Driver's Door Lock Woes

[Wubbman]

Hey all, I discovered today that there is an issue w/ my driver's door lock. It will not open from the outside but works fine from the inside. The strange thing is that it started doing it very suddenly.

I came out from church this morning and started to de-ice my car. I unlocked the driver's door w/ the key, opened it, started the car, grabbed my scraper, and shut it. After scrapping some I went to turn on the defrost only to find the door wouldn't open. I couldn't believe that the car had relocked itself but I eventually called AAA. They ended up sending a locksmith, but not before I had discovered that the door was indeed unlocked (I could see the indicator from the otherside). I thought it had frozen shut and poured hot water on it to no avail. Come to think of it I should have known because the handle felt like it was locked but I couldn't grasp what was happening. Anyway, the locksmith came and got the other doors unlocked with little trouble.

Now my question. What kind of costs am I looking at? Could it be that the lock can be repaired? I don't know what happened. I wasn't abusive or anything with the lock and I shut the door like I normally do after I turned the car on. Also, I can hear a slight vibration in the window now when driving and I can hear a slight rattle within the door. Any thoughts would be most appreciated. Thanks.

[Archi]

Sounds like the rod that links the door handle to the actual latch mechanism has come loose.

You could pull off the door panel and see if everything is still attatched.

~Archi

[Wubbman]

Sounds like the rod that links the door handle to the actual latch mechanism has come loose.

You could pull off the door panel and see if everything is still attatched.

~Archi

That would be great if that was it. How exactly do I go about pulling the door panel off? What tools are needed? I assume a mechanic could do though. What are the chances of damaging something else though by doing it myself?

[SKperformance]

It is more than likely a smal plastic clip that breaks over time ,not hard to pop off the door panel.

[Archi]

BEFORE YOU DO THIS BE AWARE THAT SOME OF THESE PLASTIC PIECES MAY BE A BIT OLD AND BRITTLE, SO PRY ON THEM GENTLY WORKING EACH SIDE IF NECCESSARY.

First remove the phillips screw under the felt of the inside door handle:

Remove the two plastic clips at the rear of the door panel using a butter knife or some similar object.

They are wedge type clips....the center piece comes out and unwedges the clip. BE SURE TO ONLY PRY ON THE WEDGE PART...NOT THE ENTIRE CLIP!!!

Pop off the small plastic screw cover near the defroster vent duct with a butter knife and remove the phillips screw:

Pull the inside door handle out a bit and pry the trim piece out with your fingers:

Starting at the bottom of the panel and working up the front and back, wedge your fingers around the panel and pop it away from the door. Once you have it loose, hold the panel out at the bottom a few inches and pull up to free it from the door....You may find it easier to have the window down when you do this....ROLL IT BACK UP BEFORE DISCONNECTING THE WIRES. There were 3 connectors on mine....The courtesy light, window switches, and the trunk/fuel release switches.

Next, carfully peel the plastic off the door while trying to keep as much of the sticky black stuff on the plastic...Keep the adhesive clean and it can be used to stick the plastic back on when you're done. You shouldn't have to pull it off completely.

If the rod has come loose at the outside door handle, you can look through the hole to see if it's still connected...If it is, you'll have to take a few more pieces off to check where it connects to the actual latch.

I'll assume you can take it from here.

Good luck and let us know if you get it fixed.

~Archi

[Wubbman]

Thanks man. I can't say that I'll do it myself (I'm at college right now) but the help is much appreciated.

[lrf125]

That happened to me earlier this year--first the driver's door, then the passenger's door. At one point both doors could't be opened from the outside and it was hard to get in the car! Luckily I have long arms and devised a way to reach from the back seat.... The plastic clips that replace the broken ones cost less than $10. My friend replaced both of them without removing the door panels because he thought it would be easier but it was tricky. He thought the labor involved in having someone else do it would be too expensive. (OK and he likes to figure out mechanical puzzles)

Good luck!