Stuck Door Latch/Actuator Fix Writeup

NOTE: don't be a dumbass like me. When doing repairs to your actuator MAKE SURE YOUR ACTUATOR WORKS SMOOTHLY BEFORE CLOSING THE DOOR. Without access to the torx bolts you can't remove the actuator. Hopefully nobody has to use this info but since I couldn't find a good solution this is what I came up with.

Long story short: I messed up when I was trying to replace a bad driver's side door lock actuator and closed my door before verifying that the actuator was working. Neither handle worked... pulling both the lock and the latch cable wouldn't work. The lever that the outside handle would try to catch but then slip and not open the latch. It was obvious that something inside the actuator body wasn't assembled right when I put the actuator clamshell back together. This is my step-by-step solution to opening the door without doing major damage to anything (i.e. drilling holes or cutting out sections of the doors or B-pillar.

TOOLS NEEDED: 10mm socket, phillips screwdriver, Dremel with flex shaft attachment, small drill bit, Dremel burr attachment, 90 degree pick, zip tie, flashlight, small mirror.

STEP 1: Remove the door panel. Luckily mine was already off. There are plenty of threads on how to remove it so I won't go into that bit. If you can't get it off I'd probably sacrifice it to gain access for the Dremel. It's easier to replace a door card than it is to repair damage to the metal.

STEP 2: Remove the lower metal panel on the door that's held on by 4 screws. This way you'll have more access to the actuator body.

STEP 3: Remove the two 10mm bolts that hold the window channel into the door. Lift it up and use a zip tie to hold it out of the way of the actuator. Note that I took this picture after I opened the door and removed the actuator (SPOILER ALERT!!!)





STEP 4: Cut a hole in the back of the plastic actuator case where the window channel usually sits. If you're looking in the door it will be the flat part that's facing you and closest to the outside of the door. The idea is to gain access to the metal door latch and manually trip it to open the door. Look for the arm that is supposed to trip the latch when it's pressed down. I used the drill bit to create a series of small holes to outline the section that I wanted to remove and then the burr attachment to finish the job.




STEP 5: Once I had access to the back of the latch I saw the spring and arm that operate the "hook' that keeps the door closed. I used my pick to press down on the arm and open the door.









STEP 6: Now that the door is open and you have access to the torx bolts that hold the actuator in place remove it and either fix the linkage or replace the entire assembly. I wasn't sure how much damage I was going to have to do to the actuator so I had a replacement handy. If you want to save yourself some cash you might be able to fix the internal linkage and then patch the hole you cut with a spare piece of plastic and some RTV but I can't guarantee that it won't interfere with the window channel as I didn't try it. Maybe even some strong tape would work.



STEP 7: Reassemble everything and before you close the door MAKE SURE THE ACTUATOR WORKS LIKE YOU SHOULD HAVE DONE IN THE FIRST PLACE.

STEP 8: Enjoy not having to crawl over the center console and/or jumping through your window every time you want to drive your truck. I'm sure you'll find another way for your inner Duke Boy to shine. Cooter would be proud.

 

I did the same damn thing. I ordered a new actuator, should be here today, so I will be drilling and Dremel-ing this afternoon. I ordered a new actuator a couple weeks ago but it turned out to just be the clam shell. I should have just sent it back, but I tried rebuilding it and of course once that thing is apart it's next to impossible to get it back together right. Unless you've done it a bunch. Hopefully the new part is all there and I don't need to open it and this doesn't take me all that long. I assume onece I can get in the assembly and get a pick on that little tab the latch will release. If not, I guess I will buy a new truck.

 

Good luck! Once you see the parts in the truck I think it'll make sense. The picture in Step 5 should help you so that you don't have to dremel away as much as I did.

 

I got the actuator housing cut away and see the clip. I push it down and the damn thing still isn't releasing. I was pretty frustrated dealing with it last night, so I will try again tonight. Is yours an access cab or a four door? I wonder if mine being an access cab that there is something else I need to free up first? I wouldn't think so, but I am at a lost for why the latch won't release. Maybe I jacked something up trying to cut the hole?

Oh well, try and try again!

 

Mine is an Access Cab. Since you already have a replacement actuator maybe play around with that in order to see how it works. That's how I came up with this idea in the first place.

 

I got it. I think the actual latch with the locking mechanism was bad. I just keep prying at that latch with a flat head screwdriver and by some miracle it eventually popped. Had the new actuator assembly installed and a 100% functional door 30 minutes later after 3 days of crawling across the passenger seat.

I don't know what the deal was. I got the bad unit out and put it in the lock position and even with the damn thing in my hand I couldn't make it release. It was really stuck.
You can see how scraped and beat up this thing is. I even tried drilling it out at one point.

 

Cut out of a front passenger door actuator.

 

I want to send a big thank you to StrangeDuck. About 3 weeks ago I changed the passenger actuator motor and the inside door handle worked perfectly, but I forgot to check the latch and closed the door. It was when I tried the door handle I realized what I did. I spent all of the Presidents’ Day weekend working on that dang thing and nothing helped. Almost every day I worked on it. Bought all kinds of things in hopes they would help. Fast forward to last night, a couple of friends removed my passenger seat and were able to remove the door panel. Then this morning I remembered seeing this post. I printed it, left work early so I could purchase a Dremel, drove to another friend’s house. Following your instructions, which were excellent by the way, we were able to replace the actuator. I’ve never been more happy in my life. So Sir thank you from the bottom of my heart.

 

I'm glad that this post helped! That's a good tip to remove the seat to help with getting the door card off.

 

See since I'm poor, I got to take the actuator apart and replace the motors themselves. Took me almost 4 hours to do the drivers side. Then, with my luck 2 weeks later the passenger side went out. That only took me an hour though. Great write up regardless.

 

Replacing the motors was what I was originally doing when I had to come up with this solution. I still have the cut-up actuator in my spare part bin.

 

This post saved my ass big time. Thanks so much for this.
I tried fixing the motors on both my front doors and ended up having to order new actuators for both.

 

Has anyone done this with a back door on double cab? I messed up putting the actuator back together after motor replacement and door won’t open from inside or outside