Page 821 of 1002
Downloaded from www.Manualslib.com manuals search engine
411-3
Doors
4 Pull up on locking clip and remove connector.
4 With door fully open, unscrew pin bolts (arrow) from top and
bottom hinges.
Disconnect door
check by squeezing mounting pin tabs
(arrow) and driving pin up.
Remove door by lifting up off lower hinge halves.
CAUJION-
Be careful not to damage door or otherpainted body surfac-
es.
Make sure no load is placed on wirinq harness.
Installation is reverse of removal. Keep in mind the following:
Mount and align rear doors first, followed by the front
doors.
Align door so that panel gaps are equal on either side, see
specifications at the end of this procedure. If necessary,
adjust door hinges. See Door hinge adjustment.
* Adjust door striker so that trailing edge of front door is
slightly higher
(I mm 10.04 in.) than leading edge of rear
door. See
515 Central Locking and Anti-Theft.
Repair any paint damage and paint any exposed metal.
Page 822 of 1002

Downloaded from www.Manualslib.com manuals search engine
Doors
~obr adjustment
Front fender to
4.25 mm i 0.25 mm (0.17 i- 0.01 in)
front door gap
Front
door to 4.5 mm i 0.25 mm (0.18 i 0.01 in)
rear door gap
Rear door to rear fender 4.0 mm i 0.25 mm (0.16 i 0.01 in)
Permissible deviation 1 .O mm (0.04 in)
from
~arallel
Tightening torque
Door hinge to door frame
20 Nm (15 it-lb)
Door check, replacing
WARNING -
E39 cars are fitted with side-impact airbags in the front doors
and optional side impact
airbags in the rear doors. When
servicing doors, always disconnect the negative
(-) battery
terminal. See
721 Airbag System (SRS) for cautions and
procedures relating to the
airbag system.
- Close door window completely.
- Disconnect negative (-) battery cable.
CAUTION-
Prior to disconnecting the batter)! read the battery discon-
nection cautions given in
001 General Cautions and
Warnings.
- Remove interior door panel. See Door trim panels, remov-
ing and installing.
- Where applicable, remove side-impact airbag from door. See
721 Airbag System (SRS). Remove door vapor barrier.
Disconnect door
check by
(arrow) and removing pin. squeezing I mounting
pin tabs
Page 825 of 1002
Downloaded from www.Manualslib.com manuals search engine
WARNING -
E39 cars are fitted with side-impact airbags in the front doors
and optional side impact
airbags in the rear doors. When
servicing doors, always disconnect the negative
(-) battery
terminal. See
721 Airbag System (SRS) for cautions and
procedures relating to the
airbag system.
Door trim panel, removing and installing
Disconnect negative (-) battery cable.
CAUTION--
Prior to disconnecting the battem read the batfew discon-
nection cautions given in
001 General Cautions and warn-
ings.
Q Open door, and remove screw (arrow) located
in air
duct.
< Pry out seat memory switch and disconnect wiring harness.
Page 830 of 1002
Downloaded from www.Manualslib.com manuals search engine
41 2-2
Trunk Lid, Tailgate
This repair group covers trunk lid and tailgate removal and in-
stallation. Also included here are replacement proceduresfor
the gas-charged support struts that hold the trunk lid or tail-
gate in the open position.
NO JE -
The body is painted at the factory after assembly. Realign-
ment of body panels may expose unpainted metal. Paint all
exposed metal once the
work is complete.
Trunk lid, removing and installing
4 Raise trunlc lid.
Open tool ltit cover and remove screws attaching tool kit to
trunlc lid (black arrows).
Disconnect tool ltit cover retaining strap from
trunk lid and
remove tool kit.
Remove insulating liner expansion rivets (white arrows).
4 Pry out moulded trim cover (arrow).
Page 852 of 1002

Downloaded from www.Manualslib.com manuals search engine
-
Exterior Trim, Bumpers
This repair group includes repair information for the outside
rearview mirrors, front and rear bumpers, and the easily re-
movable exterior trim parts.
Many of the mirror components are separately available from
an authorized
BMW dealer, including the glass and outside .
plastic housing.
The
E39 models offered two types of outside mirrors, stan-
dard mirrors or automatic dip mirrors.
Outside mirror glass, replacing
CAUTIOI\C
Mirrorshould be at or above room temperature before remov-
al.
Othe~lise, small plastic parfs or glass may break.
Outside mirror glass without automatic dip control,
replacing
Insert thin pry tool (plastic or tape-wrapped screwdriver) be-
tween bottom mirror edge and mirror housing and carefully
pry out mirror glass from housing.
If equipped with heated mirrors: remove heating element
har.
ness connectors from back of mirror glass.
Installation: Connect mirror heating harness if equipped.
Ensure correct alignment of locking pins.
Press mirror glass firmly until it
locks in place.
Page 866 of 1002

