I can use my key and lock the door from the outside and also unlock it from the outside.

Problem is if I lock the passenger door from the inside by pulling the handle the key will not unlock it, leaving me locked out when I also pull the drivers door to lock it.

In other words to lock my truck and not get locked out, I pull down the drivers door to lock it, shut my passenger door and ONLY lock it with the key and then unlock it with the key.

Am I missing something in the door or is this how it should work?

I got stuck/locked out in a parking lot by just pulling back both handles and shutting the doors. I have had the truck for 11 years and never really locked it prior. I had some valueables in it this time, ie a small cooler full of beer, cell phone and my clothes for the weekend at Turkey Run.

 

Correct. That is the way it works. Pull the handle up and level on the drivers side, slide across and exit the passenger side and ONLY lock it with the key.

 

Seems to me the only really valuable thing was the cooler full of beer, the other things you get by without!

I don't know if it was designed that way (apparently it was, thanks Doc) or if something is malfunctioning, but I learned a long time ago to always use my key to lock the door. That or admire my keys hanging from the ignition while I struggled with a coat hanger.

 

Sounds like it works correctly! Thats a good thing, however after I stood in the FL sun for 45 min gently using a coat hanger to not scratch new paint, the beer tasted extra good.

 

Now I am wondering if there is a way to disable the passenger door lock only from the handle?

 

LOL. I've always wondered if you could get a couple buddies and just shake the crap out of the truck until one of the two handles fell back down into the unlocked position. But they seem to hold pretty firmly when you put them into the locked position.

I've never really studied it carefully, but I wonder if you could remove the spring mechanism, that holds the passenger side handle in the locked position, as a method to prevent somebody from unwittingly locking that side from inside. I've had a LOT of passengers do that. In my experience, everybody wants to pull up on that handle instead of down when they exit the truck.

 

I agree on the shaking part, it seems that you can shake them locked or shut the door hard enough to get it to lock. Fustrating, but just a part of owning one of these!

 

I did a similar thing over the weekend. Needed to get into the 51, but the doors were locked. I remembered that the driver's side was locked from the inside but had a loose spring. I banged on the door in the inner door handle area with the palm of my hand a few times, and voila, the door was now unlocked. My father-in-law had a puzzled look on his face when I was banging on the door, not knowing what my plan was.

After the driver's door was opened, I got inside, locked the door from the inside and exited through the locked passenger side door that was previously locked with a key.

 

I locked myself out the same way a few months back. But luckily, my truck has no door seals yet, and I was able to push a bent coat hanger under the door, grab the handle and pull it back down, unlocking it. I won't make that mistake again.

 

That sounds a bit like a scene out of a cartoon. Did you then poke your head out of the glove box? <

 

I have purposely not fixed my vent windows yet because I seem to lock myself out quite often. I haven't gotten used to the handle action yet. My ignition key doesn't match the door locks. Just another issue to fix later on.

 

So you're saying if you exit either of the doors, and push the door handle forward before closing it, it will be locked? I've never tried it that way. That doesn't seem right. I don't see how you could get a coat hanger in there either. (maybe if your division channel rubber is shot)

 

If you pull the handle up into the horizontal "locked" position on both doors and close them, your butt is locked out. I think Jolly Roger Joe was successful because his truck is currently missing its rubber. But trust me, if you're desperate enough, you can get a coat hanger around even modern weather stripping. Ask me how I know.

Ross, if I recall correctly, the door handles on your particular truck are installed differently so that your "locked" position isn't horizontal. Nevertheless, you can indeed lock either door that way, and the key is useless in that situation.

 

LOL, I was desparate, new paint and new rubber. I asked all over and could not come up with a coat hanger. I then saw a dollar store only thing I could find was a fly swatter for .50 cents with a handle made out of the same wire. I busted it apart. I was so desparate not to also scratch my paint, after fishing through the rubber vent window and almost getting it unlocked I got another idea. I took off the fuel cap and the new fuel cap rubber, it fished the wire past the cardboard liner, made a right turn at the seat and was able to pull the handle to unlock it.


Thanks guys, at least I now know my locks work as Henry let them leave the factory. (what a bad design...LOL) Now days it would be a recall.

Bryan

 

LOL. That's a horrible feeling to be locked out of your vehicle far from home with no help. Good job!

Another thing that I've always thought about is the rear window. It pushes inward in order to remove it. Depending on how much glue, etc. you might have on the weather stripping, might be another point of entry in a pinch when all else fails...... Good thinking on the fuel filler grommet.