BlackOp

OK...I f@cked up. It was dark last night and thought my door was un-locked. I pulled the outside handle trigger (which is always a bit stiff) and disengaged something. Now neither the exterior nor interior handle willl open the door. The door lock doesnt move with the key and wont move by hand. The trigger is staying flat inside the external handle...

My question is how do I now get the door actually open to remove the handle? I installed script handles two years ago and am NOT looking forward to doing this again.

J Berk

if you search on my screen name you'll find a thread I started from about 2 years ago on a similar subject.

Long story short...the way I was able to get the door opened is as follows:

facing the door panel from inside the car, you will note that there is a thin run of metal along the inner door jam around the door.

In the area where the door latches, very carefully bend this back so that with a very thin scewdriver (and a flashlight) you can see the latch mechanism...and using the screwdriver you will be able to unlatch the door.

Learn how the latch works by studying the passenger side door's latch.

The down side to this is that when you bend the tab on the door jam back, you'll have some cracked interior paint...but it's the only way I could get my door opened to fix it...

BlackOp

Thanks...I found your thread. I think my situation may be a combination of the white plastic piece getting stretched/broken then the handle/lock spring becoming dislodged. There is no way to tell until I get the door open.

This really sucks as I park my car on the street and since I dont know what happened, am concerned about not being able to re-lock it. My locks are manual..

Can you tell me exactly what you pried to disengage the door? Was it the little "claw"? Did you force it up then push?

This BLOWS! I hate the way these handles are designed!

J Berk

I honestly don't remember...but as I recall...it was easy to see when you tried it on the opened passenger door.

And once I figured out how to get it opened...and realized I did not have the part to fix what was broken....I closed it again...and opened it a week later with the same method once the part had arrived.

BlackOp

Well...I took a look at it. Is the metal strip you are talking about under the black plastic, lining trim? Did you take off your door panel first?

Oh, and thanks BTW....

J Berk

That is the correct metal strip.....if you grab it with a set of vise-grips with some rags in the teeth you can do it without making a mess....and only bend back what you must to get a the latch. Again...judge this from comparing to the door you can open.

You really can't take off the door panel with the door closed....well...you can...but you're going to bend the crap out of the bottom of the cardboard panel. Ask me how I know !

BlackOp

I messed with the door latch today.. on the driver's side. The one that's functioning. While open, I pushed the little "claw" latch to the locked position...to see how to pop it open on the passenger side. Once it was flipped down, like when it is actually closed and holding the door shut,...it wouldnt disengage.

I just want to confirm this was what you did to open your door. Was your interior handle inoperative and locks stuck in the "locked" position? From what I saw...it didnt look like a screwdriver would do the trick.

Would having someone "jimmy" it work? The lock wont pull up by hand nor will the handles disengage the door. What a pain in the *** this is....

J Berk

I had exactally the same condition

I had accidentally hit the power lock button on theconaole one day and my driver side door locked and would not unlock

the little claw should be able to dissengage ....I thnk there was a trick to this but it is precisely what I did....just can't remember the 'trick'.

Will try looking at my door over the weekend to see if it jogs my memory

V2Rocket

i have removed my PS door panel from the inside with the door closed without damage. its doable. just take time

BlackOp

I figured it out today....The actual upper "claw" latch isnt the part to move. When the door closes, another metal piece comes up from below and forms a "circle" around the pin. If you push down on this lower piece...it disengages the upper "claw".

J Berk

BINGO!

That's it ! I did not get time to look tonight but it sounds like you've got it !

Mike C.

Just put the window down and get in like the Dukes of Hazard!

Glad you got it fixed.