Help Needed, Driver door won't open

[diesel_s]

So yesterday morning I went out to my 2001 Sport to start it and let it warm up and when I reached for the door handle, nothing happened, it wouldnt open. I went in the passenger side and it opened up, I closed the door again, now it won't open from either side, now i know I can get the door off but how would I go about repairing it?

 

[danwaters]

happens to my driver side door sometimes. The linage binds up in the door somehow and the lock will not release. It doesnt happen enough for me to crack into it yet. Go in from the hatch to open the doors and pull the pannels off and see whats going on

 

[ERUSH97XLT]

This happened to me twice, once with my '97 and once with my '01. Apparently, from what the dealer told me, there is a poorly designed lock actuator and latch linkage assembly that will cause both interior and exterior handles to become inoperable. It's a long fix: I had the dealer do it and the charged me close to $1000 per job. The parts were about $100, but the labor was steep. I guess tinkering around with the door mechanics is tedious. . .

ERUSH

 

[diesel_s]

I looked into it yesterday and it seems as though the latch its self has gone bad because the latch is suppose to create a resistance to the outside drivers door handle, but it isnt. Seems as though it isn't releasing all the way, and I think the actuator is fine, I'm going to the junkyard today to pull out another one from another X, i would take it off of my project ex thats in the driveway, but then I would have to put the crappy one on it and thats a pain in the ass.......I'll do it myself, I called the dealer and asked the charge, they told me over 800 bucks, so i said no because once I opened it up to look into it, it can be done in less than an hour, so why pay the dealer

 

[askingxforxit]

I'm having the same problem right now on my '01. Please post pics and part numbers with a write up on how you fix it. Ill end up doing it myself too cuz id rather spend $800 on new tires and rims rather than fixing the damn door.

 

[hunterdan]

A new latch goes for about $45 at the dealer. Replaced one on my sport a few years back. I also replaced the exterior door handle at the same time because of a broken spring. Altogether took about 2 hours to replace the handle and latch and about an hour to get the door open by using a screwdriver popping the latch open. Had to pull both front seats and the drivers side door panel with the drivers door closed.

Dan