[mikehurl16]

Hey everyone. I'm new the forums here. Just the other day, the door locks stopped working from the FOB and to start the car I have to hold the FOB against the steering column. Driver door locks and unlocks with the mechanical key. The door lock button in the trunk doesn't work. The door lock button on the dash does work.

Both FOBs stopped working at the same exact time, so I highly doubt that it's the batteries in the FOBs. Any suggestions you can give on things to check would be much appreciated.

[ezaircon4jc]

Originally Posted by mikehurl16

Hey everyone. I'm new the forums here. Just the other day, the door locks stopped working from the FOB and to start the car I have to hold the FOB against the steering column. Driver door locks and unlocks with the mechanical key. The door lock button in the trunk doesn't work. The door lock button on the dash does work.

Both FOBs stopped working at the same exact time, so I highly doubt that it's the batteries in the FOBs. Any suggestions you can give on things to check would be much appreciated.

The fob's are the same age, so are the batteries. They're cheap enough so I would start with new batteries.

[Qsilver7]

The fact that the remote starts the vehicle when held up to the ring antenna (behind the icon on the steering column) means nothing and can be removed from the equation because the start/immobilizing feature is self-powered thru induction. Which means the battery inside the remotes can be totally dead and the vehicle can still be started.

The lock/unlock feature of the remote & comfort access uses RF (radio frequency) signals transmitted to aerials around the vehicle...they DO require the battery inside the remote to function to send that signal. If you've lost both or either function...I would recommend focusing in on this area to see if its the failure of the remote's signal to the car...or it could be a CA (comfort access) issue where one or more of the CA door handles is malfunctioning.

The only issue that really makes me go hmmm...is the trunk's lock/unlock button. It doesn't work, but the interior button/switch does. (???) Neither of those switch/buttons use an RF signal to send commands....they are connected directly to the car's bus system...and that is how the control modules receive the commands from those two items. If the trunk's switch/button isn't working...you may have an electrical issue that is causing the problem. In this case, I'd check all the fuses that operate the central locking and anti-theft alarm siren system. If one of those fuses is blown...it could affect the operation of the wireless lock/unlock functions.

On older BMWs from the late 1990s/early 2000s...if the fuse for the fuel filler flap was blown...it would disable the remote key's ability to lock/unlock the car. You can give this a quick test to check it off the list. Take the mechanical key blade and lock the vehicle from the exterior driver's door lock cylinder...then walk around to the fuel filler flap and see if it is locked. If it's locked...then its actuator is working...if you can open it...then the fuel filler flap actuator is malfunctioning and could be the problem. (BTW, there's only 2 ways that the fuel filler flap gets locked and that's by locking the driver's door from the outside, or by using the remote fob. Since your remotes aren't working, you have to use the 1st method. Locking the car from the inside using the central locking switch/button DOES NOT lock the fuel filler flap)

[BurrNinja]

I had to replace both my batteries in my keys same day they both warned me of low battery. Used one key for awhile till it showed warning, decided to use my spare not even a day went by the warning came on for that too.

[mikehurl16]

Originally Posted by Qsilver7

The fact that the remote starts the vehicle when held up to the ring antenna (behind the icon on the steering column) means nothing and can be removed from the equation because the start/immobilizing feature is self-powered thru induction. Which means the battery inside the remotes can be totally dead and the vehicle can still be started.

The lock/unlock feature of the remote & comfort access uses RF (radio frequency) signals transmitted to aerials around the vehicle...they DO require the battery inside the remote to function to send that signal. If you've lost both or either function...I would recommend focusing in on this area to see if its the failure of the remote's signal to the car...or it could be a CA (comfort access) issue where one or more of the CA door handles is malfunctioning.

The only issue that really makes me go hmmm...is the trunk's lock/unlock button. It doesn't work, but the interior button/switch does. (???) Neither of those switch/buttons use an RF signal to send commands....they are connected directly to the car's bus system...and that is how the control modules receive the commands from those two items. If the trunk's switch/button isn't working...you may have an electrical issue that is causing the problem. In this case, I'd check all the fuses that operate the central locking and anti-theft alarm siren system. If one of those fuses is blown...it could affect the operation of the wireless lock/unlock functions.

On older BMWs from the late 1990s/early 2000s...if the fuse for the fuel filler flap was blown...it would disable the remote key's ability to lock/unlock the car. You can give this a quick test to check it off the list. Take the mechanical key blade and lock the vehicle from the exterior driver's door lock cylinder...then walk around to the fuel filler flap and see if it is locked. If it's locked...then its actuator is working...if you can open it...then the fuel filler flap actuator is malfunctioning and could be the problem. (BTW, there's only 2 ways that the fuel filler flap gets locked and that's by locking the driver's door from the outside, or by using the remote fob. Since your remotes aren't working, you have to use the 1st method. Locking the car from the inside using the central locking switch/button DOES NOT lock the fuel filler flap)

I checked the fuel lid after making sure the doors were locked using the mechanical key. Lid was locked.

I checked the door lock button in the trunk lid again just to be sure. I opened the trunk from the button inside the driver door. I made sure all doors were unlocked. I tried to lock using the button on the trunk lid, but nothing happened.

The batteries in both remotes were replaced less than 6 months ago. There's been no low battery warnings. The front passenger door has never locked/unlocked with CA or FOB or the dash button since we got the car a year ago. We have always had to manually lock and unlock that door.

On the driver door, the 2 back window switches are both locked not allowing to roll the windows down. You can roll them up, though. Any chance that a problem in that unit on the door could be leading to this?

[ezaircon4jc]

Originally Posted by mikehurl16

I checked the fuel lid after making sure the doors were locked using the mechanical key. Lid was locked.

I checked the door lock button in the trunk lid again just to be sure. I opened the trunk from the button inside the driver door. I made sure all doors were unlocked. I tried to lock using the button on the trunk lid, but nothing happened.

The batteries in both remotes were replaced less than 6 months ago. There's been no low battery warnings. The front passenger door has never locked/unlocked with CA or FOB or the dash button since we got the car a year ago. We have always had to manually lock and unlock that door.

On the driver door, the 2 back window switches are both locked not allowing to roll the windows down. You can roll them up, though. Any chance that a problem in that unit on the door could be leading to this?

At the least the front passenger door actuator has failed. Not a BMW, but I had an actuator "fail" on a previous car. I sprayed copious amounts of dry lube into the latch, worked the latch and that freed-up the mechanism. I figured it was a short-term "repair" and I would have to replace the actuator sooner rather than later. Strangely, it still hadn't failed again 3 years later. Not saying it will work, but worth a try before replacing an expensive part.

[mikehurl16]

I tried new batteries in both FOBs and that did nothing. I did figure out the window switches on the driver door. A little chrome trim piece had fallen down into there blocking the switches from going down. I'll order up a new passenger door lock actuator and see if maybe replacing that kicks the CA back into action.