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I have a 2003 BMW 530i. My alarm went off in my garage this

 
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  • Answered by:mike
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Customer Question

I have a 2003 BMW 530i. My alarm went off in my garage this afternoon when I was trying to open the car. The alarm is now off, but now I cant open the door or trunk. I have tried to open the door and trunk using the remote function on the master key and I have tried to manually open the driver side door and trunk. I even tried to open the trunk by pushing the button on the trunk while I manually turned the key. I don’t know if this is an alarm disabled issue or a dead battery issue. If this is a alarm disabled issue, how do I open the door or trunk with the alarm disabled. If it is a dead battery issue, how do I get power to the car (the battery is in the trunk) so that I can open the door or trunk. My guess is that it is a dead battery issue since the alarm light is no longer blinking in the car and I have had a dead battery in the last month but even when the battery was dead, I was still able to open the door and trunk. Worse case, could a lock smith open the door or trunk for me? Please help! I need to get my car working. BotXXXXX XXXXXne, I have a master key but I am locked out of my car! Help!

 

Optional Information:
2003 BMW 530i

Already Tried:
I tried to use the remote function on the master key to open both the door and the trunk. That didnt work.

I tried to manually open the driver door and the trunk by manually turning the key. That didnt work.

I tried to turn the key to the left on the drive side door and then lift up on the handle. That didnt work.

And I tried to turn the key to the left (so the key is horizontal) and push the button above the licence plate and that didnt work.

Submitted: 1550 days and 6 hours ago.
Category: BMW
Value: $20
Status: CLOSED
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Expert:  mike replied 1549 days and 21 hours ago.

HI yes it does sound like a dead battery but you will be able to open the trunk or door with the key. I would do the trunk first then you can get to the battery and ck it out. When you insert the key into the trunk you want to turn it maybe to the right or the left can never remember. You turned it so it is horizontal. You need to turn the key with a little force one way or the other you will feel ressistance as there is a rod connected from the lock cylinder to the trunk latch and it will manually pop the latch. Thanks mike

Customer replied 1549 days and 20 hours ago.

Nope. That didnt work. I tried to turn the key in both directions and the trunk didnt open. I used force, in both directions. Since that didnt work, doesnt it mean the alarm system disabled the electrical system and therefore made it so I can open any door or trunk? If so, how do I reset the alarm system so I can get into my car.

 

If you dont think it is an alarm issue, how do I get power to my car so I can open a door or a trunk? It appears my car needs some power in order to open the door or the trunk.

 

Again, this is ridiculous that I cant manually open a door or trunk with a key.

 

By the way I tried to turn the manually in the driver side door in both directions with force and that didnt work either.

 

Help! Any other suggestions? Jim

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Expert:  mike replied 1549 days and 15 hours ago.

Hi there is no reason you can not manually open the trunk or the door has nothing to do with alarm or dead battery. One of those should work. the only way to get power is to open the trunk or the hood. Have you ever used the lock cylinders in the trunk or door. I dont see how both are broke? Mike

Customer replied 1549 days and 15 hours ago.

I have never used the lock cylinders in the trunk or door. I have never had a problem manually opening the trunk or door. If you are telling me that I should be able to open both manually even without power; then that tells me that when the alarm was set off that it somehow disabled the door and trunk. It is too much of a coincidence that when the alarm when off yesterday afternoon and immediately after that occurred, I havent been able to open the door or trunk. It would make since to me that BMW would set up the alarm system that when the alarm goes off that it disabled certain things to make it difficult for a theif to break in. With that said, there should be a way to reset the alarm system with the master key.

Any thoughts? Again, if the door and trunk should be able to open manually and without power, then that narrows the problem down to the alarm going off. Since the alarm went off I have been unable to get into my car.

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Expert:  mike replied 1549 days and 13 hours ago.

Hi Not sure what to tell you the alarm system does not lock you out of your car manually. To reset the alarm you use your key unlock and lock buttons. If there is no battery power that will not work. The alarm CAN NOT LOCK YOU OUT OF THE CAR IF YOU USE YOUR KEY!! USEING IT IN THE LOCK CYCLINDER IS MANUAL DOES NOT NEED POWER AND ALARM DOES NOT BLOCK IT IN ANY WAY!! Mike

Customer replied 1549 days and 12 hours ago.

Guess I will take it to a BMW specialists. Does this sound like something a BMW Technician could figure out from a non dealership service place. I would like to avoid the dealership since as you know they charge significantly more.   I will let you know what I find out. Thanks for my help. This is wierd and again seems like too much of a coincidence that I started having problems immediately after my alarm went off

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Expert:  mike replied 1549 days and 12 hours ago.

Hi yes please let me know what they find. I would reccomend a dealer on this problem as it is a weird issue. May seem like more up frt with the higher labor rate. But a non bmw service center could easyly get lost on trying to fix the problem and charge you the time they have in it. So in the long run you may pay more at the non bmw center. Thanks mike

Customer replied 1549 days and 11 hours ago.

Just curious do you work for a dealership or a non bmw sevice center?

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Expert:  mike replied 1549 days and 10 hours ago.

Hi I work at a bmw center. Mike

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Expert:  mike replied 1546 days and 18 hours ago.

was you able to find out anything yet?

 
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