Drivers rear door and trunk locks are stuck closed, how do I get trunk open?

[icm5er]

My 89 535im, first the rear drivers side door lock started to fail, now it is stuck closed, I can not open it manually from inside, or via key.

Same with the trunk lock, it was sticking a bit and was becomming more difficult to open with the key, now it also is stuck closed, it will not open with the key or via drivers side or passengers side door locks.

I tried re-synching the locks from the passengers side door lock but no luck.

Any help is greatly appreciated.

[shogun]

Have you checked the fuses? In any cae you have to open the door panels. Have a look here on Johans page how to open the stuck rear door, maybe that helps.
http://bmwe32.masscom.net/

If the trunk does not open, first try some lubricant on the key and try to make it work again. In the worst case there is a way thru the skli opening behind the rear seats in the middle (at least the E32 has this). There is a perforated metal sheet which you can hammer out. Then try to climb in or use a log stick with a hood to remove the carpet cover at the rear of the trunk to get access to the trunk lock from inside.

[Bill R.]

That may help on the door (http://www.bimmer.info/forum/showthread.php?t=20848)





My 89 535im, first the rear drivers side door lock started to fail, now it is stuck closed, I can not open it manually from inside, or via key.

Same with the trunk lock, it was sticking a bit and was becomming more difficult to open with the key, now it also is stuck closed, it will not open with the key or via drivers side or passengers side door locks.

I tried re-synching the locks from the passengers side door lock but no luck.

Any help is greatly appreciated.

[icm5er]

That may help on the door (http://www.bimmer.info/forum/showthread.php?t=20848)

Yes, I guess I was not very specific, I found the archive information on how to get the door lock open, but no information on the trunk. That is the tricky one right now.:)

[gale]

This might help with the trunk:

http://www.nmia.com/~dgnrg/page_38.htm

You just have to be persistant with it. Spend a whole morning turning the key back & forth if that's what it takes. Mine took several dozen cycles to get it to finally catch before I was able to open it up & assess the problem. The fix seems to have taken care of it for good, no problems with it since, from whatever date I typed in the link.

[icm5er]

This might help with the trunk:

http://www.nmia.com/~dgnrg/page_38.htm

You just have to be persistant with it. Spend a whole morning turning the key back & forth if that's what it takes. Mine took several dozen cycles to get it to finally catch before I was able to open it up & assess the problem. The fix seems to have taken care of it for good, no problems with it since, from whatever date I typed in the link.

Appreciate the response Gale. It seems your problem was that your lock would not catch when pressed in to open the trunk. My problem is that the trunk lock cylinder is stuck in the horizontal lock position and will not turn at all. I am able to push it in but because it is locked it will not open. I have tried several times for 20-30 minutes to get the cylinder to turn at the trunk and I have tried to unlock via drivers door and passengers door.

I will try again tomorrow and your web page will certainly help me once I get it open.

[gale]

Appreciate the response Gale. It seems your problem was that your lock would not catch when pressed in to open the trunk. My problem is that the trunk lock cylinder is stuck in the horizontal lock position and will not turn at all. I am able to push it in but because it is locked it will not open. I have tried several times for 20-30 minutes to get the cylinder to turn at the trunk and I have tried to unlock via drivers door and passengers door.

I will try again tomorrow and your web page will certainly help me once I get it open.

If that's the case, then it sounds more like the tumbler is messed up or the key has worn to the point that pins in the cylinder no longer line up. Do you have a spare key you can try?

[Javier]

it is not possible to unlock the trunk via Central locking system. It is the safety feature included for valet parking (You leave the key without the grooves and it will not fit the trunk/glove box lock, so leaving the trunk lock horizontal will not open without the master key).

Lube the lock with some graphite dust and start playing with it, until you can, at least, put it back to vertical. Only then, the lock will be released to be unlocked via Central Locking.

Javier

Edit in bold

[icm5er]

Gentlemen: Thanks for your responses. I was able to fix the problem. For future reference to anyone who has a similar problem (trunk cylinder lock stuck in the horizontal position), always remember to try the simple solutions first, like lube the cylinder. I spent considerable time today trying to resolve it, not to mention the past few weeks living with the issue; I even started taking the trunk apart in my pristine 1991 M5 in order to see how the lock, actuator and wiring was situated. I researched everything available on multiple web sites; I almost started ripping the rear interior and seats apart in the 535 to get at the trunk through the ski opening as others have done. Good thing I decided to try some lube in the cylinder first. For some reason I was convinced that lube could not possibly be the solution, the lock just seemed to be mechanicallly stuck, I was convinced it was a faulty actuator. One small shot of lube and the lock opened smoothly with the first try.

Thanks again for your responses and suggestions.