hi everyone,
today when i tried to open up my drivers side door on my '03 Cooper it seemed to be seized up. it had worked all day previously. any ideas of what this could be and how to remedy it? it's not frozen, and the locks work fine. the handles appear to work fine, just the latch isn't. thanks!

 

has it ever gotten frozen? becasue if it has frozen once that means water in inside the sheath of a cable for the outside latch and if there is water in there there is also rust. And when you try to open the door can you pull the outside latch for the door or does the latch not move?

 

a common problem...
https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...t=door+problem
https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...t=door+problem
https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...t=door+problem
https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...t=door+problem
https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...t=door+problem
https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...t=door+problem

 

i have the same problem on my 03. it is only the drivers door. i have correlated it to cold and water, in that when i wash it during the winter it sticks. when it is dry out and freezing the problem is reduced. i am dealing with it at this point by gently pulling the lever so it does not go all theh way in. it releases the latch part way through it range of motion. even when it does stick if you oscilate your wrist up and down letting your thumb and finger scrape on the lever it will release. this is how i'm dealing with it until summer, them hopefully before next winter i'll have someone repair or replace it . hopefully, someone here will have allready fixed it instead of just dealing with it .

 

most people dont "deal with it" they have it fixed. it's too much of an annoyance for a new car... everytime you get in/out you have to "deal with it"

get it fixed. could be the cable or could be the latch bar, both easily fixed by the dealer. if it's a door handle issue (outside handle) than that's another story. the MINI's door handles are not fun to remove.

 

agreed, i am getting it to the dealer for something else and will have them look at it then. the excuse for procrastination is the dealer is 3.5 hours away . maine is mini dealerless!

 

I don't know if this is the same issue you've had:

Sometimes I "jump the gun" when unlocking and have the handle depressed at the same time I unlocked. The handle sticks (the black latch on the inside sticks into the chrome handle), and locking and unlocking (niether key in the door or pressing the fob) doesn't jar the handle (latch) back in postion. I just give the handle a solid bump and it sets the latch back into position. I don't recall any other times this has happened to me when I wasn't a little to anxious with the fob and door.

Hope this helps. Good luck.