Driver's door won't open from inside or outside
 

Hi all,

I've seen a number of threads on doors getting stuck but usually from the inside. I have a 2005 MCC, my problem is a bit different in that it won't open from either side. The cable on the inside door latch must still be connected b/c it unlocks the door, the second pull does nothing.

How do I get the door open to pull the panel's off and what might be the issue? There appears to be a motor that actually unlocks the door latch, I'm guessing this has gone bad.

I do have a Bentley manual on hand but it doesn't talk about how to get the door open when this type of failure occurs.

Any help or recommended threads on this would be great,

Thanks,

Rich

Wondering if the BCM needs to be reprogrammed at the dealer or if there is some sort of connector issues. Were there any prior symptoms before this finally happend ?

If it's the BCM, it's a chipped box which runs the various default programs set by the factory which can be re-programmed by your dealer to run your MINI's electrical components such as DRL's, door locks, power windows ect.

Some MINI owners have their door locks re-programmed by the dealer to "auto-unlock" when the key is removed from the ignition. Sort of a nice feature.

If that is the case, maybe a trip to the dealer is in order.

no symptoms prior. Drove to work, came out for lunch and nothing.

Did you drive over any huge bumps or thru any pot holes on that last leg of the trip before it happened ?

Normally when an actuator goes, there are some symptoms before hand. The lack of prior issues leads me to think it is more of a pwr issue to the module itself.

Nope, nothing unusual in the way of road bumps. I avoid them like the plague. Is there a fuse associated it? I have an appt w/ a repair shop, I'll let you know what they find.

I know this sounds strange, but I had problems with my door opening as well as other odd things. Turns out mice were in the headliner and had chewed some connections, with one connection leading to another..

Well, I must have gremlins. On my way to the shop this morning just on a whim I decided to try the door, I had just tried it previously and it didnt' work, made it a few miles down the road and voila. It opens just fine. Pulled over and tried it a dozen times and it appears to work. So I'm not sure what happened nor am I sure when it will happen again. Guess I'll just wait.

He's got a convertible I think.

I am betting there is a bad/loose connection. Maybe check the harness at the door hinge area. Could be road conditions were just right and the connection found it's way home, or that water is getting into the door shorting out something there and it finally dried up.

My inner driver side door pull no longer opens my door. I gotta fix it soon as I have to roll down the window and open it from the outside, while still sitting inside, lol. The local mechanic wants $80 to pull the door covers off. Crazy..I've taken them off myself, and it's not hard to do. They said that if the door pulls are broken, it s a $430+ repair...ouch. I'm guessing it's just a cable inside. I'm going to take it apart myself and have a look see.

Richard

Rich is that a quote for a new lock actuator ?

I believe so. Pretty sad if that's the case after 100,000 miles...I can't even begin to say how expensive this MINI has been for me....I thought I was done after the last $10,000 repair, then a week ago, thought I was done after the last $3800 repair..lol..what's another $430? :lol:

Interesting. I have this exact same problem with my 04. I did pull the panel off (there's a screw hidden under the reflector on the panel) but couldn't see (or feel as it is extremely difficult to see inside the panel) anything that was disconnected. I'd be interested to know what you find.

** Update **

Did some more searching and found some pictures and a good description of my problem. My wife showed me that you could get the door to open from the inside if you pulled many times on the handle while giving the secret sign. Turns out the blue end of the latch cable came unseated but not unhooked. Took me quite a bit of time to get it reseated. YOU MUST UNHOOK THE CABLE FROM THE RETAINING CLIP NEAREST THE LATCH TO GET ENOUGH SLACK TO RESEAT THE BLUE THINGY ON THE CABLE. After I discovered this, I reseated it in 5 seconds although keeping the blue thingy seated while I reclipped the cable was a minor challenge. The door now works again

I have the EXACT problem you do on my 05 MCS. I tried all the same things you did, with no good results. Even had AAA come out & they couldnt open it either. I took it to the Stealership this morning & just got a call from my "advisor" The guy quotes me $850 and is very vague about the details. From the little bits of information I got from him, the problem is a faulty actuator, which is $170. When I told him I will buy the part & change it myself, he indicated that the mechanic would close the door with the panel back on, essentially putting me back to square 1. I had to argue with the man for probably 10 minutes to get him to agree to leave the door panel off & just charge me the $174 fee for looking at the car(which is a whole other rant that I wont get into) Now he is trying to scare me about changing the part by telling me the window needs to come out & be re-adjusted etc...ABSOLUTELY RIDICULOUS!!!!! He did say that it took 2 mechanics to get the door open, 1 to hold the door panel away from the door & anothr to reach up the the actuator & engage it(hope that helps)
Good Luck with your fix, hope you dont get bent over & your Stealership too.

******Update*****
So I pick up my car, pay the $174 Stealership fee & leave. They did leave the door panel off so when I pull into my works parking lot, I reach back to the actuator & pull the lever where the cables are supposed to be connected & the door pops open. I dont know if they removed the cable or if that was the reason it wouldnt open in the first place but it seems that is the problem, not the actuator. I will try to connect the cables tonight when I get home & see if that was in fact the problem but im a bit irritated by all this. I asked for the hourly rate for service & the cashier wouldnt give me an answer. She says it is billed out per job, not by the hour. When my advisor walks me out to the car, he tells me about taking out the window & how it needs to be placed precisely or it will break...
I feel like they tried to rip me off by charging an unknown & undisplayed hourly labor rate, then tried to scare me into paying it with tales of work & parts that I really dont believe were/are needed in the first place.
If anyone wants to know, this was South Bay Mini. Steer clear if at all possible...

My old '02 MCS driver's inner door handle was acting up way back when I was still below the 4/50K warranty mark. Turns out the cable that operated the handle had stretched. They replaced it. Hoping I don't have the problem with my current '06 MCS. I'm already up to 49K miles.