BMW 3 Series Door Handle Issues Draining Battery?

Hey! I have some experience with cars and had a similar issue with my 2005 BMW 5 series. The symptoms were exactly like what you're describing. Initially tried replacing the key fob battery, but that wasn't the problem. Took it to my regular workshop, and they found a faulty cable connection in the door handle electronics. The fix cost me 95 Euro and solved both the keyless entry and error messages. Before I share more specific details, could you share: Which engine variant you have? Are you having this issue with all door handles or just one? Does your key fob still work for locking/unlocking manually?

Thanks for your help! I've got the gasoline model with 120527 KM on the clock. The issue is actually happening with all door handles, and the key fob still works manually when I press the buttons. Since my last service, I've been having little electrical gremlins here and there, but this is the first major one. I'm hoping it's just a wiring issue like yours was. Did your mechanic mention how long the repair typically takes?

Hey again! Thanks for the extra details about your car. Since we have pretty similar BMW models, I can tell you more about my experience now. When I had this fixed, my mechanic took about 2-3 hours total. The wiring issue was pretty common for these models from what he told me. In my case, they had to strip down the door panels to access the wiring harness, sounds scary but it's actually routine work for them. The electrical gremlins you mentioned after your service caught my attention, had the exact same thing! Small stuff like occasional warning lights and the central locking acting weird. Turned out all of these issues were connected to the same wiring problem. Once they fixed the door handle wiring, those other little quirks disappeared too. My advice would be to get it checked soon though. When I waited around with mine, it started draining the battery faster, and that's not something you want to deal with, especially with our BMW electronics being so sensitive. Quick tip, while you're waiting to get it fixed, just make sure to check your battery voltage regularly. I learned that the hard way when mine died in the middle of all this! Let me know how it goes with the repair. Really interested to hear if it's the same issue as mine.

Thanks so much for all the detailed info! This is exactly what I needed to hear. It's actually a relief knowing your mechanic only took 2-3 hours to fix it, and that it solved all those little electrical issues too. I was worried it might be something major requiring days in the shop. I'll definitely take your advice about getting it checked soon. I hadn't thought about checking the battery voltage, but that's a smart move, don't want to end up stranded somewhere! Think I'll book it in for next week. The price you mentioned sounds reasonable too, way better than I was expecting for a BMW repair. Really appreciate you taking the time to share your experience. The similarities between our issues are pretty striking, so I'm feeling pretty confident now about what I'm dealing with. Will let you know how it turns out when I get it fixed!