Door lock key touble...

Key locks door fine but won't budge toward the "unlock" position. No play toward unlock, the key just stops cold. No amount of jiggling or turning the key or reinsertion of the key seems to change anything. I have seen folks describe similar issues, but haven't heard anyone describe what is going on.

Before I start pulling the panel, can someone describe what they have experienced? I've replaced the external door handle (a while back) so I am familiar with what is in there.

Anyone SOLVE this issue in the past?

 

Have you shot some of that dry graphite lock lube in there? It may just need some lube to free it up. You can use some liquid lube of your choice too but over time it can cause alot more grime to stick in and around everything in there.

 

Had something like this happen to me a while back. If you have a spare key try it. My key was just worn down and didn't want to move. Switch to my spare key and it works.

 

Something similar happened to me recently. I took the panel off and found that one of the screws that secures the handle had fallen out. This same screw holds the lock cylinder in place, and because it had fallen out, the cylinder wasn't sitting properly when I tried to turn the key.

The screw was sitting in the bottom of the door. I put it back where it belongs, problem solved. Took me 20 minutes.

 

I had something like this happen. It started whereby my passenger door would lock if you tried to use the outside handle. You could unlock it with the key or the fob but when you pulled up on the handle, it would force it to lock. I had to let people in with the inside handle, which worked fine. It did some other funny stuff too, but I can't remember what.

I took the door panel off and inspected. I manually moved each part with my hand. I found one of the clamps that the wire rods connect into was kind of loose and was letting the rod shift and would catch on another part. I had gone into it thinking I might have to replace the whole handle, but all I ended up doing was unhooking every rod and clip that I could, hitting everything with Tri-flow, and then putting them back together, making sure the rods could move without catching. It worked. Basically something had slowly shifted out of place, I took it apart and put it all back in place.