Glad you found it. I came across the sunlight variable a lot and it makes more sense to me that the door handle metal/plastic is heating up and making the teeth more malleable. Either way I’d suggest you remove the handle (easy to do) and inspect the teeth before buying any parts.
You are spot on. I am struggling with this issue for a couple of years. Adding washers helped a bit but not for long. Now I installed a new bowden cable and that didn’t give any improvement. Next started to inspect the lever mechanism and found that the teeth were completely worn out. So that is really the cause of the problem, not the cable. I’ll now try to find either a good used handle or a way to repair the teeth. If anyone has suggestions on how to repair the teeth, that would be of great help. Thanks!
Thanks for the reply. It has been a year since I posted the video (and I know that the quality is not good), but I can't believe how I still see people talking about the bowden cable is the issue - it makes no sense.
@@TrevorS38 In the meantime I repaired the teeth. I took a small strip of thin stainless steel and plied it exactly in the right shape, to fit over the worn out teeth. Sanded everything and glued it on with JB weld. It works like a dream, for now. Hopefully it will last. Forgot to take pictures…
@@peterdelange3634 Is your DIY fix still working great? I suspect I have the same worn teeth issue but won't know for sure till I get a chance to take it apart. Any chance you could repeat the same repair with mine?
Thanks Trevors38 I have the same issue and this will be a huge help. You say removing the door handle is easy. My other research is giving it PITA rating and talk of specialist BMW tools. Could you share how you removed it please?
Sorry for the late reply. I typically work on the older cars but the method for removing the Z4 exterior handle is roughly the same. There is a plug on the rear side of the door that you need to remove that will give you access to the brass slider that hold the exterior handle to the door. This brass slider (IIRC) needs to be pushed forward towards the front of the car and you will be able to slide the exterior door handle out. It is actually very simple once you see how it works. This is a video from my older 5 series but the system is essentially the same. Start watching at about the 3:20 mark and you should get a rough idea of what you need to do. th-cam.com/video/z7th4RUol74/w-d-xo.html Getting the door panel off and messing with the locking mechanisms inside the door, and swapping out the bowden cable can be a real pain. The exterior door handle is not.
Thanks for posting this! Having a similar problem in my 04 Z4 but only have issues when it’s in direct sunlight on a hot day.
Glad you found it. I came across the sunlight variable a lot and it makes more sense to me that the door handle metal/plastic is heating up and making the teeth more malleable. Either way I’d suggest you remove the handle (easy to do) and inspect the teeth before buying any parts.
I haven't been able to open my passenger door in over a year. Thanks for sharing.
Hopefully it helps. If it does I’d appreciate some feedback/letting me know how it went. Thanks
You are spot on. I am struggling with this issue for a couple of years. Adding washers helped a bit but not for long. Now I installed a new bowden cable and that didn’t give any improvement. Next started to inspect the lever mechanism and found that the teeth were completely worn out. So that is really the cause of the problem, not the cable. I’ll now try to find either a good used handle or a way to repair the teeth. If anyone has suggestions on how to repair the teeth, that would be of great help. Thanks!
Thanks for the reply. It has been a year since I posted the video (and I know that the quality is not good), but I can't believe how I still see people talking about the bowden cable is the issue - it makes no sense.
@@TrevorS38 In the meantime I repaired the teeth. I took a small strip of thin stainless steel and plied it exactly in the right shape, to fit over the worn out teeth. Sanded everything and glued it on with JB weld. It works like a dream, for now. Hopefully it will last. Forgot to take pictures…
@@peterdelange3634 Is your DIY fix still working great? I suspect I have the same worn teeth issue but won't know for sure till I get a chance to take it apart. Any chance you could repeat the same repair with mine?
Very cool. I've got this issue and I'll be checking that out now first.
Thanks, hopefully it saves people some time.
Thanks Trevors38
I have the same issue and this will be a huge help.
You say removing the door handle is easy. My other research is giving it PITA rating and talk of specialist BMW tools.
Could you share how you removed it please?
Sorry for the late reply. I typically work on the older cars but the method for removing the Z4 exterior handle is roughly the same. There is a plug on the rear side of the door that you need to remove that will give you access to the brass slider that hold the exterior handle to the door. This brass slider (IIRC) needs to be pushed forward towards the front of the car and you will be able to slide the exterior door handle out. It is actually very simple once you see how it works.
This is a video from my older 5 series but the system is essentially the same. Start watching at about the 3:20 mark and you should get a rough idea of what you need to do.
th-cam.com/video/z7th4RUol74/w-d-xo.html
Getting the door panel off and messing with the locking mechanisms inside the door, and swapping out the bowden cable can be a real pain. The exterior door handle is not.
@TrevorS38 Thanks a million for all this info.
@@GaryBrown-ny7sl Now worries, let me know how it goes. Would be cool to know that the video helped somebody figure this out.
"promo sm"
What?