Greetings, my 2002 Super V8 has developed a new issue - the front passenger door will not unlock or open. I'll try to describe the problem and what I've tried so far, and welcome any input.

The door won't unlock using the fob, the button on the dash, pulling up on the plunger or pulling on the driver's door handle which unlocks the driver's door and rear doors. I think this problem may have started when a recent passenger was pulling up on the exterior door handle while I was trying unlock the door with the dash button.

I can hear the solenoid inside the front passenger door doing something, it just doesn't unlock. The plunger is difficult to pull up manually, it's easier to pull up the plunger when also pulling on the interior door handle at the same time, but it still won't open using the interior or exterior handle or the button on the center console stack. I've read that a low battery can cause a problem sometimes, but I've tried a fully charged battery and tried it with the engine running when I'm getting 13.6-13.8 volts at idle and it hasn't helped. The other 3 door locks function as intended.

I've read a lot of helpful posts on here about how to remove the inner door panel (when the door is actually open) and about the door handle cable, microswitch, etc that will help if I have the door panel off. I found a video from a guy who removed a rear door panel when the door wouldn't open, but he was able to pop the door panel plastic connectors on the perimeter of the panel with the door closed. I removed the hidden screw behind the interior door handle, and the wooden trim and the screw that goes into the underside of the inside arm rest. I don't see any way to pull the door panel free with the door closed. I'll add some photos in a separate post to show where I am so far.

I'm thinking that I may need to try using a locksmith who can figure out how to open the door using a jimmy bar or similar and then remove the panel to diagnose and repair.

 

A few photos.

 

Sorry, I am also only guessing: Since you removed the interior door handle already: Did you attempt to pull disconnect the mechanical cable from the door handle and hold the sleeve/mantle e.g. with pliers while you pull on the inner cable to open the door? Did you try to pull down and pull up again the silver door knob (where the window is) and then pull on the inner or outer handle to open the door? Can you turn off that silver knob and shoot down WD40 thru a long spay nozzle pipe-attachment attempting to spray WD40 onto the locking mechanism?

 

The first thing I would try in your situation is to lower the passenger side window and then manually
pull up on the lock while trying to open the door with the handle.. If that did not accomplish the desired
results, then use you key in the drivers door and turn and hold it to the right which should raise all windows
and lock all doors. Then turn the key all the way to the left which should unlock all doors and lower all the
windows. If that doesn't work the first time, keep trying so possibly the lock will become unjammed. You
might even try this while another person is pulling the locking pin up manually.

 

Maybe nothing simpler than a hard reset of the battery. Try using WD 40 (or an equivalent), as advised

Getting the door card off would be the next step so you could observe the whole movement of the locking mechanism. there are Youtube and threads . . . although getting it off without opening the door will be difficult. Can you reach into the locking mechanism with a long screwdriver (go to the other doors and note how the locking pawls work, you are trying to get it to turn or release).

 

Thanks to everyone for their input. I managed to get the door panel off with the door still closed. I’ll provide some more details and photos when I get a chance. It basically involved a using a few different panel popper tools, and unbolting the front passenger seat (two T45 bolts at the front of the seat base and two at the rear) and sliding the seat back towards the rear seat to give me better access to the bottom edge and corners of the panel. The only casualty was a few broken panel clips but I’ll replace those.

Once the panel was off I still couldn’t get the door open at first. I studied the latch and moving parts and could hear the solenoid(?) in action and I was manually moving the two vertical levers. I was about to knock off for the day and the door opened. It might have been the cable wasn’t traveling far enough, although I tried addressing that before removing the panel. I was able to open and close the door several times. So I’ll take a closer look when I get time and lubricate the moving parts and leave the inner panel off for now before deciding what might need replacing.

thanks again for the help. I’ll supplement with some photos and details.

 

Hello, I could use some input to try and fully resolve this issue with my X308. As noted above, the initial problem was that the front passenger door wouldn't unlock or open from inside or outside the car. I had to remove the door panel with the door closed. I managed to do that by unbolting the seat, moving it backwards, then using the door panel tools in the photo to unclip the bottom of the door panel. I've lubricated the door latch, cable, etc and have been driving the car with the inner door panel off for a few weeks.

Now the door always opens as it supposed to when using the inside door handle/release, when the door is locked or unlocked, no issues there. But the remaining issue is:

-when I unlock all of the doors using the dash button, the key fob or pulling up on the driver's door plunger, the mechanism isn't moving quite far enough so I can open the passenger door using the outer door handle. I have to pull up on the plunger a little more which then allows the door to open using the outside handle.
-same thing when locking all the doors. That passenger door doesn't fully lock, so I have to push down slightly on the plunger to fully lock it.so it can't be opened from the outside.
-the other 3 doors and locks are working as intended

I've lubricated the mechanism and the rod that goes from the outer handle to the latch and that hasn't solved it. Should i be looking at making some adjustment, or do I need to remove the entire latch from the door, or look at replacing it? This doesn't seem to be a cable issue, as that handle always works as it's supposed to. Thanks for any input.