My 2002 R53 Cooper S is has having a bit of trouble with the drivers side door lock.

I slide the key in, and it immediately turns to the left. Not enough to unlock the door, but about half way. I can turn the key to full left & it unlocks but if I don't open the door before I turn the key back to 12 o'clock to remove from the door, the door locks again. Locking the door is similar. Slide key in and immediately the key turns about half way to the left. A full twist to the right and the door locks.

Double twisting the key locks and unlocks the passenger door & trunk as expected.

This is new behavior and it started about 3 days ago.

The other thing I noticed is if I leave the passenger window open, or the sunroof open when I lock the car, the window winds up & the sunroof now shuts. I've owned the car for about 3 years and this has never happened before!

This car may have gremlins.

Trying to figure out how to troubleshoot. Also would like to know if auto close window & sunroof is normal.

I have changed the passenger door actuator previously with success but I'm not sure if this issue is caused by the actuator on the driver's door or if its the lock mechanism itself. I only have the one key for the car and it does not have the remote lock/unlock buttons- its the key only. Previous owner lost the key with buttons.

I'm afraid I'm going to be locked out soon so would appreciate any insight to get this resolved.

 

I guarantee that you will be locked out soon. That's the early sign of the lock mechanism failing. At some point you won't be able to lock the car or unlock the car depending on how it decides to fail. Hopefully it fails to lock or you will be locked out. You can pull the door handle open with a long, stiff wire bent into a hook but it's a real PITA.

MINI of Peabody in Massachusetts sells all their parts at a discount, including keys and locks. Get the part numbers you need from realoem.com then order online at minipartsmass.com; the discount isn't available over the phone. You will need a locking mechanism and you should also get a remote key. I can help you identify the correct part numbers for what you need if you need help. These locks were not meant to be used every day- the OEM ones were made out of cheap pot metal and break under constant use. The replacement ones are a bit better but you should be locking and unlocking with a remote. The remote key will run you about $135, the lock about $120. Also figure in an hour of coding time at a dealer or independent BMW/MINI coder to get the car to recognize the remote commands from your key. There is no series of button pushes that will allow your key to start working with your car, the car must be coded with a computer for this to happen.

Good luck, let me know if you have any more questions.

Val

 

Val,

Thanks for the great (but disappointing) information. Also, for minipartsmass.com - they have very competitive prices online. I've bookmarked as it seems they will be a great resource!

I've gone to realoem.com and I believe I've found the correct part number for the door lock cylinder.

part# 51217074428 is a lock cylinder uncoded $102.75
part# 51217074440 is a lock cylinder with key - seems to include a valet key $87.34

It seems to me you're suggesting part# 51217074428 is what I'm looking for to replace the cylinder as I already have a non-remote key.

For the remote key, I found part# 61317072104 $137.60 which appears to be for vehicles with radio frequency 315 MHz and no immobilizer.
As far as I know I do not have an immobilizer so it would appear this is the correct remote key?

Hope you can help confirm. If not, I guess I could could visit my local dealership, but I haven't had very positive experiences there with anything other than picking up a oil filter.

Appreciate the help.

 

Your part numbers for the lock cylinder are correct. As far as I know they only sell the one (without the key, keyed for your car because it's ordered via your VIN) so I don't know why it's listed twice. I have purchased one for each of our R50's and both came without a key. Given the quoted price of $102 I'm pretty sure the part number of 51217074428 is correct.

And your part number of 61317072104 is correct for the remote key. The blade is cut for your car and it will include the correct EWS/immobilizer chip. You will need to get the car coded to accept commands from the remote as I stated earlier.

If you've done a door actuator you've done about 95% of the work to get to the lock cylinder.

Val

 

Hey there,

Just an update - as I live in Vancouver, Canada I had to order both the key and lock cylinder at the local dealership. MINI of Peabody in Massachusetts said these parts are considered theft parts and I needed to prove I was the owner before they could sell to me. Also, there seems to be some sort of cross-border issue with keys & theft parts. This 2002 R53 has so many electrical problems I'm not sure anyone would want to steal one!

So off to MINI and I ordered the parts. Had MINI program the key for me - about 1/2 hour of labor. I installed the lock cylinder myself after I received the new driver's door window motor.

I removed the glass, the window regulator, the door lock actuator, and the lock cylinder using the Pelican Parts regulator replacement tutorial, and a YouTube video for the lock cylinder removal. It turns out it was a lot easier than I thought. Door lock works like a champ, new key fob locks & unlocks, and new window motor lifts and lowers the window. One problem though, the window motor appears to be backwards. Down is up and up is down. I read online to remove the metal casing on the window motor to reverse the magnet locations and thus reversing the motor's operation.

I did this, and the window is still up for down, and down for up.

Also found that I could cut the window motor wiring harness & reverse the wires to make it work.

Any advice?

Thanks for the help on this little maintenance project.

 

Yep the lock cylinders and some of the key coded parts are theft parts and most place you will have to provide documents or actually be there to prove it you and that car.


On the window motor: https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...backwards.html
https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...-backward.html