Bon

I wouldn't post this except that it has a happy ending . . .

Oh the shame! I'm a died in the wool DIY'er and was replacing my power door lock motors. The front and rear passenger doors had failed. The front door went smoothly and I didn't encounter any surprises along the way. The back door seemed to be even easier - to a point. When removing the electric door lock assembly from the latch mechanism a small piece of nylon suddenly was in my hand. I inspected it and thought I knew how to reinstall it on the latch mechanism. I was wrong. If I had been using my head I would have tested the assembly upon re-installation - but noooooo! I reinstalled the mechanism, put on the interior door panel and shut the door. Big mistake.

Neither the interior or exterior door handles would release the door. Words came out of my mouth that I hadn't said since I was a teenager. Denial, anger, frustration, despair, and despondence soon followed. There is no way that a slim jim will unlatch the door. There is no way that the interior door panel can be removed without destroying it while the door is closed. And if I could have it wouldn't have given me access to the latch mechanism.

On the right side of the car I removed the rear seat and rear interior side panel. This exposed a small cavity that within you can just see two bolts and welded-on hex nuts for the door striker. This seemed like a weak spot for my attack. I used a Dremel with cutting and grinding discs to cut out a 1" x 3" rectangular hole in some sheet metal that was in the way for gaining access to these bolts and nuts. I then ground the bolts and nuts completely flush. This allowed me to push the remaining door striker bolts back through their holes. The door just swung open with the striker still stuck in the door latch.

A little more inspection and I fashioned a small hook from a piece of coat hanger wire and was able to release the striker itself from the door latch. This small hook is inserted through the hole for the child safety lock and slight pull is all that's needed.

I found two replacement bolts, lock washers and hex nuts at the hardware store to reattach the striker. By inspecting the left hand passenger door I figured out my mistake in re-assembling that nylon thingy in the latch and all is well.

At the end of this story, I am $1500 ahead (less $4 for the door striker screws) because I fixed my power door locks. Not bad. I'm not sure how badly I damaged my ego though.

If you take anything away from my trial then don't shut your door until you have tested the latch thoroughly! And watch out for that little nylon plastic thingy that will fall out as you remove the power door lock in the rear doors!