How to Replace Front Door Lock Latch Actuator 1997-2006 BMW 325Xi

What's up, guys? I'm Andy from 1A Auto. In this video, I'm going to show you how to remove and reinstall the door lock actuator latch on this 2001 BMW 325xi. If you need parts for your vehicle, click the link in the description and head over to 1AAuto.com.

To pull this switch out, you want to use something really thin. You can use a trim tool or a really small pocket screwdriver. Get in here, just be careful. You don't want to ruin the door panel. You can try to put your plastic trim tool behind it to try to prevent from damaging the panel. Get underneath here, get under there, and it'll slide right up. To disconnect the connector, just grab it, slide it up.

Take a trim tool. You want to take this trim off right here, just slide it behind here. Gently pry behind here, being careful. Pop this out. There's some clips that hold it on. This one popped out, but we can pop that back in. With my trim tool, just get underneath here. Take these little covers off, pop those off.

Now I can take these screws out. There's five of them. I'm going to use a T20, extension, and a ratchet. You can use a little magnet to get the screws out. Now, I'm going to get a trim tool. We'll just pry behind the door panel. I'm just going to pry it out. You want to make sure you pry it out this way. Slide it off the lock rod. Be aware of those clips. That's why you want to slide it straight out.

Now, we can disconnect the handle right here. You just pry it up like that and slide it out. That's actually really easy. Take these wires off. You can use a trim tool. Get behind here, pop these off. Disconnect the speakers, just use a small blade screwdriver. There's no lock on that, but there is one on this one. You just squeeze it just like that.

Now, I'm going to put the window up. I have to turn the key on, roll the window up. The switch is in the center console. Put that up all the way. Disconnect the key, and I'm actually going to disconnect the battery because I don't want to disconnect the airbag without the battery disconnected.

In the trunk, you're going to have a cover over here. Take that cover off and loosen up this 10mm nut. Loosen up the battery terminal and disconnect it. Slide it out of the way so it's not going to arc out on the battery.

Now after waiting a minute after disconnecting the battery, then I can take these bolts out. I'm going to use a 10mm socket, extension, and a ratchet. Take that last bolt out and I can slide the airbag module out. Disconnect the wire, slide it out of here. To disconnect the airbag right here, use a straight blade tool. Just get under here. There's a little lock, loosen up that lock and then just gently pry this out and disconnect it. Now when you put this aside, you always want to put this down so that the explosive bag side is going up. You never want to put it down like that. Otherwise if it does go off, it'll go flying.

I want to remove this module, get it out of the way. I'm just going to use a T20, extension, and a ratchet, take these two screws out. Slide that out in the way. Now I want to pull this vapor barrier off. You can use some kind of a pry tool to try to peel this away or a razor blade. Just use a razor blade, trying not to cut any wires or any more of the vapor barrier. This will stick to itself.

All right, so now I have to lower the window down. I'm going to have to reconnect the battery so that I can lower the window down so I can disconnect the window from the window regulator. When I do that, I'm probably going to get an airbag light on because I have the airbag disconnected, so I may have to go and clear the air bag code out after doing this repair. We want to lower the window down to where you can access the bolt. There's a bolt right there and then one right there at the base of the window. We'll use an 8mm socket, extension, and a ratchet to remove those bolts, and I'm going to have a friend help me and hold the window so that it does not fall. Pull that out. That fell.

I'm just going to use a magnet to grab that bolt. Slide that out. Pull this one out. Actually there's a nut that's on the backside that fell out, so make sure you grab those. Pull that out. We should be able to slide the window up so that it's out of the way. Just slide it up and I'm going to tape it up. I'll just use about three pieces of tape to hold it. That'll just keep it safe while we're doing the repair. That should be good.

Now we can disconnect this connector, push down on the lock, pull it out. There's five nuts I need to take out. There's one there, one there, one there, and then these two over here, take those out. We'll use a 10mm socket, extension, and a ratchet. Pull this regulator out. There is a wire tie attaching the regulator right here, so if your vehicle has that, just cut that off. Just slide this down. That can come out. It's still attached right here, so we'll just squeeze that. Take the regulator and motor out.

Take this little cover off here. Just take a straight blade screwdriver. Get underneath here. You can use a trim tool as well. Just proud this cover off just like that. I am going to just take this plastic bezel off right there, slide that of the way. There is a small screw in here that I'm going to use a 3mm hex key to get it off. Just to loosen it up. You can try to use a socket, but just one of these keys will be good. You don't have to take it out all the way. Just pry this out a little bit. There's a gasket on here, make sure you leave the gasket with the car while you pull this cover off. The lock cylinder is going to come out with it. Just wiggle it back and forth just like that.

Now I'm going to take a 2mm hex key and slide it in that same hole, and there's a little screw right there. I'm just going to loosen that up, twist it to the left, and as I loosen it, it's actually going in, it's a reverse thread. When it's right, grab this handle and it should slide out just like that. That gasket just fell off, which is fine. Then we can slide the handle right out.

When I disconnect the electrical connector right here, just push down on the tab, pull that connector off. There's two little tabs you push down there and on the other side, set that aside. This other cable needs to be removed. That goes to the outside door handle. Just slide this off. It's the yellow piece right here. I'm going to slide that towards the front of the door handle, just like that. Then we're going going to slide it up and there's a cable and a little ball on the end of it, or a rod. This is the way the end of that cable looks. You slide this part out, and then you have to rotate the cable, and then there's a slot. Just slide this little retainer out.

