2003 DCSB Door Lock Noise/Won't Lock

I initially posted this one in Technical Chat, but I figured I'd put it here as well for visibility. If that's a no-no, feel free to delete it. The title is pretty self-explanatory, but for detail:

Sometimes I lock the doors or when they go to lock automatically (shifting into drive, namely), the door lock on the front driver's side door will make this horrible squealing/grinding sound before locking. I'd say about one time out of 50, it will fail to lock properly. It's been getting progressively worse over the last few weeks and I plan to pull the door apart over the weekend. I was just wondering if anyone here had experienced this kind of issue before and if so, what the cause and fix was.

Thanks!

 

No definitive answer I can give you but it certainly sounds like it's jamming up or the motor is going bad on that side.

Also, that interesting that they added that feature of autolocking when put into drive mode. My 2002 doesn't do that.

As a former automotive trim/upholstery guy from the mid 90's. I can tell you that the door panel removal should be pretty gravy.
A door panel tool will come in handy as well as a hook tool to separate the electrical connections.
All the door buttons (Xmas tree) should still be usable if you do it properly.

 

I was thinking the same. I replaced the outside door handle on that side a few months ago so that's what I'm leaning towards, some sort of jam.