Like always, my SC stay in the garage for winter and I turn it on 30 mins weekly to keep fluid running & battery charged. When I try to do it last night, the battery seem to be dead. I thought it's not a big deal as I can jump start it. The moment I put the key in the key hole & turn it I felt something is wrong because it doesn't unlock the door. Just nothing! Its more making any mechanism noise

I think the door lock actuator failed. Now I can't event get into the SC nor I can pop the hood to charge it & unlock via remote.

Is there any trick to unlock the door or pop the hood from outside?? Break the window is my last option

 

If the battery is dead, the actuator won't work, right? I mean no power, no actuator.

The door should still unlock manually. Try turning the key the other way and pull the handle.

 

Also try putting some light lubricating oil in the keyhole...or spraying the key with a lubricating solvent like WD40. Then work it in and out a few times, twisting the key. Repeat if necessary. Sometimes, as the car ages, if the lock isn't kept lubed, it will become more and more difficult to insert the key and/or turn it.

Also, keep in mind that starting it up in the garage is OK for the engine staying lubed and battery charged, but does nothing for the transmission and rear differential, whose internals and seals/gaskets also have to stay lubed and working to prevent deterioration. Whenever the road is clear enough that you won't get salt or body damage, actually take it out on the street for a couple of miles or so.....just enough to get the transmission and drive line warmed up.

 

Good advice if the tumbler is indeed stuck. However instead of any oil type lubes, the best option is graphite powder. This keeps the tumbler from gumming up down the road. You blow it in with a puff of the tube.

 

You should be able to physically turn the key in the door lock to either lock it or unlock it. The linkage is still purely mechanical, your batter being dead should have no effect on you using the key. That is unless the mechanical linkage in the door fell apart. Marshall has some good advice about putting some lube on the key, it could be frozen due to never being used.

Also I wouldn't start your car at all until spring. Take the battery out of the car and keep it inside where it is warm, that will keep it from going flat(placing it on a concrete floor will cause it to discharge as well). It will be fine not running for a few months, fill the tank up with gas and put some fuel stabilizer in it. Air makes the gas go bad, so that's why I say fill it all the way up.

 

Thanks for the advises.

I'm able to put the key in and turn left & right. However, it does not do anything. It feel like the key is just in a empty hole, No resistant from the lock when I turn it.

 

Then there's definitely something wrong with your driver side door. Has this car ever been in a side accident or had any work done in the door?

Did you try the other door?

 

For cost cutting purposes, some cars that come standard with a fob don't have a mechanical lock on the passenger side. Not sure about the SC.

 

If this is the case on this particular model (very possible), then it's locksmith time.

Luckily the SC430 has frameless windows so they should be able to unlock your doors or pull the hood release from outside without any damage.

If you're adventurous, you can try to finagle the hood release from outside but that takes a knowledge of how hood releases work. Of course, access plays a role here as well. If you can't get to the hood latch from either under the car (doubt it) or thru the grille, then it's not happening.

 

This is the basic technique to get your hood open. https://youtu.be/xMrjwUfdiiE

 

Good vid, Chris Fix is a good dude. However this method is highly dependent on access and that's different for every car. It's likely the car has to be jacked up and some plastic panels underneath will have to be removed.

If you do this, work safely. Do NOT work under a car supported only by the jack. Use jack stands or similar.

 

do you have access through the trunk? can you open the trunk and then crawl through the split 60/40 rear seat? assuming your car has a split rear seat that can be lowered from inside the trunk...

 

SC430 has no split seat nor does it fold down. Plus with a dead battery he has no trunk access from outside anyway. There's an emergency trunk pull inside the car but he can't get to that either.

 

welp, he's in a pickle.

 

Wow. This is interesting. Waiting for your resolution. Good luck.