Ok soo i have watched the youtube videos and i cant figure out how to get the release mechanism to release the door!!! This is really getting annoying bc i have to replace the actuator and the inside handle as well!!! PLEASE SOMEONE HELP ME FIGURE OUT HOW TO GET MY DOOR OPEN!! even if it means i have to rig it to open with string or something from the inside!!! JUST WANT IT TO OPEN AGAIN!!!!!!

 

Sorry for the very (too) late reply. I did not realize others had been following this post.

For anyone who has ended up here while searching this issue, the ANSWER ended up being kind of interesting.

Here's a little Background first:

I found this lock-smith shop. The owner was a really young guy who styled himself right out of the 60's. He dressed 60ish....wore these thin 60's style glasses (ref Easy Rider movie)...and had this cool laid-back vibe going.

However, this guy REALLY knew locks....and especially AUTO locks.....like nobody I've ever come across. He even taught classes to local law enforcement to better educate them on car-thief techniques.

Anyway....after taking this thing to several places....several lock-smiths and repair shops...and they just scratched their heads after twisting themselves and their tools into a pretzel....and even to the Dealer (their answer was mechanism and servo replacements at 400+ per door).

When I handed it over to this guy.....I told him I'd wait. I stood around inside for a few minutes and looked at all the cool stuff he had decorating the shop (mostly Marvel/DC comic memorabilia and antique lock stuff ).

Only about 5 minutes or less had passed.....and I figured I'd go sit outside and make a few calls. When I stepped out the door.....this guy was already walking back towards me. Looking back behind him...my Explorer was there with the door standing wide open.

I was flabbergasted. It could not have been more than 5 minutes.

After telling him what a wizard he was...he said..."here, let me show you..."

With the window rolled down, we peered down the slot. He pointed back where the inner lock mechanism is bolted on....you'll see a little metal tab sticking out....it is just a NUB of a tab...but it MAY be colored yellow.

Anyway....that is meant to be the press-down point for a little arm that will push UP that little U shaped piece that strikes the little post that's on the door frame.....the force of the door closing when the post strikes/seats into that U piece makes the U piece pivot downward....thus holding the door shut.

Well....pushing that little tab down will make that U piece pivot back up...or 90 degrees to the ground...thus freeing that post and allowing the door to release open.

It is the same thing that happens when you pull the door handle open from the inside....(which is a mechanical...not electrical....movement)....but WHY this does not work in this condition / problem....I do not know.

ANYWAY......to press this thing....you need to 1, be able to see it....you almost have to know what you are looking for...and 2, will need some sort of long thin...but strong/ridged...rod. Because once you do get a good square contact on this tiny little nub / press-point....you've really got to press hard. That little U mechanism is pretty strong...since it has to hold the door closed...and it takes a fair degree of pressure to push it down to release. One of those really long, heavy screwdrivers would be ideal (the ones used...I'm guessing....on heavy earth-moving equipment or large diesel engines).

Afterwards.....I simply went to the dealer....bought the lock mechanisms for about $40 and the locksmith put them in for about $80 each. Much cheaper. Note though....the electronic opening still did not work...that would have been an additional part and time. But the handle from the inside and the key would open/unlock the door just fine. And on an older vehicle....that's all I needed.

What's also so odd about this is that even when I took it to the dealer....they were apparently not aware of this little nub press-point "trick" which appears to be built-in for just such an issue (as a last-resort manual backup to get the door open). The dealer techs actually climbed in the back hatch door (both my doors had stuck by this point)....and gave it back to me with the doors still locked / stuck shut.

BTW...one locksmith/AAA guy I took it to did get the door open via this technique...but he was just blindly pressing around through that window slot with one of his tools. When he got it open....he actually said "there you go....but I have no idea what I just did").

So....while this is probably no use for the earlier posters....hopefully it will be a solution for anyone else finding this via search.

 

Thanks for posting that. We have a stuck door now as well. I think our Daughter slammed it too hard when she had borrowed our Mountaineer.