Downloaded from www.Manualslib.com manuals search engine
51 2-2
I Door Windows 1
This repair group covers door glass, window regulator and
power window motor repair information.
CA U JIO&
All E39 models are equipped with side-impact airbags in the
front doors. Some models are also equipped with
airbags in
the rear doors. Be sure to read the
airbag warnings and cau-
tions in 721
Airbag System (SRS).
Electric window switch replacement is covered in 612
Switches.
The windshield, rear window, fixed rear doorglass, and cargo
compartment glass (Sport Wagon only) are bonded using
special adhesives and tools. It is recommended that bonded
glass replacement be done by an authorized
BMW service fa-
cility or an automotive glass installer.
Special tools
Some window repair operations require special tools.
Power windows
- Power window features in E39 models include:
Control of the front and rear door window motors is carried
out directly by the General Module (GM
Ill).
One-touch operation in both directions on all four windows.
Cable type window regulator used for all door windows.
. Anti-trap protection provided by pressure sensitive finger
guard.
Right front and each rear door has a single window switch
located in door handle trim.
Rear door window switches can be deactivated by press-
ing child lock-out switch in the driver's window switch block.
Convenience closinglopening of the windows from driver's
loci( cylinder or convenience opening only from remote un-
lociting feature (FZV) remote key.
Window (FZV) operation can be owner customized with
Car Memory function. See 515 Central Locking and Anti-
Theft.
After ignition is switched off, electric windows can be oper-
ated until a door is opened or until
I6 minutes has elapsed.
The GM
IiI bases window motor end position on current
draw (load). There is a maximum window motor run time of
6 seconds. The motor is then switched off even if the end
position load sensor fails.
Page 869 of 1002

Downloaded from www.Manualslib.com manuals search engine
Door windows1
Window motor limit stop function
If repeated window activation (upldown cycles) exceeds one
minute, the
GM Ill deactivates the internal relays and disre-
gards any further
upldown requests. The GM Ill provides mo-
tor activation after a short duration but not for the full one
minute monitoring cycle.
The
GM Ill monitors the number of times a window motor is
activated. It counts each cycle and stores the number in
memory. Afler the stop function limit is reached and the win-
dow motor is deactivated, the
GM Ill slowly reverses the
stored count of activation until the stored number equals
0,
thus allowing the window motor to cool down.
WARNING-
* Always wear hand and eye protection when working with
brolen glass.
If a window is brolen, all of the glass bits should be
vacuumed out of the door cavity. Use a blunt
so-ewdi-iv-
er to clean out any remaining glass pieces from the
window guide rails.
When servicing the door windows, the harness con-
nector to the window regulator should always be dis-
connected to prevent pinching fingers in the moving
window mechanism.
Sedan and Sport Wagon doors are similar. Use the following
procedures for window service on these models.
WARNING-
E39 cars are iitted with side-impact airbags in the front
doors. Some are equipped with
airbags in the rear doors
as well. When
servicing the door windows on cars with
side-impact airbags, always disconnect the negative
(-)
battery cable. See 721 Airbag System (SRS) for cau-
tions and procedures relating to the
airbag system.
* Prior to disconnecting the battery, read the battery dis-
connection cautionsgiven
001 General Warnings and
Cautions.
Page 872 of 1002

Downloaded from www.Manualslib.com manuals search engine
51 2-8
Door Windows
Door window, adjusting
Whenever the door window or window regulator is removed,
window adjustment should be checked. The glass should
contact the top of the window squarely and should seat
against the window seal uniformly.
NOTE-
If the window does not contact the window seal uniformly,
wind noise or water infiltration may result.
- Remove door panel as described in 411 Doors.
- Disconnect negative (-) cable from battery. Remove airbag
unit and vapor barrier from door. See 721 Airbag System
(SRS).
WARNING-
Prior to disconnecting the batteg read the battery discon-
nection cautions given in
001 General Warnings and
Cautions.
Longitudinal adjustment
- Adjustments are made with window in open position.
Loosen window guide rail mounting nuts (arrows), but do not
remove.
Slide window glass in longitudinal direction to adjust
Tighten guide rail nuts.
Tightening torque
Window regulator guide rail to door
10 Nrn (89 in-ib)