Stuck driver's door

[bsimonson]

I accidentally pushed my driver's side door closed with the door locked. The result is an almost-shut door and a lock that cannot be unlocked. I've removed the door panel and I can reach into most parts of the mechanism but it's of course done blind. The door can't be fully shut. The door handle seems to be functional, so there is something about the lock part of it.

My priority is to get the door open as a first step, then I can worry about the mechanism later. Any ideas?

I've attached a picture from my lock first, and then some other pictures found in the forum if you need to draw on something to explain what I should do. Thanks!

[EC900]

Are you able to turn the lock knob up or is that stuck too? Inside door handle still has tension?

If lock button stuck and won’t raise, then try to relieve pressure on the door in or out and try to twist lock knob to raise it.
Also, with panel off - you can put the inside grab handle/door latch pull and turn knob back in place and try to easily work the mechanism rather than pulling on bare rods which may bend them or pop from the pivot bushings.

I’m working fro memory but the main rod for the locking knob runs along the outside of the door whereas the inside pull handle is a few inches below running on the inside of the door. Use a mirror and should be able to determine where it’s jammed.

Looking just at your mechanism nothing seem out of place and I take it your rods are still intact and not dangling. Otherwise you’ll need to make sure all the little plastic bushings didn’t pop off and disengage from door pull or lock button. Check inside bottom of door sill for broken bits.

[76FJ55]

Pic's didn't populate so created a new post. see below.

[76FJ55]

I made a few notes on your picture. If you look at the first, you can see the catch (circled in green) that holds the door latch from rotating.



the blue arrow in the second picture indicates the direction the catch need to move to release the door latch.



If you have a long narrow bladed screw driver I believe you should be able to place it between the catch and the latch at the location of the small red line, then rotate the screwdriver counter clockwise to lift the catch and the latch should then open.

[bsimonson]

That's amazing, just the knowledge I was hoping to find!

To answer your questions: The lock knob is stuck, and I can't turn the lock using the key. The handle on the outside feels normal for a locked door, but the inside one is very hard to pull on and won't achieve anything. I've tried to pull on the arms inside the door and to turn the part of the mechanism they connect to, but it's completely stuck. As far as I can tell, all of the linkages are intact.

I'll try to open the catch as per your instruction and see what happens. Perhaps that will sort the lock as well, but at least it will be more comfortable to work on if I can get the door open.

It's getting late here in Sweden now, but I'll report back when I've given it a try.

Thanks!

[911obgyn]

Perhaps close the door all the way?
They are designed not to lock when key is not used, so you dont lock keys in.

[EC900]

@bsimonson - Here some pics below for references:
1: door latch normal open position (white arrow).
2. door catch post (blue arrow).
3: possible that latching cam (white arrow) is binding on or over the latch post (blue arrow).

As 911obg says it (the cam) should not lock door or turn when lock knob is down. It normally would bump and impede closure. Seems like some slam force is needed to close a door with the lock button knob down because the cam doesn’t rotate - If it jumped over the catch post door may need more force from inside to push it open if it’s just binding over the top of the latch post.
It doesn’t seem plausible that the lock cam (blue arrow) would turn to latch over the post unless the internals are bent.

Is door any bit skewed or raised up any? If it’s open a bit at the edge try and see the positions of the catch post. Is there any “give” or movement to nudge door while turning the lock knob up?

Trying to release latch per 76fj suggests

I don’t think trying to remove lock mechanism from inside the door would free up the cam if it can’t get past the latch post. That would be last thing I would try, maybe if loosened up, the mechanism it can be wiggled enough out of the way to pull entire mech back out of the way where it catches the post. Lot of work with door attached if it’s a possibility.

[bsimonson]

So, I gave it a try just now. The catch seemed to be in the right position as far as I could tell from the slight part of it that was visible.



The next step then, was to try to lift the catch from the inside. I could feel the spring quite easily with a screwdriver but finding the little slot was harder. It turned into me poking in the slot's general direction . After about 10 seconds of poking, the door softly opened!

At first the lock was still stuck though, but after playing with the latch and tightening one of the screws holding the mechanism I guess it all got back in sync, because now it all works as it should!

I'll give it a clean and a some lubrication to prevent it from happening again.

Many thanks EC900 and 76FJ55 for givning of your time and knowledge, much appreciated!