I have a 2002 LS 430 . The driver side door is stuck lock. cannot open with the door handle or key. I have called 3 Automotive Locksmiths already but none of them could open it. They said the door latch would not release. I removed the door panel earlier when I replaced the door lock actuator and was on the process of putting it back when the door accidentally closed. I even broke the plastic covers of the actuator to be able to see the what happens when I try to open the door with the key or the door handle.
Any suggestions will be appreciated

 

 

If you purchased a new complete actuator then follow jherr's advise.
1. Find the lock cable (white tip) and pull solid steel cable to unlock
2. Find the latch cable (green tip) and pull braided steel cable to open latch, or Push 6 inch steel rod coming from outside handle down.

However if you rebuilt/replaced your motor housing and possibly did something incorrectly here is a more in depth image of what you need to do to open the latch.
1. Unlock the unit by rotating the locking bracket in the direction indicated.
2. Open the latch by rotating the latch release lever in the direction indicated. There are 2 different areas you can pry (push to the right from the upper location) or (push to the left from the lower location)



Regards,
Actuators Plus

 

2001 LS430.

This just happened to me as well. My cable to the interior door handle latch was broke, so I took off the interior panel and pulled out the actuator assembly, and replaced the cable. I didn’t mess with anything (at least not on purpose) other than the cable. Re-installed into the door, I KNOW I got the rod back into exterior handle’s hole and clipped it in place .

I closed the door to test and now neither handle will open the door. Quite sure they are working, just will not open the door. The lock clicks as it should so I don’t think it electrical.

When I closed the door, it did close slightly “funny”, and only partially. After 30 minutes of trying to get it open with the door in this state, I had to bounce on the door a bit to get it to fully close. And of course I can’t fix or diagnose because the door won’t open. Currently crawling over the center console in order to drive.

Any options on how to get the door open? I am thinking of having to cut through / ruin the interior panel…

 

Sounds like you've disassembled the interior door panel before, try to do it again from the inside. The only part you can't get to are the 3 screws in the bottom, but you should be able to peel back the top of the panel with those screws in place. Then you can pull the cables manually.

Otherwise, hire your neighborhood locksmith or carjacker to jimmy your latch open.

 

Yes i did pry of the top of the panel and managed to remove the one cable end (that goes to the interior handle ) and pulled on it. No Joy! its not a lock issue, as far as i know, i think its the latch. I am sending this link to my mechanic with permission to ruin the interior panel (cut a hole in it, etc) and hopefully the picture above is enough to find a place to push to get damn thing to unlatch.

Lesson learned is if anyone is working on the actuator /cable / etc, test before closing the door !

thanks for the help !!
from John

 

You should be able to see the latch through the hole. Use a flat head screwdriver to start prying the latch free of the striker. Sounds like your latch is broken.

 

So the car is back from the mechanic. They did not get the door open. Also I think they thought they just need to reach the rod (that the exterior handle is connected to ) or the interior cable. Like I said I know I connected the rod. So I have cut a hole in the interior panel. And yes the rod was connected. I reached in with a vise grips got it on the rod so i could insure a good push. Door still won't open !

What else can try to get this door to open? any ideas ?

 

Yeah I think I am the one who is screwed : ) I can't see or feel in there enough to get a screwdriver anywhere close to where it needs to be. I am thinking my only option now is also ruin the door. Drill through metal... Even then its going to be a lot of trouble to get the door striker (the actuator) off the hook (that is attached to the pillar)

Only other thing i can think of is open the rear door and to drill through the door pillar and somehow get the drill bit on the backside of the two screws holding the hook. Pray for no drill wander, work up in drill bit size until i essentially drill away the screw... very hesitant to try this, because of new fresh hole(s) in door pillar, and chances are I will also mess up the threads that are welded to the door pillar (that the two screws that I want to make metal chips of, are screwed into..)

All because I didn't test the striker before i shut the door. !

 

Before you cause more damage I would pull the passengers door panel and see if you can pry that door open from the striker. You'll have more room to see and formulate a plan of attack for the other door. I would exhaust all other methods before I start drilling more holes.

 

Good idea. I was pondering about that (pulling the passengers door panel..). Now that it's seconded, I'm going to do it. Thanks for the help. !
Yeah i definitely don't want to drill into the Pillar. Kind of permanent. The door, if i ruin that, at least I can replace...

************update ***************
09 March 2019 Just a follow-up. I ruined the inner panel (an Oscillating saw is the cats meow for this sort of thing ) and then just kept drilling ( carefully!) and bending and prying on and breaking the actuator until finally hit the correct linkage or whatever and the door opened. Bought a used actuator on ebay and new door panel from local junkyard. So probably $300~400 total Everything is working fine again.

I have no idea what I did to get that door to lock up on me, but can definitely advise to TEST the door before closing it !