kdizub

Today my passenger door lock started not locking/unlocking. Unfortunately I cannot even manually unlock it. I've read many the posts on here about the door actuator issue but most of the time the posters seem to know this is the issue. Is not being able to manually lock/unlock a tell-tale sign of this? How would I know if I needed to replace the whole unit opposed to the small gear I see other mentioning.

Also, even if I need to replace the entire unit, how am I going to be able to take the side panel off if I cant even get the door to unlock and open.

Thanks,
KC