in their absence. With kids in tow, I can kind of see the usefulness in not having to fumble around for a key.


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## zcasavant (Jun 26, 2002)

Jetfire said:


> Seriously, I never thought the lack of keyless entry or a tilt wheel were issues with my car. In fact I kinda took pride in their absence. With kids in tow, I can kind of see the usefulness in not having to fumble around for a key.


I don't really care about it either. The keyless bothers me for safety reasons (my girlfriend drives my car a lot). I don't want her fumbling for keys if she is in a bad neighborhood.

The tilt wheel didn't end up being an issue, as it is fine for me where it is.


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## Jetfire (Jun 20, 2002)

zcasavant said:


> I don't really care about it either. The keyless bothers me for safety reasons (my girlfriend drives my car a lot). I don't want her fumbling for keys if she is in a bad neighborhood.
> 
> The tilt wheel didn't end up being an issue, as it is fine for me where it is.


 I just tell everyone that the Germans found the perfect angle for the steering wheel and wanted to keep it that way.  Alan Taur retrofitted a tilt/telescoping wheel on his '95 M3, IIRC.


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## zcasavant (Jun 26, 2002)

Jetfire said:


> I just tell everyone that the Germans found the perfect angle for the steering wheel and wanted to keep it that way.  Alan Taur retrofitted a tilt/telescoping wheel on his '95 M3, IIRC.


I remember seeing that webpage. He did all sorts of things to it.


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## ARCHER (Dec 26, 2001)

Jetfire said:


> Alan Taur retrofitted a tilt/telescoping wheel on his '95 M3, IIRC.


What DIDN'T he retrofit on that car? That thing was friggin' amazing.


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## Guest (Nov 3, 2003)

TD330ci said:


> Great, thanks TD. Does it come with clear instructions. Is there a lot of wiring and panel removal involved?


Here's the extent of the disassembly...


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## dewing (Oct 28, 2003)

Jetfire said:


> No E36 M3s were delivered in the USA with remote entry. BMW sells an E36 alarm/remote entry kit, and so do some other companies.
> 
> I don't understand what you're saying about the door locks. Can you elaborate?


Hi Jetfire - thanks for the remote info, who needs remote entry and tilt wheel? The car is really great. Compressions test for all 6 cylinders measured from 160 - 170 psi after a brief, 5-minute, warm - up. I guess that's not too bad .

OK the Doors, it appears that sometimes the passenger door unlocks and sometimes it doesn't. I can't unlock the passenger door without lowering the passenger window. The person that previously owned the vehicle explained the door locking was a source of some difficulty, when all else fails, open the window.

It's my understanding you should be able to snap the interior handle twice which will then ubnlock the door? Later versions of M3's have a switch on the console to unlock the doors. Just in case there was some sort of emergency the doors should be able to open.

Maybe I should replace the door lock mechanism? I am a total newbie, thanks for any suggestions about the door problem. This M3 has already suffered through the water pump, radiator, and head rebuilding. That would have been a bad time for certain.

Regards,

David Ewing
1995 M3
1999 Ducati 750SS
1980 Porsche 924 Turbo


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## Jetfire (Jun 20, 2002)

Welcome to M3 ownership.  Unfortunately I've never heard of your issue before. If you can't find what you need here, try going to www.bimmerforums.com and asking in their E36 M3 section. If all else fails, you can always take it to the dealer...but do try other options first.


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## Bruce (Dec 24, 2001)

Does anybody know if you can order the plastic cases for the remote FOB? Both of mine have broke in the past few weeks and I am back to the key in the lock method.

Thanks.


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