I've been trying to search but haven't found anything.

I went to get in my car today and my driver's side door won't open - from inside or out. There's no resistance to the handle (i've played with the manual lock mechanism on the side of the door) and I hear nothing when I use the auto lock/unlock...

Anyone have any idea? Or at least how to open the door when it's in this condition? I busted up my knee yesterday so I can't even climb over the console and I'm supposed to be making a road trip today (as in a few hours ago).

 

Did you try your key? Or is it jsut the handle? Maybe the wire on the inside of the panel came off. That is the only thing i can think of for now.

 

Key doesn't work. The manual locker inside doesn't work. Inside and outside handles have no resistance and when I auto lock/unlock I hear no noise inside the door...

Any way I can get the door open? Can I even remove the panel with the door closed?

 

I can't think of how to open it but you might want to give the dealers a call and they can help you w/ that. I hope they tell you.

 

You will have to take it the dealer. My car is headed down that path as well. Your locking mechanism is done. Costs around $600 - $800 at the dealer. There are times when my door will only open with the key. I don't hear a noise either when I try to open it elctronically on occassion.

 

could be a broken wire that connects the handles to the latch.

 

hmm never heard this problem before

 

Just to replace that wire is between $600 to 800 bucks!!! I would never pay that. I would Jerry rig that before i ever pay that price.

 

^ i hope thats not true else that is taking it to a whole another level for the stealership... its an easy thing to do, iv done it on a couple of my old cars and it should not be any different, if u confirm its the wire then get it for $20-60 and DIY or have a local mechanic do it.

 

If it is the wire, it shouldn't be that costly to repair. I was told the locking mechanism itself was going bad and not the wiring. Either way, get it checked out sooner than later.

 

^ but if the locking mechanism was the only thing going bad then in this case he would still feel resistance while pulling on the door handles which is why i believe its the wore it could also be the locking mech. if the remote is not unlocking the door.

 

Hey all, sorry for the delayed response (I finally made it to my destination).

After giving up on the car I went inside to throw things around... I called the dealer and they said it was probably a broken wire and would be $300 for the part and $150 for labor (EABOD, dealer, EABOD)... I then went back outside, hit unlock on my key fob and the door magically opened.

It has been working fine since, but I can only assume whatever happened will come back. When I get back home I will probably pull the panel off and take a look inside. I just bought this car (94k miles now) so who knows what has been done to it. I did notice today that there is some clear plastic hanging below the door pinched between the door and panel. Is this normal or has something been done inside before?

Anyway: the real challenge is pulling the panel off the door if you can't get it open. As far as I can tell this isn't even possible (as the trim hangs between the door and the rest of the car). Anyone have any thoughts/insight?

 

That is still pretty expensive for me. I'll just roll the window down and jump in.

 

Difficulty: I just wrecked my knee and can't bend it (probably a torn LCL... will find out next week... diagnosed by myself though as the GP I went to was borderline retarded and I've had more than my fair share of torn/avulsed tendons/ligaments)... Makes getting in and out very hard. I couldn't even make it over the console as I'm 6'3" and there's no doing that without a bit of flexibility.

 

IIRC, they wrap the door panels (or sections of them) in clear plastic at the factory to protect them during shipping. The dealer removes this during the pre-delivery inspection. Sometimes they get sloppy and don't get all of it out.