I have a 1999 E36 2-door. Recently I started to experience intermittent "sticky" door lock symdrom. Basically, I press the unlock button on my remote and all of the locks in my car unlock, except the driver door... it'll unlock maybe 20% of the time. I can see the little black lock button slowly pop up. Otherwise, I'll have to insert the key and physically lock it and unlock it. Has anyone experienced this issue? I haven't tried WD40 or silicone spray yet... Thanks! Pat
I am guessing the door lock actuator is going bad. The passenger side one on my 98 went bad. It is actually a pretty easy fix. It just takes patience and being able to contort your hands helps too! Here is a link to the procedure. http://good-times.webshots.com/album/557789582nyYUxv It also helps to have the bentley manual, so go buy that too. When doing this you DO NOT need to remove the door lock from the door. Just carefully remove the inside door panel, then very carefully pull back the vapor barrier, if you are lucky the adhesive will still be sticky. I did this on an 80 degree day and my car is black so that helped in regards to not having to add more adhesive. In this cold weather we are having here in the north east you should add some 3M adhesive to make sure you have a good seal again. Okay back on track, then look how everything is currently positioned. Then unplug the wiring harness to the door lock actuator. Now there is a clip on the back that holds it in place. So be careful and don't break anything. Now just follow the directions on the link above. They are pretty straight forward. Once you have the new one in place, test and test again with the inside door card/panel removed to make sure you have it in there correctly. It took me several tries to get it right. Just be patient and keep fiddling till it clicks in properly. If you get frustrated walk away for a minute or two and then come back and try again. You don't what break something b/c of frustration. Once your are sure you have it right, reassemble. Now would be an excellent time to replace any door panel clips, so buy some ahead of time. Also make sure the inside of the panel is in good shape. Now is also a great time to reglue anything that is coming apart. Good luck.
