I recently bought a 2000 XJ8L and after a few days I noticed the following problem with the driver door:

1. The key won't manually lock the door. I can unlock the door(s) by putting the key in the hole and turning to the right, but it does not allow me to turn counterclockwise at all to lock the door. I have tried this with both sets of keys that I have. I also can't push the lock down from the inside to lock.

2. To make matters worse, the key fob won't lock the driver's door either. Occassionally, it will, but most of the time (80%) it won't lock. When I hit the lock button on the key fob, it will lock the other 3 doors 100% of the time but not the driver's door. I'm stuck with a car that I cannot lock!

Does anybody have any ideas on what the problem might be? Bad key fobs? Bad actuator? Could it be a battery problem?

THANKS!

 

You'll have to take the door card off and check the actuator to confirm if it's bad, your assumption is a reasonable one. Two screws and a stiff clip hold the card. One behind the door pull - a plastic cover hides it. The other is under the armrest. Ease the thin foam cover out the way and plastic weather shield and you can see what's going on. Shut the door and have someone try the lock with the key in the door and fob see if any rods/bolts are loose/jammed/bent/broken, if all ok then it's an actuator to hunt for.