Reasons for a Faulty Door Lock in Your BMW
It can happen out of the blue — lock your car, pop into a store, unlock the car again— except your routine is interrupted and your daily schedule in ruins when you come back to find you can’t get in! The doors you locked to protect your vehicle are now inconveniencing you.
Although BMWs have a reputation for superior quality and advanced innovation, it’s important to remember that these cars are finely tuned, intricate pieces of technology which come with little quirks and needs of their own. If you get locked out of your car on a regular basis or find that your car is disturbingly unable to lock, don’t hesitate to address the problem. Start by taking a look at these reasons why your lock might be acting up and then discuss them with your mechanic.
Faulty Door Lock Actuator
The first part to consider a possible problem with is the door lock actuator. The actuator is an electronic mechanism that signals your car to lock or unlock through a variety of different ways. Whether you’re locking your car with your automatic key fob, pressing the unlock button on the inside of the door, or simply pulling the door open by the handle, the actuator controls your locks’ response. If something’s off with the actuator, it can definitely cause your car to have trouble responding to your “lock” or “unlock” commands.
Blown Fuses
People tend to think of a blown fuse as something that happens in a building, but blown fuses can occur in your BMW’s doors too. While a finicky actuator might be the culprit for a holistic locking issue, you may suspect a blown fuse if you’re having trouble with one door but not the others.
Faulty Key Fob
In some cases, it might not be your car doors at all, but simply an issue with your key fob. If the key fob is at fault, you might be able to manually unlock your car by flipping the lock or pressing the button on the door, but not from a distance with your key fob. This can be the result of something simple, like a dead key fob battery, or something a bit more complex, like a malfunction with your key fob’s internal programming. Key fob problems can generally be addressed easily by ordering a new one or replacing the battery.
Bad Wiring
Just like fuses are everywhere, highly specialized wiring controls many different parts of your BMW, including the wires involved in locking and unlocking functions. If your wiring has gotten old and tired through years of repeated use, this might be the culprit. If so, that’s another easy fix! The problematic wiring will simply need to be replaced.
Trust the Experts at Orion Automotive Services
While it’s helpful to have access to self-diagnosis tools, you don’t have to shoulder the burden of worrying about your BMW alone, and you don’t have to subject your car to the fumbling of an ordinary mechanic who might not be trained in the finer points of European engineering. In fact, if a mechanic doesn’t know exactly what they’re doing with a “Bimmer,” their efforts can cause extra problems. That’s why you need Orion Automotive Services!
We recognize that in Ann Arbor, Mi, it can be difficult to find mechanics trained in European automotive technology, and that’s exactly what sets us apart. Not only do our service technicians use a state of the art diagnostic program, we specialize in a wide variety of European import cars from BMWs to Volkswagens, so we can guarantee that we’ve seen it all and we know how to handle any quirk your car can throw at you.
We know how much you love your car because we love European imports ourselves! That’s why we take pride in giving all BMWs the TLC they deserve. No matter what’s wrong with your BMW, whether it’s a faulty actuator or a simple key fob replacement, we’re here to give you and your car the quality care you need so you can get the maintenance and repairs you need to get back on the road as soon as possible.
