2001 BMW X5: doors won't lock, open or latch

Filed Aug 17, 2008 · Body, Locks · 83,000 miles · MA

Front doors are freezing up in cold weather. Once the temperature rises the doors will open. Happens early in the morning/ late night when I need to leave for work. Sometimes you can force the handle to open but then the door will not close and have to drive holding the door shut. There must be a recall on this,there have been so many complaints about this issue. This has happened to me dozens of times. Went to dealer many times, replaced bowden cable/actuators. Cost me $600.00 to fix, will see if it works next winter.

Filed Jan 31, 2006 · Locks · 67,000 miles · CT

Dt*: the contact stated in freezing conditions, the driver side door latch freezes shut. The dealership determined the latch needs to be replaced. The contact is unaware if this is a problem with the other doors, since they are not used. Updated 03/09/06

Filed Sep 28, 2005 · Body · CA

Purchased new x5 in sept. 2001 - and that's when my problems began! Luckily the car was under warranty in the beginning, otherwise I would have paid just as much in repairs as I did for that so called luxury vehicle of mine. (1) I immediately began having problems with condensation inside the front headlamps which took days to clear up. Dealer didn't know why this happened. Several years later and I'm still experiencing this same problem. (2) all of the rubber trim and molding on the outside of the vehicle (especially around the windows) has faded and become discolored. (3) the molding around the door frames has disintegrated horribly and started to come off ($250 to repair). The dealer said this is normal. (4) within the past three years, I have had the drivers side window regulator replaced three times. I was also told that this is a common problem w/bmws. (5) I now must roll down my window and open my door from the outside because the door handle jams and won't allow me to open door from the inside. This has happened four times already, ($1,000 to fix). (6) both front headlights have been replaced twice already - and of course the dealer recommends replacing the entire assembly at $200 a pop. (7) the both front door lock actuators are defective and need to be replaced ($400 each). It will not lock/unlock the front passenger door so we must do so manually. (8) the rear hatch would not open properly. The latch assembly had to be replaced twice (thankfully under warranty) before our problem was resolved. (9) the left rear tail lamp assembly is now being replaced for the third time ($259) because the bulb continues to go out for some unknown reason. Had I known that I was buying a "money pit" instead of a luxury vehicle, I would have run away from the dealership screaming. I am preparing to sell or trade this headache for something with fewer problems. I will never buy another bmw again!

Filed Sep 1, 2005 · Body, Electrical · 63,200 miles · ID

1. Had car serviced at 60,000 miles, only 3 weeks later the green dashes started appearing again and staying on, as if I needed to have car serviced. Called dealer and they said not to worry, this has been know to happen, just ignore it. 2. Very loud noise from sun roof (closed) while traveling on freeway and leaks during car washes? Dealer said they can replace the seal and this should fix the problem. 3. Brake light indicator on dash comes on and off, as if bulb is out, but just replaced bulb, then replaced again, sometimes this brake light works and sometimes it doesn't. 4. Window on front passenger window would not go back up after opened, then a day later, the door would not open or close. Dealer replaced the window mechanism that controls both the door handle and the window at my cost mind you the rear window and door had been done only a year before. The dealer told me that this happens on all german cars, doesn't matter the age of car or make. How frustrating - spend $45,000 and know windows will eventually quit working?? 5. Front right headlamp gets moisture in it and it takes 3-5 days to clear up. 6. Driver cup holders, what is up with that - can only put one cup in it, when try to put 2 in, they overlap, very frustrating when driving. 7. Storage in front minimal and a hassle, you have to reach back and sort of behind you to get into compartment - dangerous while driving. 8. Leather seats are very hard, need a plushier leather. 9. Wheels, brake "dust" gets all over the wheels much much more than any other luxury car I have ever had. 10. Cargo cover in rear needs work, check out the one lexus uses in rx30. 11. Need more cargo space - compared to rx330 and the volvo x90, space is extremely small. 12. Disappointed in my car - want to sell it, will not buy another bmw.

Filed Sep 1, 2005 · Locks · OH

My 2001 bmw x5 door locks get stuck when it is very cold, usually below 15 degrees fahrenheit. The key remote does not work & if I can get the key to manually unlock the door, and get into the vehicle, when I go to shut the door the latch is stuck "open" and will not close, therefore making the car un-drivable because the door will not latch close. I have discussed this w/ bmw on 8/16/05 & they reviewed it. A bmw district representative said that they have noticed that the current "latching/locking" system can allow moisture to get into the locks & make them unusable. They offered to replace all 4 locking mechanisms but I would have to pay 1/2 part & labor, cost to me $450.00 out of pocket. This sounds like an engineering problem that bmw should recall. I would like to have this investigated.

Filed Aug 18, 2005 · Locks · 42,000 miles · FL

Electronic door locks fail, no entry in to the vehicle. Was repaired and then failed again.

Filed Jan 27, 2005 · Locks · 96,000 miles · MA

I have 2001 bmw x5 3.0. After last week's snow storm and cold weather in boston area, my 2001 x5 doors are frozen. Actually, I opened them from outside yesterday morning (feels like door handle got frozen). But then I could not get them closed. So, I had to push down door lock (little knob) by window and pull hard to get them closed. Now, I could not open them at all. I am climbing in and out of the trunk door to get inside. Fortuately, there is no accident. But, I think this is a serious safety issue when an accident does occur (hard to escape). Bmw north america is aware of this problem (si 51 51 02), however there is no proper action from them.

Filed Jan 16, 2005 · Locks · 89,000 miles · IL

Event: cold weather below 15 degrees f. Failure: door locks freeze so that doors can not be closed or passengers can not get out. Door locks were replaced by the dealer when the car was under warranty. That does not fix the problem. It is a design flaw. The car is now out of warranty.

Filed Jan 11, 2005 · Locks · 39,900 miles · NY

Read that the bmw x5 had problems with it's door lock mechanism. I had experienced the locks not opening in the cold myself, and had seen several people at the dealership with the problem. During a ski trip to mountt snow vermont my door locks were slow to open. The passenger door wouldn't close at first. Then when pushed hard it closed. The door would not open with my passenger inside. She tried the door handle, from inside and I had tried it from outside. The door was unlocked, but would not open at all. I then tried the driver's door and it wouldn't open. The passenger had to climb out the rear doors. It took about a half hour of the car running before the door would open. In an emergency, the passenger and driver would have been toast.

Filed Dec 2, 2004 · Electrical, Locks · 530,000 miles · UT

Failure of passenger door wiring harness, connections were corroded, causing the door to stop functioning I.e. Door opening, door lock, window would not work. The door had previously been repaired for a broken door lock handle. There were 3-x5's at the shop with same problem that week.

Filed Nov 27, 2004 · Locks · 64,000 miles · IL

Driver door would not close/latch in weather of 25 degrees. Door finally closed, but handle would not open the door. Latch/mechanism in door frozen. Weather warmed up to over 32f and the door finally opened.

Filed Jul 12, 2003 · Electrical · 3,000 miles · NY

Electrical problems. Such as right rear brake light keeps going out and vehicle brakes feel like thier not stopping, left turn signal fast, steering wheel doesn't extend fully, during winter months the front and rear thermostat do not work. Door handles freezes.