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Door, trunk lock woes

Discussion in 'E36 (1992-1999)' started by owiest, Apr 15, 2011.

    • Member

    owiest

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    The trunk lock on my 1996 328Ic is stuck in the horizontal position. I cannot open the trunk.

    I can no longer unlock the driver's door with the key. I can unlock the passenger door, but who knows for how long?

    Any advice on how to approach these problems, especially unlocking the trunk, where my repair manual lives, will be much appreciated.

    Thanks.

    cwbiii guest

    Post Count: 160
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    The open trunk button under the dash doesn't work? Try checking for a blown fuse...
    Sounds like the keys may be worn too much... you probably need to order at least 1 new one from BMW... It's pricey though. You might want to rethink where you carry your keys since it is unlikely the wear came from using them in the locks or ignition.
    (Stop using them as a bottle opener ;-) )

    BMW's new generation of keys are protected from this kind of abrasion by being stored inside the fob.

    Chuck
    • Member

    MGarrison

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    Consider your mileage - it's not just the keys that wear, the lock cylinders wear too. Keep a BMW long enough (at least, the ones that use lock cylinders) and you'll need to replace your ignition-key lock, and driver's door lock. The passenger lock typically isn't used as much, and thus lasts longer; it's conceivable someone might not fix one door lock after it's so badly worn it won't work and continue with the inconvenience of using the other door lock until it's worn out, eventually having both door locks inoperable - probably would take 200k-300k miles to get that bad though. Don't know about the trunk lock, perhaps try some lock lubricant. You could have a combination of your door lock and trunk lock tumblers being worn, and a worn key.
    • Member

    owiest

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    Thanks for the advice.

    I don't think this model has an open-trunk button.

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