Door handle on E46 coupe

[paoloh]

You have to really wrench the door to get it to open. Does the inside of the handle become slack?

Would a new outer handle cure this?

[john_p]

Quite a normal thing on the E46

Adjustment instructions here: (easy DIY, just need an allen key)

http://forum.e46fanatics.com/showthread.php?t=3720...

[paoloh]

john_p said:

Quite a normal thing on the E46

Adjustment instructions here: (easy DIY, just need an allen key)

http://forum.e46fanatics.com/showthread.php?t=3720...

Thanks mate!

[thehos]

would like to say thanks as well, you have to pull hard on my door to open it, will try it on the m, good find

[fixedwheelnut]

Don't want to tell you how to suck eggs but do you open the handle in the correct way?
'Thumb on the lock and lift the handle whilst pushing with the thumb'

Pulling just the handle pulls it out rather than up & out and also pulls on the door during the catch opening process that puts extra friction on to the catch.

Another tip once it is adjusted correctly is to grease the catch pawl in the lock catch.

[< FORZA WEST]

2 common ones with the coupe and conve door locks which will be the likely problems.

1-The latch mechanism becomes stiff this causes an exaggerated pull on the handle to release it...to over come, open the door and shut window (ie fully up), get some WD40 with the straw on and spray the latch itself in all the gaps up and down-be liberal with it (i may start to drip out of the drains at the bottom of the door). Now with the handle pulled as if opening use a screwdriver and work the latch quite a few times.
Then try, you may find it has eased, if it has do the same again until its operating correctly.
Before you finish you now need to wipe excess WD off and now Spray some Clear Grease into the latch in the same way.
This fix is good for E36 and Z3 too as they suffer with stiff latches too.

2-The cable becomes detached inside the door from the outer handle cradle but doesnt completly fall away. The inner carriers were modifiedto stop this happening and if the cable comes fully away you cant open the door. Sometimes the cable pulls off but gets itself trapped giving you the same symptoms.
To overcome both you remove the door panel and membrane (dont tear membrane or youll end up with water ingress), this bit is awkward but looking upto the left inside the door is the outside handle , the cable can be seen coming from it and probably not being held....Refit the cable, clicking it back into the carrier, then with 2 cable ties tie the cable to the carrier-it is tight but the cable ties will go around the back of the carrier.
Thereis no reason to buy a new carrier.

The adjuster may help you but doesnt often ease the symptoms-also with this one make sure you DONT adjust it to close to its maximum as the door will pop open on its own whilst your driving...there was a recall years back because of this.

[thehos]

fixedwheelnut said:

Don't want to tell you how to suck eggs but do you open the handle in the correct way?
'Thumb on the lock and lift the handle whilst pushing with the thumb'

Pulling just the handle pulls it out rather than up & out and also pulls on the door during the catch opening process that puts extra friction on to the catch.

Another tip once it is adjusted correctly is to grease the catch pawl in the lock catch.

good point, but try leaning across the seat and telling every passenger that gets in your car, lol

[ftypical]

As the E46 gets older, this will rear it's head for a whole new generation of owners.

So to quickly summarise:

If the action of the exterior door handle seems stiff, it might need lubrication, but it probably needs adjustment.
Fortunately, BMW provided an adjuster. To use it, pull out the rubber plug near the mounting bolts that hold the door lock mechanism in place on the trailing edge of the door. Using a 5mm Allen Key slacken off the adjuster locking bolt (clockwise on the right hand side of the car, anti-clockwise on the left). Operate the handle a few times to help the adjuster take up the slack, then retighten the locking bolt and replace the rubber plug.

You may find its quite difficult to slacken off the lock bolt. This could just be age, but it might also be due to previous owners over tightening it in the belief that this is how you adjust the mechanism. This may make the handle easier to operate, but that's because you're bending the adjuster.

HTH...

[Sardonicus]

ftypical said:

As the E46 gets older, this will rear it's head for a whole new generation of owners.

So to quickly summarise:

If the action of the exterior door handle seems stiff, it might need lubrication, but it probably needs adjustment.
Fortunately, BMW provided an adjuster. To use it, pull out the rubber plug near the mounting bolts that hold the door lock mechanism in place on the trailing edge of the door. Using a 5mm Allen Key slacken off the adjuster locking bolt (clockwise on the right hand side of the car, anti-clockwise on the left). Operate the handle a few times to help the adjuster take up the slack, then retighten the locking bolt and replace the rubber plug.

You may find its quite difficult to slacken off the lock bolt. This could just be age, but it might also be due to previous owners over tightening it in the belief that this is how you adjust the mechanism. This may make the handle easier to operate, but that's because you're bending the adjuster.

HTH...

The 4 doors suffer from this too (well touring in my case) a combination of both light spray oil and the adjustment fixed my drivers door handle adjustment alone only improved things a tad

[Mr Roper]

My E46 convertible suffers from this.

Thanks!

[rhysles]

I have a similar problem on my 03 e46 cab. Drivers side doesn’t open with the outside handle - it’s just stays up when you pull it. Unfortunately mine is completely broken and the cable tie fix won’t do it. So I need to replace the carrier - I’ve completely disconnected it, but can’t get it out of the door as the window glass is in the way. Has anyone got a guide on how to get this out? Do I have to take the glass out? Thanks, Rhys

[mva5]

Be careful with the adjustment screw!

This post has good photos of the passenger side mechanism and what is going on inside the door when you try to adjust:

https://forum.e46fanatics.com/showpost.php?p=15267...