1994 J30 Driver's Side Door locked - Can't Unlock

[RocketCityJ30]

I know that this topic has been discussed in some detail here, but now it has happened to me. Driver's door is locked. Power or manual (inside or outside with key) will not work. Disconnected the battery to take the power locks out of the equation, but it will still not unlock manually. It feels as if the rod starts to move the lock mechanism, but not enough to get the job done. Tried the "bang your fist to the rear of the door handle" trick until I about busted my hand with no results.

I have seen some anecdotal information on the site that one person used a slimjim successfully, and one got enough of the interior door panel off to get to the lock mechanism to unlock and open the door, but no specifics.

So, if there is anyone out there that has successfully accomplished getting the door open without destroying either the inside or outside of the door/panel, please respond in detail how you did it.

Thanks,

John

[ttinfinitiM30]

i havent got any personal experience with the prob but i would suggest that if u can put the window down its ussually alot easier to see into the door. and it helps to be able to see what ur reaching for with a slimjim if u can see it.good luck

[RocketCityJ30]

I do have the window down, and have looked inside with a flashlight, but don't see anything that would lead me to figure out how to get the door unlocked.

John

[95-J30tt]

if you can get some lubricant into there and keep locking and unlocking till it opens (never happened to me with the J, but with other cars, so i dont know if this would work in this case), open the rear door to get some clearance, and spray lub in to the locking mechanism, be carefull where you spray, as some might get into the inside trim and damage it..... hope this helps, keep us posted

[DominickJ30]

Give the door handle on the outside a couple of good knocks, and try to unlock the door again.

Might take a few tries, but always works for me.

[RocketCityJ30]

For anyone facing this problem in the future, here is the update and the solution that worked for me. I finally gave up trying the tricks mentioned here, and took it to my mechanic. The mechanic got the door open, and what we discovered was that the latch mechanism was worn to the point that neither the lock actuator nor the manual lock knob could pull the gizmo they attach to far enough to unlock the latch.

The mechanic finally bent the bracket (working from the top of the door with the window down) that holds the door handle and lock knob rods in place to get better access to the gizmo the lock knob attaches to. He then took a bent coat hanger and was able to pull the lock knob rod at the point it attaches to the latch mechanism gizmo very hard, and the latch moved enough that the door unlocked and he could open it. This sounds a lot like the method "Stone Cold" describes in his post of 2/10/07, but I had already taken it to the mechanic by the time I read it.

This, like other tricks, may not work in all cases, but could save you from taking the car to a mechanic. My total bill with a new latch and lock actuator was just over $500. Ouch!

[Sharpel007]

I pretty sure if the power still moves the lock you can just get a new latch from the dealer and put it in, its covered on fuzzycats site I thought.