Driver's Side Door Lock is Broken

[Tweakin'Sport]

I have a 2000 Explorer Sport with power door locks and a keyless entry pad. When I attempt to unlock the driver's side door with either my key fob or the keyless entry pad, the door will not unlock 90% of the time. I see the little peg move a bit but it won't go up. However, sometimes I get lucky and it will unlock. Also, using the key in the driver's side door will not unlock the door either. I have to unlock the door from the inside using the inside handle. Since the keyless devices were not working, I just assumed that the locking mechanism inside the door was broken. However, since the actual key does not work either, is there something more serious going on? Thanks in advance for any responses.

MIKE

 

[JHEM]

I have exactly the same problem in my wife's 2K XLT with the same remote/keypad setup. Exactly the same symptoms as well, e.g. the lock peg will move slightly, but the door won't unlock with the key, remote or keypad. Like you, I have to reach in from the back door to open it.

It hasn't quite gotten to the point where it happens 90% of the time yet, but I can make it happen 100% of the time by pulling on the exterior door handle while the door is locked, releasing the handle and then attempting to unlock it.

I've just been inside the door attempting to see if any of the linkages are binding, but it appears that there's something wrong with the actual lock itself. Looks like it's going to have to go to the dealer.

James

 

[Tweakin'Sport]

Good luck with that. Does anyone know how difficult it is to change the actual door lock?

 

[Brian_B]

On older fords ( 1st and 2nd gen rangers) you pull a tab on the side of the door by where the lock is. A part slides out and releases the tumbler. Once its loose you wiggle the plastic retainer off and reverse to replace it. Simple.

 

[JHEM]

Good luck with that. Does anyone know how difficult it is to change the actual door lock?

Not sure exactly what you're asking about, but changing the lock cylinder is easy, changing the actual door locking mechanism appears to be a bear given all the linkages and the limited access.

I'm pretty sure I'm going to leave this one to my dealer.

Regards,

James

 

[dunedago]

Same Problem

Wondering if anyone found out exactly what the culprit is on thse damn things. I dotn want to end up going to the dealer having it fixed then have the same thing happen down the road to where i cant fix it. BTW I have a full warranty but the idiots at my dealership end up breaking more than fixing. I rather not make the trip there.

 

[rollinstone]

Here's what I found on my '97 AWD: I removed the driver's side inside door panel and shined a flashlight on the locking mechanism. I could see that a verrrry tiny spring had rusted to the point of breaking. It appears to be the spring that returns and holds the pin to the "up" position. Now, in my case, I am able to unlock the door with the key and the remote. However, each time I shut the door it automatically locks the driver's side door. It's gonna cost $150 for a new locking mechanism. I've just gotten in the habit of using the remote every time I enter the car. I suspect there are variations on this theme. Check out the tiny spring, folks.

 

[stubborn1]

I had a similar problem on my 98.

It turned out that the lock cylinder was fine, but the latch mechanism was bad. The latch was binding and not allowing the linkages to travel the full distances and lock/unlock like they should have. WD 40 didn't work either to loosen it up. The latch was about $30 but it took a good 2 hours to replace. The passenger side only took me 30 minutes. There's a big learning curve with all the linkages in the door.

If you aren't afraid to pop off the door panel, the work isn't that hard. One suggestion I have is to pop the passenger door trim also but leave everything intact as a reference for reassembly.

 

[heyok]

Door won't unlock - posible solution

Have a look at this thread: http://www.explorerforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=135023
I posted a fix there but want to add one more thing. Reusing the original spring worked for a short time, but broke, probably because it was a little too wide and got hit when closing the door. I found a smaller dia spring and it has been fine. Sure beats spending $170 or whatever at a dealership for a repair.

 

[oxnardexplo]

Hell0, having the exact same problem on my 98' explorer sport. There are some good suggestions here, however, i'm unable to get my driver side door open (hence i can't take off the panel). are there any suggestions on how to manually unlock the door? I've tried the keyfob, the actual key, the power locks, and the inside handle (nothing seems to work.) Thanks.

 

[rebelexplorer]

hello all, I am having a similar problem with my 2000 sport. the driver side door will not unlock with the key fob or the keypad, and now the key will not unlock it. I have to keep reaching through from the passengers side or leave it unlocked. but then yesterday when I opened it from inside and then shut the door back, the lock just dropped to the locked position. any ideas? thanks in advance

 

[rebelexplorer]

just another side note on my 2000, the rear lift gate will only unlock with the key fob or keypad, and not with the key.!?!?!?! not really a bad thing at this point but with the fronts acting up, I am afraid it is only a matter of time.

 

[budwich]

Not sure I understand your statement "not with the key"... does your key turn in the lift gate lock? or is it "frozen". If it is frozen, then its your tumblers in the lock set.... they get all gummed up and the key fails to "push" the right "levers" on the lock set to allow it to turn. If it turns but doesn't unlock, then they latch lever to lock mechanism is disconnected / broken. As far as upi door, the latch lever to both the key and activator sound like it has disconnect.... you need to get inside the door (same with the lift gate) and check things out.

 

[stol]

My driver side door would only unlock by pulling the door handle from the inside. After removing the interior panel, I couldn't see anything wrong with the linkage. After playing around with it for a few weeks I noticed that if you held up one of the linkages a little bit when it was locked, it would unlock fine.

There is a little plastic clip (I think yellow) that holds one rod to another, undoing the clip and moving the rod a little bit up, and reconnnecting the clip, everything works fine. If you move the rod too much, then it won't lock.

Sorry I can't give more detail, it was about 6 months ago.

 

[Turdle]

http://www.explorerforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=165081&highlight=door+handle

Here you go for a good picture

to fix correctly, outside handle needs replaced

 

[stol]

WOW, that's great. It took me quite a while to figure out that the clip even came apart.

 

[SS Camaro]

I had the same problem in my wife's 98 Explorer; it was the actual lock giving me problems. I had removed it several times and replaced it with others. I finally determined it was the yellow clip mentioned above, but moving the bar coming down from the outside handle did nothing, the lever the bar clips into MUST be all the way up for the door to lock and unlock properly. You can either purchase a new lock or try to rig it. I used a small spring that I think came from inside the locks when I removed them. I used the loop end on the top of the arm and fed the straight piece thru the top of the lock and bent it over to hold it in place. Been working great every since. Hope this helps.

 

[Doublewide]

I have a 2000 Explorer Sport with power door locks and a keyless entry pad. When I attempt to unlock the driver's side door with either my key fob or the keyless entry pad, the door will not unlock 90% of the time. I see the little peg move a bit but it won't go up. However, sometimes I get lucky and it will unlock. Also, using the key in the driver's side door will not unlock the door either. I have to unlock the door from the inside using the inside handle. Since the keyless devices were not working, I just assumed that the locking mechanism inside the door was broken. However, since the actual key does not work either, is there something more serious going on? Thanks in advance for any responses.

MIKE

I had this exact problem. I went through and tried all the suggestions in this thread that were relevant. None worked for me. So i took brake clean and saturated the door latch. Just under the latch is where a pulley system from the piston to the lock button and the inside door handle. Let that dry and used a liberal amount of spray lube. I then did a sequence of locking and unlocking with the power lock button and the inside door handle. It worked.

I'll report back if it fails on me, so far so good.

 

[skoville]

Welllll... they want $400 to put in a water pump, so I'm a member of the wiggle. rattle, whack. and crawl in the passenger side club for a while. There was a time I would do it myself, just a little more difficult now.