Door lock problem

[Jay 535i]

Something went wacky with my door locks last night, and now I can't turn the key at all in the driver's door lock cylinder. The passenger's side works fine and does operate the car's locks.

What's wrong?

[ArtemLepilov]

Broken/Worn down lock cylinder?

My driver's side has gotten pretty stiff to move as well.

I would say you need to try oiling the cylinder or something along those lines.

[Jay 535i]

Nah, it worked perfectly until something strange happened.

For a short while, I could turn the key to lock the car and it would unlock itself immediately. But it's not doing that anymore.

The driver's door lock cylinder isn't jammed. It has locked itself. It's some kind of 'feature', I'm sure.

[Bill R.]

pic of a bmw doorlock to show you. The sheaves,leafs or tumblers that you see in my hot little hand here all movin in and out according to the cuts in the key. When one of these sheaves gets bent or worn out then the lock won't turn. We mechanics have a technical term for it. We call if F***ed up. You usually end up having to take the lock apart and
A. removing the damaged or offending leaf or
B. Call Patrick at Bma and have him send you a new key and tumbler assy. matched to your key code.


EDIT, disregard the shitbox subaru in the background that i'm working on today.

Nah, it worked perfectly until something strange happened.

For a short while, I could turn the key to lock the car and it would unlock itself immediately. But it's not doing that anymore.

The driver's door lock cylinder isn't jammed. It has locked itself. It's some kind of 'feature', I'm sure.

[Jay 535i]

Thanks so much for taking the time to post that pic, Bill.

Can I buy a tumbler matched to my existing key, or do I have to replace all the locks on the car now?

[athflying79]

Not meaning to totally hijack the thread, but it's somewhat kinda sorta related.

I have noticed in the ignition that if I turn the car off and try to restart without first pulling out the key, I can't. It doesn't feel like something totally locks to keep me from doing it, but there is enough resistance it feels like I would really screw something up if I tried to hard. Lately when I pull the key out of the ignition, the little cover or whatever it is doesn't always snap into place and the car thinks the key is still in the ignition. Usually putting the key back in and pulling it out resolves the problem.

I would also like to know if it's possible to replace just the ignition and drivers side lock...all others work flawlessly.

[Jay 535i]

Hey, here's a thought. Could I swap the driver's and passenger's side lock cylinders? I never put the key in the passenger side anyway.

[ArtemLepilov]

Hey, here's a thought. Could I swap the driver's and passenger's side lock cylinders? I never put the key in the passenger side anyway.

Dont see why not, except for a lot of work... Get a remote door opener while yore at it.. I know i will since i read your thread.

-Artem

PS - the locking mechanism for a starter has some sort of a safety thing - thats why it wont turn after you start it - all cars have it.

[Bill R.]

want to fix it cheaply you can take it apart and remove the leaf thats damaged or bent. Your key will then be short one leaf but for the most part it will have most of them to require it to work. Sorry after looking at the lock again you have to leave out 2 leafs. There's 12 total so its still enough to require a key to open if you leave out 2

Hey, here's a thought. Could I swap the driver's and passenger's side lock cylinders? I never put the key in the passenger side anyway.

[Jay 535i]

Dont see why not, except for a lot of work... Get a remote door opener while yore at it.. I know i will since i read your thread.

Well, the work's a sunk cost anyway. How hard is it to reinstall one of those things?

If I had keyless entry I wouldn't give a crap about the lock cylinder.