I thought I'd make a thread since I couldn't find any on here with similar issues.

The power locks on my r56 started operating while driving. Specifically, I could hear them trying to unlock repeatedly on occasion. Power lock spaz out.

That started happening more often, and soon the car would drop the windows every time I would get out of the car. Wouldn't respond to fob or even the physical key in the lock.

Everything else worked fine. No issues with lights, instruments, etc.

After a month long bout of trying stuff shotgun style, turns out my driver's side door latch was the culprit. Replacing this with a $40 used one from ebay fixed it.

In case anyone cares, I went through the following steps, none of which worked:

- Tried new battery.
- Tried registering new battery (my particular Mini doesn't have the sensor that requires registering a battery)
- Tried using the spare key only
- Tried coding out comfort access (holding unlock on the fob to drop windows)
- tried cleaning the contacts on the FRM
- tried a new (used) FRM and coding that to the car

Swapping the latch was a pain in the butt, especially in the driveway in the dark. The whole door module / glass / window regulator has to come out. There's a walk through on Pelican.

What I think happened is a switch in the latch died, causing it to send the signal like I had the physical key in the cylinder and twisted to unlock at all times. Spent a lot of time and money going through that process, but hey, I can code the heck out of any BMW now.

Hope this helps someone in the future.