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View Full Version : quick trivia q? what was the last series bmw that had emergency door unlock?


ryan roopnarine
03-07-2007, 10:52 AM
...when i say "emergency door unlock", i mean the ability to get into a car with a flat battery by going over to the passenger door and simultaneously turning and lifting the door handle. i would assume that cars without a passenger side keyhole would be different. my mostly bmw bodyshop is mystified at the presence of such a feature, and i wanted to tell them which models it stopped with. thanks.
winfred
03-07-2007, 01:17 PM
as far as i know the e34 was it, the early e32s had it on both front doors (you can retro the parts into a e34 latch) and the e38/39 they don't even have a lock hole on the right side, i can't remember if theres a override on the lock, i think there is
ryan roopnarine
03-07-2007, 01:32 PM
awww man, that makes for crappy conversation then. i could have sworn that e46 had a manual open like that tho, thanks.
BMWCCA1
03-07-2007, 09:07 PM
I do remember the Z8 had a door handle button that would rotate exposing a keyhole underneath for emergency use. I'm sure all current models must have it somewhere, too.
rob101
03-08-2007, 12:00 AM
which way do you turn? i am not quite following
BMWCCA1
03-08-2007, 10:02 AM
If you're talking about the Z8 emergency access; next to the exterior handle you lift to enter the car is a fake "button" that mimics the BMW 507 door handle. If you rotate this large chrome blob, underneath is a keyhole.
Qsilver7
03-09-2007, 08:05 PM
The e38 & e39 (and probably the e46) have a manual overide when electrical power is lost...but you don't have to lift the handle...just insert the key and turn it counterclockwise past the detent.

I would suspect the the door handle lifting stuff ended around the time that the newer DWA/EWS II systems (anti-theft/immobilizing systems) started being installed. These are the cars that have keys with the embedded chip. (and yes I know that EWS II started with 1/95 production so that would include the e34 & e36) :D So that would probably make the e36/e34/e32 the last models. Not sure what the e31 (8 series) had.

See the highlighted text in image below from the e38 owners manual.

http://www.bimmerboard.com/members/q/original/e38%20Emergency%20unlock%20procedure.jpg