Hi All. Driver’s door appeared to have dropped, making it drag on the B pillar striker plate when opening/closing. So I marked the position of the striker plate, and then (stupidly on reflection!) moved it down a little. Shut the door, and now it will not open! Am going to have a go with a friend to open tomorrow - one inside the car via the passenger door, and one outside - but if that fails, does removing the door card make it possible to get at the lock? All helpful thoughts much appreciated!
Nick,
Yes removing the door card is, I think, the only way to gain access to the lock mechanism. This is a difficult and fiddly thing to do, helped by having small hands. I don’t understand why moving the striker plate has caused the lock to jam, are you sure the lock is the problem? It might just be that the striker is holding the door closed and if you operate the door release lever and also push the door from the inside of the car the door might open.
Hope this helps,
Richard Hawkins
The passenger door on my S4 couldn’t be opened from outside recently. Pushing the button in on the handle allowed the door to move a little, to the first latch position, but the door simply wouldn’t open any further. Initially I thought something must have broken in the mechanism, but looking at a spare handle, and studying the drawings in the workshop manual and parts list, I realised that if the latch mechanism had become a bit stiff, then there was probably enough lost motion in the linkages between handle and latch to prevent the latch fully releasing, even though the button on the handle was being pushed fully in.
More in hope than expectation, I sprayed a lot of WD40 into the gap between the door and body in the area of the latch, and also around the button on the door handle, and the problem was solved, the door now opening normally again.
I hadn’t adjusted anything on my car, so the issue on yours may be something totally different, but I still think it would be worth giving it all a good spray with WD40 or something similar to encourage the latch to move smoothly, before starting to dismantle anything.
Ray
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Unfortunately, it’s a Catch 22 situation. With the door closed, you can’t remove the door card. Try moving the door up and down while pulling.
Many thanks all. Will definitely try the WD40 idea. The ‘push’ on the exterior handle already feels pretty stiff. Don’t like the idea that the door card is not removable with the door shut!
WD40 did the trick. Thank you Ray!! Believe when the exterior push button was depressed, it was not fully opening the lock. Thanks all
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If the door has dropped you need to adjust the hinges not the latch!
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Once the WD40 has gone away / evaporated the same will happen again. The door card needs to be removed and all parts of the locking mechanism properly lubricated with grease, as per the factory.
Leslie
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Nick,
Glad to hear your door is now opening. I agree with Leslie, use this as a warning, our cars are old and the volatile components from the grease used inside the lock have evaporated. I replaced my locks with new old stock only to find that the grease inside was so stiff the mechanism didn’t work. The locks are not meant to be dismantled, there is a rivet that holds the front and back together. I drilled the head off the rivet, and replaced the head on the exposed side with a countersunk headed screw. This enabled me to dismantle the locks, clean the old grease away, re-lubricate and re-assemble. Be careful how you dismantle, there are springs inside (3, I think) I spent much time on my knees searching for springs that had shot over my shoulder.
Hope this helps,
Richard Hawkins
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Hi Leslie and Richard. Yes, all agreed. Thank you. Will do the necessary. Think that the original grease had degraded, and the cold weather made what remained very solid. Doors have never opened/shut better! Thank you all again. It turned out not be be as fraught as anticipated