Sc400 Door Will Not Unlock

[polarbreeze]

Oh no, how do I get out of this one?! SC400, 1995. My driver's side door will not unlock. Here are the symptoms:

The interior lock button (the piece with the big red blob on it) will not pull outwards ( ie towards me as I'm sitting in the seat). If I try to pull it manually, it moves a quarter-inch or so but then won't move any further. Something is stopping it. If I try to unlock it with the remote, it tries to move a bit but, again, won't go any further. If I try to unlock it with the button on the door armrest, it does the same thing as with the remote. If I try to unlock from the outside using the key, same thing again - something seems to be stopping the key turning far enough to unlock it.

Therefore, because it remains stubbornly locked, neither the interior handle nor the exterior handle has any effect and will not open the door - they don't show any resistance, as you indeed would expect when the door is locked.

My tech told me it was probably just jammed and if I squirt WD40 at it, through the handle holes, or down from the open window, I might be able to free it. But I tried that and nothing happens. It doesn't feel like it's jammed, it feels more like something is blocking it. But I can hear something clicking near the door mechanism when I try to unlock (in any fashion) - it's just that it only moves a little way (whether manually or electrically), then stops .

I'm sure if I could get inside the door I could figure out what's going on but, of course, I can't get inside the door because while it's closed I can't get the interior trim off! Help, can anyone give me a tip how to make some progress on this one?!!

Thanks,

Howard

PS - it occurred to me that there may be some kind of anti-theft interlock that blocks the unlock lever and perhaps that's what's malfunctioning - does that make any sense and if so how could I disable that?