My door locked and wont unlock!

[ryan_289]

The other night my buddy locked the passenger door and shut the door with his thumb holding the button on the handle. Now my door wont unlock. I can use the key or from the inside, the handle will not come up enough. What can I do to fix this?

 

[t.lay]

Sounds like the actuating rod might be bent a little out of shape or the plastic connector could have let go - they can get a little brittle after 30 or 40 years. Pull your interior door panel and take a peak at the rods and connectors.

 

[Broncobowsher]

You can try flicking the outside handle. Press the button fully then side step it. Let it snap out as hard as possible. Then try and unlock it.

If the handle is loose to the sheetmetal on the door, try popping the whole handle down (hit it with you hand).

My jacked up passenger door requires a combonation of the above to unlock if the handle/button is moved while the door is locked. If I use the key for lock/unlock then it is fine.

 

[ObscureMachine]

Crawling in through the back works ok. Don't ask how I know.

 

[Madgyver]

I had that happen to me while we were at the 40th. I had my son pull the the passenger panel so we could open the door from the inside and we rode the rest of the trip like that til the rig got back home. Found that it need some lube and a little adjustment with the rod.

It is a common problem.

 

[mr incredible]

douche it down with some wd-40 , all around the button , and down the window on the out side , hope that some of it gets into the mechanisn ,, the door paddle , that controlls the opening feature , is not returning to the full out position ,, behind the button on the handle ,,, side step it , and let the button snap full out . and see what happens ,, might take a dozen times ,,,,

 

[bronco60-niner]

yep I've had that happen a few times...pressing and releasing the outside release a bunch of times worked once. the other times I had to take off the door panel and reset the lock mechanism....I've since removed the locking rods from mine

 

[broncotime]

The other night my buddy locked the passenger door and shut the door with his thumb holding the button on the handle. Now my door wont unlock. I can use the key or from the inside, the handle will not come up enough. What can I do to fix this?

I endured this problem for several years. Tried the lube solution and it didn't work too well. I did get good at removing the inner panel and reaching in and releasing it (I could do it in the dark in just a couple of minutes). I finally got to thinking that there's no reason to ever lock the door, so I just removed the rod that goes up to the thingy that you push or pull to lock or unlock the door. If someone wants inside the truck I would rather have them just open the door and not break something. I should add that mine lives in a garage and has a locking tuffy and several kill switches for when I do drive it around.

I probably should also add that since I permantly ditched the hard top, door locks are not really an issue.

Good luck,
Glenn

 

[widowmaker77]

this happens to driver side door sometimes. What I do is take lock nob and push and pull up and down a few times really fast and it unlocks. This may work for you may not.

 

[spixican07]

Happens to mine too, but usually only when trying to unlock with the key. I watched it carefully when I unlock it and what happens on mine is the locking post comes up, shows full unlock position -- but doesn't quite release the lock inside.

The way I get around it is to either unlock it "fast"...or buy a Tuffy console and leave the doors unlocked all the time anyway.

 

[Hazegray]

Got tired of removing door panels & removed the rods like other people%)

 

[stlkikn]

If you have a little bit of hinge sag... try this...
Put upward pressure on the door handle from the outside and use the key to try and unlock the door... Not sure why relieving the pressure on my door latch works, but that is usually what unlocks mine.