BMW: 318ti 1999 inconsistant door locking, e36 bmw, key in lock

Question
Hi, I do not have remote entry on this car. When I lock the car (using key in lock) from the Hatch or from the passenger door, those doors lock but the driver side door does NOT lock. If I lock the
Driver side door - all doors lock OK.

Same for Unlock - (from the passenger side - only the passenger and hatch doors unlock - not the driver side)

Any ideas?
rick


Answer
Rick,
 This sounds like it was designed that way.  Probably because they dont want to have the keys locked in the car.  If you can turn the driver's side, and all the locks go down, but if you go to the hatch/passenger's door, and only the hatch and passenger's door lock,  That's a sign that ever thing is working, but it wont let you lock yourself out.  It's ironic, because in order to lock the doors, you have to have the keys in your hand, but maybe it was some system a BMW Engineer thought would win a Nobel Prize or something?

 That's all I can tell you, as I have little experience with the E36 BMW's, but you can check out some forums to ask  more questions.  
 www.roadfly.com
 www.bimmerforums.com

 Good luck Rick,
 Josh