Complaint 1924794

Complaint Summary

STRUCTURE:BODY

Owner Narrative

Driver's side door on my 2013 BMW X1 sDrive28i will not open using either the outside door handle or the inside door handle. The door locks open and close using either the remote key fob or the key inserted into the driver's side door, but the driver's side door will not physically open. The other doors, as well as the rear hatch, do open. The mechanical part of the door lock actuator that holds the door latch to the striker plate on the frame on the driver's side door is stuck in the closed position. When you pull on the either the outside or inside door handle, the door moves ever so slightly but the door will not open. In order to lock the car after trying to open the driver's side door, one needs to then push the driver's side door in slightly so that is clicks shut. This will due to the slight movement when trying to open the door. Otherwise, the car locking mechanism will not work (i.e. none of the doors will lock) using either the remote key fob or the key in the door. This failure happened suddenly without warning. This is a safety issue because it makes it difficult to exit the vehicle in an emergency. Not being able to open the driver's side door is also a MAJOR inconvenience. The right front door actuator failed at 23,844 miles and was replaced under warranty. BMW door actuators used on the 2013 BMW X1 are not reliable. I have driven several other brands of cars over 200,000 miles and for more than 10 years and never once had a problem with the door lock mechanism and I certainly have never had a problem which left me unable to open the driver's side door.

Owner-submitted narrative on file with NHTSA. Complaint narratives are self-reported and have not been verified.