I'm going to take these three bolts out. I'm going to use a T30 and a ratchet. I'm going to take the last bolt out. I am going to support the door lock actuator from the inside. Take that bolt out, slide this out. I can actually slide this cable off. There's a little latch right there. Lift that up just slightly, then we can slide this off, and then this just slides down here just like that. We can take a lock rod off. Just slide the lock rod down and then it'll slide right out, and slide it right out. It's kind of like a jigsaw puzzle trying to get it out. When it's in there like this, you just twist it around upside down and it'll slide right out.

We want to slide this actuator in kind of how we took it out. Just get it in position just like that. Now before we put it any further, you want to get this lock rod in, slide this in position like that and then up, just like that. Then also, you want to put this cable on. This cable goes to the inside door handle. This is going to slide on like this and then over like that, lock that in place. We want to get this in position. Slide the lock rod through the hole right there. That looks good and right there. You can get the bolts started from the outside. Take a T30 socket and a ratchet and tighten these up on the outside. We'll just snug those up. That's good.

Now, we're going to install this cable that goes from the door handle from the outside door handle. Get the top retainer of that cable in first. A little bit tricky. Yeah. Once you get that in position then you can slide this yellow part on. Just push it straight on there and it's locked in place. Then this is going to go right behind here, this little bar here just sits like that. Take this connector, connect the connector. Line that up, lock it in place.

Now I want to install this outside door handle. Make sure you put the gasket on first. Get that in position. This is going to slide in down here, just like that. Get this lined up. With that in position, then I can take that 2mm hex key. Slide that down in here. I turn that to the right, like I'm tightening it, and just make sure that bolt came out, and it did. That's working properly. I can take this cover with the lock cylinder in it, line this in position, and take the 3mm hex key, slide it in here and tighten this bolt up. Take this little plastic grommet, slide that in position and then slide this plug in.

Now, we will slide this in position. Slide this side in first. Then this back side. Line the studs up. Make sure you're on this side of the glass closer to you. That looks good. Now with this back one, line that stud up with that. Make sure you're in this hole, not that hole right there. Get the nut started. I'll get these other ones started. I'll go back with a 10mm socket, extension, and a ratchet and just snug these all up. You can transfer this piece over from the old one. Just slide this in position right here. That's going to go through that hole and then I'm just going to put a wire tie on this one up here. Reconnect the connector, lock it in place. With the key on, carefully you want to position these so you can access where the bolts will go. We can just move those up slightly.

I actually did not need to take these bolts out when I was unbolting the window. You could just loosen them up just because the window regulator itself is slotted, so that would be a little bit easier. Just loosen these bolts up, don't take them out completely.

I am going to take this tape off with my hands supporting the window underneath or you can have a friend whole blown window for you. Pull that down. Slide the window down. Get this in position. With that in position then I'll install these bolts. With the window in position, just take the bolt, 8mm socket, extension, and a ratchet. Just slide this in. All right, that back one is started. What I used to hold the bolt in was actually a little bit of this adhesive that holds the vapor barrier on. I just grabbed a little piece of it, stuck in the socket, and I can hold the bolt in just like that. Now I'll do the same on the other side. This one, I have to slide the nut through and slide the bolts in position. Now with those lined up in position, then i can use a torque wrench and then I'm going to torque that to eight Newton meters, those two window bolts.

Now, we're just going to reinstall the vapor barrier. Make sure these cables come through where they need to go in the wiring harness. Get this lined up. A lot of times you can find where the hole was for something, so that will line up with there, the bolt holes, and then get that re-secured just like that.

Take this module right here with this bracket. We'll put the screws back in here. We're going to use a T20, extension, and a ratchet. And snug it down.

Let's reconnect this airbag. Take the connector, slide it in position. Just like that. It'll lock in place. Then push the little lock tab down. Now we'll slide that in position right there. Take the 10mm bolts, get these started. Take a 10mm socket, extension, and a ratchet, tighten them down. Make sure those are all tight.

Now, we want to reconnect the speaker wiring harness. Connect the big speaker. Then we'll connect the tweeter. Right there. This wiring harness is going to slide through here, just like that, and then push this retainer right here. Make sure that this wire comes through here just like that. Then when we connect up this rod, this latch cable, we want to make sure that this inside latch is in the closed position like that. Then slide this here, latch it in place. Double check to make sure it's working properly, which it is. We'll slide onto the lock rod, get everything lined up, and just push it back on.

Then we can reinstall the screws. Remember, the long screw goes right here and then the short ones go in the other places. Shorter screw goes right here. Using a T20 socket, and a ratchet, and extension. The smaller one goes right there and then also under here, under the armrest. All right, those are all tight. These little covers go on the bottom one. Just line those up, push them in.

This cover goes on the top. Let's just pop this piece off here. Take a straight blade screwdriver top pop this off. That can go right there. Take this piece, line it up. With it lined up ... Oh, there is two little tabs on the front of this, so get those in first. Take the mirror switch. Let's connect the connector. It only goes on one way. then slide it in position. Push it straight down.

Thanks for watching. If you want the parts to do it yourself, check out 1AAuto.com the place for DIY auto repair.