My passenger front door lock is working very intermittently, which would suggest a bad motor in the actuator. However, the soft close works reliably.

Can the motor be bad for locking/unlocking if the soft close still works?

thanks.

 

Yes it can. The soft close and door lock is all one unit.

Look at this video:

 

So….replacing the motor in the actuator will correct the lock issue?

 

Probably. I've seen DIY of the motors getting replaced on regular door and not the soft close.
Look here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Eq2OTWuuJQ
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lIf4oYq85A8