my passenger front door is locked. no the door handle is not broken, and it is impossible to remove the inner panel, without opening the door! i have disconnected the solenoid from the latch mechanism, and the inside lever works fine but will not open the door. any ideas?

 

Roland,

It will open, use more patience than brute force.

Does the locking pin move freely? If it does, the problem is most likely the latch adjustment turnbuckle needs to be adjusted (yes, the door panel has to be off to adjust), but you should be able to spring the latch. You might try applying inward pressure to the exterior of the door using your hip while lifting the exterior handle. Again, gentle patience rather than force.

Or, get inside and remove the wood veneer panel, it will come off after you remove the interior door handle surround. The veneer panel slides to the front of the car. You may be able to grab (needle nose pliers) the cable end of the interior door handle and spring the latch free.

If the locking pin isn't moving freely, with the passenger rear door open, work the lock pin while gently applying pressure with the outside handle. If that doesn't work, try from the interior using the door handle while moving the pin.

I've had the same thing happen to me on the rear doors (not frequently used) and eventually freed the locks. After doing so, I removed the panels and used a lubricant spray on all of the components and linking rods.

 

Hi Roland,

I took the liberty of passing your issue along to some friends at the Jag-Lovers forum who I knew have done a lot of work on their lock mechanisms. If you can't make Rob's suggestions work, Jaguarpete suggests that, worst case, you could remove the front seat cushion, then remove the four screws that secure the seat frame to the tracks and move the seat back. Then you should be able to remove the interior door trim for access to the latch, rods, etc. Short of unfastening the seat, Pete said, "There are three screws holding the lower door card to the
door, and the owner should be able to get to two of them easy enough. The screw hear the inside latch will be the hard one, but he probably can raise the upper trim enough to access that screw."

Cheers,

Don

 

thanks guys, the locking pin will not move , and i,m a great believer in patience. iv,e moved the seats back and been able to pull the inner panel out sufficient to remove the plastic insert giving acess to the door latch mechanism will try the lean on the door from the outside wiggling the inside latches, keeping the patience!

 

sorry chaps, cans of wd 40 in all oriices available one pair of hands on the inside wiggling the inner door opener and the lock pin, another pair of hands outside leaning on the door and wiggling the outside door handle gently repeated at daily intervals for ten minutes at a time result nothing! any more ideas?

 

Rolandwaite,
Reach into the latch mechanism and try to physically push the lock lever. If It is froze in the lock position, that's the exact same problem im having with my driver door. If you happen to get your door open in any way, keep posted. Im planning on just replacing the latch mechanism all together.....When I finally get the door open lol. understand how stressful it is. BTW researched every form on the latch/locks and tried every suggestion with no luck. GL -n- ill keep posted on my results.

 

I found with mine... the passenger door would sometimes not unlock...
the remedy was to remove the door trim or at least enough to get the hand in there and feel for the turn buckle thingy.... loosen it off and the lock should open....
I found that the slightest turn or bend of the rod was enough to stop the lock from opening or if too loose, stop the outside handle from working even when trying manually to lift the button, it remained locked.

 

thanks for all the advice, patience still continues as does the jiggling of the various linkages, i,m beginning to think the only entry is with the jaws of death! its a good job it,s only yhe passenger doors. my fellow travellers are getting used to the luxury of the back seats!