Rear door lock jammed

[TonyfromNJ]

I have a 2006 R51 Pathfinder. One of the rear doorlocks appears to have jammed with the door closed.

Whether trying to use the electrical unlock or manual unlock, the unlock button will not come out all the way. Seems like it only will move half way.

I managed to take the door panel off with the door closed, All cables appear in-tact and functioning.

I believe the issue is in the lock mechanism itself.

I have no problem buying a new mechanism, but can't remove it, since I can't open the door..

Any ideas?

Thanks
-Tony

[cgray]

Something like that happened once on my tailgate. Ended up having to take it into the dealership and had them take apart the panel from the inside. The latch mechanism ended up being the cause of the problem and a new one got put in. Not sure exactly what they did to un-jam it, so unfortunately I am not much help other than manually prying it open with a screwdriver once the inside panel is apart.

[TonyfromNJ]

Thanks...I dread taking it to the dealer, as I know they are going to hall me over the coals...$$$

I'm considering buying the replacement and with the replacement in hand, going to town on the existing one with a pair of channel locks, ripping the plastic housing apart to get to the mech..


I just hate trying the butchery method...

[cgray]

It actually was not that bad when I got mine fixed. Don't remember the exact price but I think it was under $100

[TonyfromNJ]

Solved. Dealer wanted $175 "evaluation fee" which I wasn't interested in..

Since I had the door panel apart already... I had to pull really hard on the plastic box containing the lock...It was only a cover. Once that came off, I tinkered with the lock mechanism until the door opened.

Now that I can open the door..my next step will be to remove the lock and see what the problem is....more to follow...

[DanJetta]

That whole mechanism is actually super easy to replace once you get to it. I've been told it's a common "break" item.

[TonyfromNJ]

Wanted to followup for this.

Since I was able to get the door lock apart, I found the lock mechanism was fine. The problem was in the outside handle mechanism. It had become fouled with dirt and the spring would not return it to position.

Apparantly the design they have makes the lock mech jam, when the outside door handle is held open.

I cleaned it and lubed with "plastic safe" Labelle's oil. Works perfect!