Power Door lock problem

[cri33]

Seems like power door locks are a problem for some people. Well count me one of them. The driver side pdl seems to have called it quits and the car only has 46K on it. Its a 2007. Nothing says quality like having a problem with not even 50K on it. I can hear a motor humming but cannot lock or unlock with the remote. I cannot use the key to lock either. I also cannot lock the door from the inside with the plastic lever. So basically I cannot lock the door at all. The other doors are ok so far. I noticed with the other doors I could flip the plastic lever on the inside of the door with those doors open. Can't do it with the drivers door. I got the door panel pulled out with the help of YouTube. But I am reluctant to start peeling off the weatherstripping unless it is going to be worth the trouble (and possible damage to the material). On top of it all I heard getting the door panel on just right is a bear. So anyone have any ideas? Anyone want to buy the car!?

[zetecDon]

Moved to "General Technical Chat".

[elsolo]

The mechanical latch assembly sounds broken.
It is not difficult to replace.


Removing the door panel is incredibly simple, and the weathershield behind it comes off easy with a razor blade cutting through the gooey black adhesive. That adhesive will re-stick to itself when you put it back together.

Putting the door panel back on is easier than removing it, you really have to try hard to do it wrong.

[cri33]

I might add that it is no problem to latch the door closed. It is no problem to open the door. Its a big problem to lock the door (and unlock it presumably). It is also very difficult to see inside the door since it is mostly covered by inner skin. I have peeled the weatherstripping back just a bit.

[elsolo]

Probably broke a little lever, like the person that posted this pic here before

[cri33]

And that looks like the actuator. Hmm...

I think when that is fixed I will disable the auto lock feature that locks the doors when the car starts to move. That would save a lot of wear on the actuators, etc. How does one do that the easy way?