Driver Door Will Not Open From Inside or Out

Hey there,

Been struggling with this problem for a while. Figured I would try my luck here.

e36 sedan. Driver door will not open from inside or out. I've taken off the panel and the actuator, since it works. It seems the latch is stuck in a closed position and neither of the handles will activate it.

Is there a place on the door lock that I can press or pull that will manually activate the latch? I've tried almost everything, besides drilling into the door which may be next..

Thanks in advance.

Have you tried using the key and make sure the door is unlocked first? The locking mechanism may be stuck and preventing the latch from opening.

Since you're in the door already, try pulling/prying up on the metal hoop on the latch. It's what connects the outside handle with the latch. If that won't open the door, it's either locked or the latch is broken. Metal hoop circled in picture below.....

Thanks for the quick reply. I definitely have unlocked it by way of both connections (the key and the lock knob that sticks up). That metal hoop gets pulled as well with no result. I think it should be a stuck latch..

OK. I did a bit of drilling to expose the area a bit more. Here are some photos.

wow...a little more cutting and you could just cut the door out...


hope you can repair that, though.


have you tried wiggling the levers to see if there is any free play, or looked into the bottom of the door for tiny broken bits that would indicate something has jammed??

you might need to get a little more umph behind it, but something should movewith enough leverage.

sorry to say, though, i have no keen insight other than what has already been offered.




df

Thanks for the reply. I've messed with every lever you can see, no luck.

As for the cutting, It doesn't matter. I just want the damn thing open. I have another door.

Did you ever sold this problem?

i believe there was another door won't open thread, and the op took it in to a shop that (apparently)m had the door open in a matter of minutes.

i have *no* clue as to how or what was done to accomplish this, but if there is some strange alchemy in regards to how to do this i wish that those that do know would share. it would be a wonderfull addition to the sticky's....




df

Is it just me or does this latch mechanism look like its locked?

My DS door gets a little tough to open in cold weather. I pull up on the handle but it feels like the parts in the door don't like to move very freely when it's cold. I just have to be a bit careful with it. Does yours feel like that or does it all feel like it's seized up inside?

Could be a sign of a broken door handle. If the handle likes to "stick", that may indicative of the handle's frame being broken.