Lock mechanism

Door lock actuators fail when debris and dust gets caught in them—causing them to jam. The actuators are also prone to electrical failures.

The soft-closing drive motors—fitted to some luxury models—are particularly problematic.

Door lock actuators secure & lock the vehicle’s doors and hatch/bootlids. Some luxury BMWs offer soft-closing doors, the actuators in these systems are more advanced, featuring a separate drive motor that attaches to the actuator with cables.

There is typically only one variant of door lock actuator (for each position) within any given model generation. But some luxury models will have a soft-close option—which use different actuators. Boot/hatch locks can be more complicated.

The best way to determine fitment compatibility of a lock actuator is to match the BMW part numbers from the catalogue. This can be done by decoding your vehicle’s VIN in a BMW EPC (electronic part catalogue.)

If you don’t have access to an EPC, provide our team with your vehicle’s 17-digit VIN—and we’ll check our stock for a compatible match.

Door & boot lock actuators are generic components—BMW will typically use the same actuators across their entire line up. Therefore they are highly interchangeable between models.