Went to get in the car yesterday and the door wouldnt latch closed. Whatever is in the lock assembly to accomplish that looks like it broke or got detached somehow. So far I've gotten the door panel off and have removed the two torx screws on the side of the door and the whole assembly is kinda loose in there but there is more connecting hardware holding on to it. Before I go hog wild and start pulling on things that may not appreciate it, I thought I would see if anybody else has had an issue with the locks or had an occasion to remove one. I've got one of the alldata subscriptions but honestly, I don't really trust it as it has 35 steps to in including drilling out rivets that hold a window regulator part in.

I can post pix if you like, but it doesnt really show that much. Any help would be appreciated, I'll probably tackle this more tomorrow, hopefully with some better insight. And yeah, I have google'd it but not to much avail.

 

Well, it looks like nobody has had the pleasure of pulling out a lock mechanism, so I'll post what I've gotten done so far.

I removed the lock cylinder and the outer door handle by removing a small allen head bolt that is hidden behind the rubber weather strip. There is a you tube video that explains it pretty well. Once it's out it looks like this:



There are two power connectors that have to come out, one is small and is attached to the lock cylinder. Once you pull out the cylinder you will see it. There is another that is a bit larger, it pulls back out toward the front of the car, looks like this. I broke off the locking tab on the mechanism, but not an issue, the whole mechanism is getting replaced. Old brittle plastic, gotta love it.



A yellow vac line that pulls straight off the connector at the bottom:





The connectors that pull off the back of the door panel. There are a few good references as to how to pull off the panel on You tube, look for the one by fupabox, that guy is great. You will have to disconnect the cable from the door latch as well as separate the electrical connectons then the door panel lifts up and off. There are the standard push in plastic connectors that need to be popped out as well as a few hidden screws in the door handle and one behind the SRS plastic panel on the side.



I had the instructions from alldata and they discussed drilling out rivets in order to remove a window slide/guide. Frankly that part had me nervous since I didnt want to have to mess with the window as well as the lock. But the more I played with it, the more it became apparant that it had to come out in order for the mechanism to slide out though one of the bottom openings. So I ended up drilling the four rivets and got it moved out. Even then it took quite a bit of maneuvering to get it all out. Be careful of the wiring to the lock cylinder, its fairly fragile. Really no photos to show how it came out but her it is sitting next to the riveted in window guide:



Shot of the door without the latch mechanism:



I priced out the part and it averaged around 150 on the web from several suppliers. Called a local import store and he would be more expensive so I called the local dealer and he wanted 149 plus tax and would have it in two days. So the dealer it was.

Car will be parked for a few days till I can get the part and time to work on it again. I taped up the window just in case so it wouldnt fall down and taped over the lock holes to keep rain out. Probably took me 2-3 hours so far, would be a lot quicker if I knew what I was doing from the gitgo.

 

I had a similar problem with the front latch. The latch interior handle would not retract. I pulled the panel and there is a return spring that was broken.
Once I looked at it, I jury rigged the cable from the interior handle to the latch, and it worked, but I have to push the handle back into the panel when I open the door.
I didn't want to go any further to fix it, and the reason is exactly what you went through.
It is a nightmare due to the space and trying to get access for a .20 cent spring replacement.
Lots of lithium grease was used.

 

In this case, the plastic is cracked inside the mechanism, so no spring is going to fix it. Should get the replacement today from the dealer and then the fun begins to put it back together. At least I know more about how it all goes together since I've gotten this far with it.