Bmw safety recall done, central locking broken now

[akira181]

So my car was fine this morning, took it into the bmw garage and their healthcheck said the central locking wouldn't open the driver door.

The central locking has never given me any issues and they claim it must have broken when I parked in their garage and they accept no responsibility. Argued for a bit but they're adamant that the healthcheck is done before any work begins.

Drove it home and now the central locking won't work on any door. Makes a noise when trying to lock but nothing locks. Press unlock, only the lights flash. I can't even open the door with the inside handle, had to roll down the window and open the door with the key to get out the car.

I called them back but the guy claims its an existing issue and if its not a result of the recall work done incorrectly, it'll cost me.

Is this just an unlucky coincidence or have they stitched me up?

• edit

It's a 2007 320d. I'll check the fuses later but I find it hard to believe it's pre-existing electrical gremlins unrelated to a battery terminal line replacement they just done.

Edited by akira181 on Monday 23 July 18:31

[Sardonicus]

Try disconnecting the battery ground terminal - for 10 minutes and see if this reset sync's the door modules by then reconnecting battery - locking and unlocking the doors a few times with the key fob buttons , worth a go I reckon

[akira181]

I pulled all the fuses and 73 was blown. No spares to replace it, I'll pick one up tomorrow and see if that fixes it or it pops again.

Is it worth still taking it back to the garage to check their recall fix?

[akira181]

Since sporadic failure of central locking is listed as a symptom of this recall, I decided to take it back to the garage so they can check their work before troubleshooting myself.

Also going to write a letter of complaint to BMW UK as they've been extremely unhelpful, refuse to admit central locking issues are a symptom even though its in the website and tried to put me off pushing further by saying it'll cost 300 quid to investigate.

They also sent me home in a car where the driver door would not open from the inside (only the driver door opens now) and claimed it was a preexisting issue. That safety recall did the opposite of making my car safer

[HayesDC2]

Had the same locking issues as you mention, although caused by a passenger pressing the lock / unlock button a few times. New fuse 73 sorted it.

[helix402]

This may be of interest:

https://blog.bavauto.com/14845/bmw-e90-e91-3-serie...

[klmity]

What happened to you in the end OP?

I believe I have the EXACT problem with my 56 plate BMW 318D - notified of BMW recall re some wiring potential problems, took it to garage and was "fixed" sharpish. Just over month later (I don't use very often), doors wont open, etc. Only driver side door can be opened, with the manual key!

Took it back to the garage where had the "work" done and explained. Told it would cost me £120 or £160 just to check! Rang the BMW recall line I had to contact before and they are saying it has nothing to do with the recall and nothing to do with them!!!

I can't believe this is a coincicence and I feel VERY let down by BMW and feel shafted with this process.

[akira181]

I took it back and naturally they said it wasn't their fault and asked for £160 to diagnose the issue.

BMW UK said to take it back and because the garages are independent, they can't do anything about the diagnoses fee and will only repair a car under warranty. Absolute joke.

My car has been parked up ever since as I use the company car but trying to get it fixed so I can sell it since I'm not using it anymore.

Replaced fuses 72 and 73 with a 20 amp and disconnected the battery negative terminal to see if it resets. Will know more in 10 minutes

[xjay1337]

akira181 said:

I took it back and naturally they said it wasn't their fault and asked for £160 to diagnose the issue.

BMW UK said to take it back and because the garages are independent, they can't do anything about the diagnoses fee and will only repair a car under warranty. Absolute joke.

My car has been parked up ever since as I use the company car but trying to get it fixed so I can sell it since I'm not using it anymore.

Replaced fuses 72 and 73 with a 20 amp and disconnected the battery negative terminal to see if it resets. Will know more in 10 minutes

It could be one of those things that it just so happened to break, but they may have also blown the fuse if it was related to the healthcheck.

Either way they could have spent a couple of minutes checking the fuses FOC when the recall was being done to avoid the now miffed customer

[akira181]

I just don't believe in coincidences as convienent as that. It breaks after I hand them the keys but before they start working on it and just happens to be a symptom of the recall fault? Unlikely imo.

Well plugged the battery back in, all doors work apart from the driver door. Guess it's the actuator, need to buy a replacement.

Also, found this under the driver seat. Guess the garage were also too lazy to reassemble everything properly. Anyone know where it goes? https://thumbsnap.com/8xZVL5h4

[Herms555]

We have just put our 2009 320d in for the required BMW recalls and it come back with the front passenger door central locking not working. This is how we come to read this forum as we were searching for a solution.

[nasa31]

in 06.05.2019 brought my car to local dealership because of recall . checking/reworking heater and ac blower regulator plug connection .when i got home after that central locking wasnt working when i locked doors from inside and driver doors with manual key . next morning i could not unlock car using fob key but boot lid was unlocking and windows lowering when open button was pressed and held .when i opened driver doors with turnkey rest of the doors remained locked couldnt unlock them not from buttons on the fob nor inside . i checked fuses one of them was blown of 56 or 57 . 15 amp i replaced that c/l still no response disconnected negative battery wire and after 10 to 15 min. reconnected and c/l started working again except front passenger doors but now i was able to unlock them using handle from inside (note . after dealership was tinkering around the car - terminal was left loose) ofc they claim that they did not touch battery terminals or did something wrong . sorry for my bad english . any ideas why it happened