So today i got home from some errands i had to run, walked around to get my daughter out of her car seat, as i pushed the unlock button on my key fob i pulled the handle of the door at the same time. nothing happened. i pushed unlock again and opened tried to open the door again.. nothing. i open my passenger door and reach in and try to open the door, nothing still. then i tired to manually unlock it and found that the unlock lever was jammed in the unlock position and wont budge. so i took my car to my girlfriends dads shop (hes a locksmith) and we tried for about 45 minutes and nothing worked. has anybody had this happen to them, and if so what did you do to fix this. i know the door handle isnt broken like they tend to do but its more like the rods on the inside of the door got jammed together or something. thanks in advance. im trying to find pictures of the insdie of the door as well, about to search for it but if anyone can post links to pictures please post em
Door wont open
- Thread starter Ls208
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drag214
Well-Known LVC Member
Take the door panel off.
Make sure you get all the screws. They are hidden. The rest of the panel is secured with tabs that snap in place. Roll the window up and everything will be in plain sight.
Make sure you get all the screws. They are hidden. The rest of the panel is secured with tabs that snap in place. Roll the window up and everything will be in plain sight.
TheArchaic1
Active LVC Member
How do you get at the screws to take the door panel off if you can't get the door open?
I had a similar problem with an old contour that I had. The child lock got bumped and only engaged half way and it caused the door to not open or lock. I had to take the door off to fix the problem, and that sucked @ss!!
drag214
Well-Known LVC Member
Yeah! Good point. I haven't had this problem yet. (knock on wood).
drag214
Well-Known LVC Member
So I've been thinking about it...
There are 3 screws along the botom of the door, 2 in the handle, near the ash tray and I beleave there is one more near the latch. You can't just pull the top of the door panal back cause of the leaver of the door handle covers the upper portion of the door panel. There's gotta be a way. At this point I would probably fold and make a trip to the dealer.
This is a really crapy deal. I'm stumped. Sorry I can't be more help.
There are 3 screws along the botom of the door, 2 in the handle, near the ash tray and I beleave there is one more near the latch. You can't just pull the top of the door panal back cause of the leaver of the door handle covers the upper portion of the door panel. There's gotta be a way. At this point I would probably fold and make a trip to the dealer.
This is a really crapy deal. I'm stumped. Sorry I can't be more help.
yea its really frustrating, i was actually just looking at door panels on ebay last night, if it comes down to it i will just rip my door panel apart and buy a new one for 70 bucks, it will probably still be cheaper then going to the dealership. and i also think that the child lock is on too. gonna go out and mess with it some more in a minute.
Lincoln Jealous
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i think they are actually called door "skins", panels are the outside
no luck once again. but i was looking at the other door and was thinking that maybe the striker plate can be taken off from the out side of the car. do you think the wheel well lining can be removed and the the bolts that hold the plate can be seen from there? and cut then off off and punch them out and the the door would be free to swing open, it seems like it would work just fine in my mind, but then againg things harldy ever go that easy. if you guys know if the bolts can be seen after removing the lining please let me know.
Lincoln Jealous
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no you couldnt do that, its not bolts, it screws into metal frame, try to unplug the battery, then redo it, just keep hiting the key fob buttons, and clicking on the inside of the door, and keep puling the handle, it willl unstick
drag214
Well-Known LVC Member
Sounds like that maybe posible. I don't have my LS here righ now to check it out. I can see it being a pain getting the heads of the screws off. I would go with Lincoln Jealous's advise and keep jiggling the handle rolling the window up and down and pressing the lock and unlock button. Eather your latch is stuck or the cable is cought on something. Avoid cutting anything.
Outkast
Dedicated LVC Member
you won't like the answer here, but I'd probably just destroy the inner door panel and find a junkyard replacement for it...just pull your backseat out and get out as many screws as you can, and start pulling on it. maybe it will bend and the top will give way so you can reach in and unlock it...a junkyard door panel has to be cheaper than a visit to the stealership, and prolly less of a headache than having to redrill and tap the striker plate.
thanks for the advice and help guys, later today me and my girlfriends dad are going to take it to his shop and work at it. i can get the top part of the door pulled off and have enough room to get our hands in there, hopefully he knows what to do after that. he said he's unllocked cars with this problem before it just takes a long time and a little bit of luck.