Change regular door latch to soft door close

[Prime2016X6-505]

Has anyone attempted to change their regular close door to the soft door close?

[CatalinP]

Yes, I did it. You need the complete door latch mechanism with the actuator motor, new wire harness for the door, socket pins and you need to run 2 wires from each door to the rear fuse box.

[scotty339]

Honestly, depending on the cost, I'd argue its not worth it.

I'd hardly call the F15's "soft close doors" anything but soft close. My wife slams the door with vengeance every time and the soft close hardly catches the door.

The only time I find it handy is when someone does not close the door fully and the latch will complete the process. Or when my dogs are in the back and I don't want to close the door hard, I can push it up against the frame and it will do the rest of the job.

[smyles]

Totally worth it if one can get a used set. I even retrofitted in on my e93 that didn't originally come with it, but is very much needed due to longer doors. It's not supposed to 'catch' the door, but rather 'finish' the closing.

To add to CatalinP comment, you can just tap into the door light wiring. It's not a proper way, but works fine.

One warning, though, you have to develop a habit of waiting a second or two before re-opening the door like when you realize you forgot to get something out as soon as you closed the door. And yes, every time someone slams the door, you'll be noticing it even more...

[skoold2003]

Originally Posted by scotty339

Honestly, depending on the cost, I'd argue its not worth it.

I'd hardly call the F15's "soft close doors" anything but soft close. My wife slams the door with vengeance every time and the soft close hardly catches the door.

The only time I find it handy is when someone does not close the door fully and the latch will complete the process. Or when my dogs are in the back and I don't want to close the door hard, I can push it up against the frame and it will do the rest of the job.

I agree that it's not worth it. The only time it gets used on mine is when I show someone the feature. You have to actually try to close the door soft enough for it to work. It's not like soft close on cabinet drawers where you throw it closed and it guides it in.

[Prime2016X6-505]

Originally Posted by CatalinP

Yes, I did it. You need the complete door latch mechanism with the actuator motor, new wire harness for the door, socket pins and you need to run 2 wires from each door to the rear fuse box.

Was the process relatively easy, how long did it take you to complete?

[turboawd]

Like mentioned. A soft close door closes the same as a regular door. The feature just pulls the door shut if not closed hard enough. Not sure why they even call it 'soft'.

[skoold2003]

Originally Posted by turboawd

Like mentioned. A soft close door closes the same as a regular door. The feature just pulls the door shut if not closed hard enough. Not sure why they even call it 'soft'.

Because you have to close it soft for it to work?

[turboawd]

Originally Posted by skoold2003

Because you have to close it soft for it to work?

Lol

[MK2018]

It's very useful if you have a sleeping baby on board and want to door close quietly then 100% worth it

[CatalinP]

Originally Posted by Prime2016X6-505

Was the process relatively easy, how long did it take you to complete?

About a day worth of work once you have all the parts, pins, wiring etc.

[Carpe_BM]

Originally Posted by MK2018

It's very useful if you have a sleeping baby on board and want to door close quietly then 100% worth it

Also very useful if you have a wife who insists on slamming things to make sure they shut. This car has trained her to be more gentle now :-)

[trjn]

My F15 has it and F10 doesn't. Every time I close the doors in my F10, I just make it touch the frame, then remember I have to slam it shut. My wife is opposite. She slams it shut on f15 and realizes immediately that it has soft close doors. It's just one of those things that once you have it, you will want it. Both my cars are 2015, and both have so many differences, although both are very similarly equipped. Starting from placement of buttons, which is the most annoying part.

I am trying to find info on how to retrofit it in F10.

[DenBel]

Did that retrofit on my e70, went the hard way to run the positive from the fuse box ( to make sure the latch has a fuse), my e70 had Comfort access so it has wiring for the soft close motors! Inside the doors. I love that option, hate slamming the doors, showed my wife how to use it. So if you want it, go for it!

[Qsilver7]

The doors on my f15 are so well balanced that most times the door shuts without the soft-close feature being able to work...and thats even just pulling the door closed so that the soft close actuator catches the door. If the trunk is on level ground...an easy pull of the door to closes it...it just closes naturally.

I thought the feature didn't work because of the above...but after really being careful to STOP the door then really very gently closing it...the soft close kicked in. And I'm comparing this to the soft close doors on my f06 650ix GC...on that car...if I gently pull the door close...it usually gets stopped by the latch, then a soft pull initiates the soft close. When I do that on the X5...the door is already shut.

I mention the above so that if your doors already close real easy...you may find that you have to actually "work' to get the soft close feature to initiate...so you may want to consider if its worth the time and effort.