[Nezil]

Originally Posted by ASAP

This is a real odd choice of a retrofit for a 2 series... albeit I appreciate the effort.

You don't find the frameless doors often require a second attempt at closing them? Sure, you get used to it, but passengers often don't want to slam doors when they first get it in and end up struggling.

Of course, I'm making excuses for wanting to tinker with the car anyway...

[Nezil]

So I promised I'd come back with some feedback on the cheaper Chinese units on sale on eBay for much less than the OEM part...

The answer is... at least for me... it didn't even work!

The first problem I had was with fitting. I'm not sure if it's a tolerance issue or not, but the cheaper lock was far more difficult to move in to place and secure, whereas the genuine passenger side lock fit like a glove. I was able to get the lock fitted in the end, and the door did close and line up correctly, but that's when I ran in to the next issue.

The next problem was that the motor mechanics would move the lock to the fully closed position, but then rather than springing back to their original location in the lock ready for the next time, they got stuck in that position and in that situation the motor runs, but doesn't pull anything because the Bowden cable is already taught. I actually tried improving this by putting a cable tie in place to sort of act as an additional spring to pull things back after the close, and this fixed this, but it's hardly a solution. I'm prepared to believe that this might be an isolated problem with the lock I received, but I was already dissatisfied with the part by this point.

The last, and perhaps most important issue was that the lock just wouldn't pull the door shut. You can see in the video below that it tries, but it just doesn't succeed. In most cases it just stops in the part closed position but in some cases it would just keep trying.

I have a feeling that this is caused by the fact that our 2er frameless doors need quite a bit more force to close than a typical BMW framed door. The OEM lock seems quite capable of doing that, but perhaps these cheaper ones don't?

In any case, I managed to get a refund from the eBay seller and have now ordered another used genuine part for nearly double the price. Once that arrives I'll update here with the results.

[FaRKle!]

Oh boy, even the Dremel came out? What required some extra fitting?

[Nezil]

Originally Posted by FaRKle!

Oh boy, even the Dremel came out? What required some extra fitting?

Eagle eyes!

That was just actually just for trimming the connector to fit better. I had to do the same on the OEM part as well.

No BMW original parts were harmed in the making of that video

[Nezil]

New (used) front driver door lock arrived today and works perfectly. Install was far easier than the cheaper aftermarket version presumably because the tolerances are better. The motor also has plenty of power to pull the door closed against the pressure of the glass against the door seal.

Having to use genuine Kiekert locks and motors does increase the cost a bit, but I'm happy with the result.

[dtmurf]

Originally Posted by Nezil

New (used) front driver door lock arrived today and works perfectly. Install was far easier than the cheaper aftermarket version presumably because the tolerances are better. The motor also has plenty of power to pull the door closed against the pressure of the glass against the door seal.

Having to use genuine Kiekert locks and motors does increase the cost a bit, but I'm happy with the result.

Nezil, as we’re talking about ebay purchases, is there a way to connect power to the locks ‘on the bench’ so to speak? I’d hate to tear the door apart only to discover the lock was bad.

[Nezil]

Originally Posted by dtmurf

Nezil, as we’re talking about ebay purchases, is there a way to connect power to the locks ‘on the bench’ so to speak? I’d hate to tear the door apart only to discover the lock was bad.

Sure... the soft close motor is very ‘dumb’. It has power and simply responds to the signal from the door lock that the door is half closed... that’s it. If you power up the motor on the bench you can use a screwdriver blade or similar to move the striker plate to half close and it will operate.

My cheaper eBay unit did move when I tested it before fitting, but also showed its locking up behaviour. I thought it might get better after fitting but it didn’t. The genuine parts fell heavier and stronger.

[dtmurf]

All-right-then, off to ebay I go lol

[Nezil]

Originally Posted by dtmurf

All-right-then, off to ebay I go lol

Try to confirm from photos that the motor has kiekert logo around the rounded section on it on one side. Kiekert is also stamped on the metal of the strike body section but it's probably clearer on the motor cover.

This image, for example shows the Kiekert AG logo on the plastic:

And this one does not:

[dtmurf]

Got it, will do and thanks!

[Drifter2090]

Thanks for the write up! Will definitely be doing this mod

[BadgerDog]

Originally Posted by Nezil

You don't find the frameless doors often require a second attempt at closing them? Sure, you get used to it, but passengers often don't want to slam doors when they first get it in and end up struggling.

Of course, I'm making excuses for wanting to tinker with the car anyway...

Interestingly I find that mine dont require a lot of force to close really. Less so than other cars I have owned. I've always attributed that at least in part to the auto-roll-down of the window when the door is opened (that quarter inch movement it makes).

That being said, I can also totally understand how this would be a nice to have that makes the car feel a bit more "luxury" than not having it.

[dtmurf]

Using all the info provided by Nezil, I completed this mod and while it is nice to have, it is a PITA to accomplish!

Nezil, is missed around here, he provided a bunch of good info on this and other mods but I think he sold his M2 and moved on from posting here.