540i Deadlocked Passenger Door

[canada7]

Hey everyone,

Sorry if this has been answered asked a bunch but I think my problem is slightly different than most of what I've been reading on the internet. My e39 passenger door is dead locked shut but the power lock still works (goes up and down). Most other threads I have seen on this say that it's the actuator, but like I said the power locks work fine. For awhile, it would just open from the outside but now it will not open at all.

I don't know how to start on this and I am scared to start dismantling the door myself since it won't even open at all. I really do not want to have to drill any holes in the door if I can avoid it. Looking to sell the car soon and this is a huge detractor of the value so I would love to get it fixed. On a side note, anyone have a ballpark estimate on what an indy shop would charge to fix this ? I know it would vary depending on what part is broken but getting the door off alone seems like a daunting task.

Thanks in advance and Happy New Year !

[seagreen323i]

One time we managed to get the door panel off while the door was shut. It got a little messed up but we got it off, broke the actuator to remove it and replaced it. That was our issue.

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[TiagE39]

Even if the actuator can bump the lock open/closed partially, it's the same as a completely broken one.

There's a little published method (https://www.m5board.com/threads/how-to-open-passenger-door-stuck-in-double-lock.186058/) for partially disassembling the door panel by removing the sill trim, pushing open the side airbag cover, removing the airbag, then popping off or breaking off the actuator. I would definitely favor this over trying to remove the panel completely, which will damage it one way or another.

Make sure to order a new actuator before you start this job.