Door NOT Locking

[tompass]

Plenty of info regarding front doors not unlocking but my door will NOT lock. Actuator seems to be working fine but lock does not engage. Can not lock door with key either. The black button does not seem to even be able to forced to go down far enough to engage the lock. Any suggestions would be most appreciated.

 

[celly]

Damn, another door issue in the 2nd gen.

With all the problems I'm having, I can still use a key. It started getting sticky both up and down the other day and I used some of that graphite lock lube you can get at any automotive place. Now mine works fine. Now I just have to re-secure my actuator and I could use keyless entry/locking again!

 

[tompass]

Very frustrating and the concern is leaving items in car with driver's door unlocked.

 

[celly]

Very frustrating and the concern is leaving items in car with driver's door unlocked.

Can't hurt to try the lube. Also, open up the good side and compare it with the bad side to see what's wrong. There are lots of easy fixes to solve these annoying issues.

 

[tompass]

Believe it or not, the lube worked. I took the panel off and nothing seemed to be broken but there is a short rod that mechanically activates the locking mechanism. I worked it up and down, lubed the area, and worked it several times more. Lubed the latch and now works fine. Of course, I was stuggling to get panel put back in place by myself so I went to auto glass shop and that put everything back together for $50. A little more patience and I could have gotten it done. Oh well. I did order the elastic piece that is sold on line that attached to bottom of locking rod and up to one of the rivets on door handle. If the loose handle annoys me, I will take it apart again and install that piece. It is intended as an alternative to fabricating a spring. Thanks!

 

[celly]

Ouch, $50 to put your door back together? You was raped! With practice, you can have it back in a about a minute or two. I got lots of practice swapping speakers a few times.

At least your lock works. I didn't open up my door to lube mine with the graphite stuff. Just a little squirt in the keyhole is all it took.

 

[tompass]

Sure did but the good news is that they did not put sand in the vaseline. I think the minimum labor charge is 1/2 hour at this shop. That sort rod I referred to is likely the connection from the key cylinder to latch. I think it snapped off because inserting the key will electronically open the locks but not open the front door mechanically such as it is on passenger side. Handle is still loose but I address that down the road.

 

[celly]

Handle is still loose but I address that down the road.

The handle thing is annoying, but it will keep working. I haven't tried tracking down a new one yet because despite the fact they're cheap and not bad to replace, they're not available pre-painted in my colour anymore and I want it colour matched. I'll just live with the flabby handle for now. There is a guy from Australia who posted a fix on the site a few months ago. I may attempt it some day (involves using some different springs to bring the tension back). Very lame design that the springs can't be replaced as is.

 

[tompass]

There is a guy online that sells the fix along with other quick fixes for common problems. It is a simple piece of pre-cut elastic that has loops at both ends. One side goes under the rod that operates the latch and other is attached to a inside rivet on door handle. Very simple but claims to be effective.

 

[celly]

There is a guy online that sells the fix along with other quick fixes for common problems. It is a simple piece of pre-cut elastic that has loops at both ends. One side goes under the rod that operates the latch and other is attached to a inside rivet on door handle. Very simple but claims to be effective.

Got a link?

 

[tompass]

Here ya go:

http://www.fixyourford.com/index.html