Today, the ol boy threw me a curve. When shutting the car off, pulling half-way on the inside door handle releases the door lock. Then, pulling completely pops the door open. Well, not today! Now I have to press the button on the key fob to unlock the doors. Any comments, insights or suggestions what to look for when taking the inside trim panel off?

Dave in AZ

 

The inner door handle is connected to the locking actuator with a bowden cable. This cable could be stretched or the connection to either the door handle or actuator could be broken. If everything appears to be hooked up correctly, try disconnecting the cable from the actuator and moving the actuator manually. If it works when you move it manually, then it's likely that the cable is stretched and you need a new one.

 

The thing with taking the door card off is to use the proper tool to pull out the clip mounts, which is the forked item below. If not you can pull the plastic retainer from the paperboard or you break the clip and then you'll have another repair. Just be patient doing it, the plastic ribbed clips secure quite well and thus grab well.




This guy shows a descent removal of the door card...A note here, when you pull up the air seal plastic film, pick it all up and secure it back so as not to get the black tack on you, that stuff sucks trying to get off...it tacks really well.

 

I am not sure, if it is possible at all to remove the interior trim WITHOUT destroying a few of those plastic clips, even with the right tools as shown above. The plastic is old and brittle. But if you search for them on Aliexpress, you'll find them cheap:

https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1005...53ca1802SFTRyH

Check link to see what those clips look like. If you are not in a hurry to fix your problem, order those clips and wait for them, before you remove the trim...

 

Bought the set of door card clip tools years ago. Have taken off driver panel several times. My confusion is why the door opens per usual ONLY after I shut the car off, remove the key and unlock the doors with the keyfob. While the car is running, the doors will not unlock with the usual 1/2 pull of the driver-side handle inside. Head scratching...

 

Ah, so the door handles can still open the doors but they will not unlock them?

First check if the central locking button on the center console is able to operate the doors when the key is in the ignition.
Then, check if pulling up the chrome lock knobs on the door (both passenger and driver) will unlock them.
Also, I believe that both the driver and passenger front door handles are able to unlock the car when pulled. Check if the issue is affecting just one or both.

If the central locking button still works and the issues are localized a single door, it might be a broken actuator. Perhaps someone can impart more expertise on the subject, that's about as far as my knowledge goes.

The only other thing I recall is "deadlocking" the doors. I believe that if you turn the key in the door to unlock and then lock quickly then it will "deadlock" the doors, preventing them from being unlocked from inside. Perhaps the door programming is stuck in this "deadlocked" mode. If you find that pulling up on the chrome lock knobs and pulling the door handles does not work on both sides, I would try hard resetting the electrical system to remove any computer bugs. This is done by removing both battery leads and holding them together for about 30 seconds. Make sure you don't bridge the battery terminals. I believe there is a electrical troubleshooting write-up that details the process. I would read that before doing it if you're at all unsure.

Hope this helps! Feel free to ask any questions and update us if you get it fixed!

 

There is a process for full auto unlock windows down and lock and windows up.
With the doors shut, insert the key in the door lock. Rotate and hold the key to the right, all the doors will unlock and all the windows will go down. You must hold the key in that position until the process completes.
Then, rotate the key to the left, all the doors will lock and all the windows will all go up...again holding the key to the left until the process completes. Volkswagen had this process also a couple years later.

This will tell you if your locking mechanism is functioning.

While you have the door card off, you can remove the central locking system connectors. Let it sit for about 15-30 minutes, reattach them and see if your locks work. Be sure you snugly reinsert the connectors.