Car door stuck - won't open from either side

Maybe take it to a body shop or a AAA service garage that helps people who lock their keys in the car, ask them to pop open the door for you, then take the inner cover off right there in the parking lot. Chances are the broken connection will be pretty obvious and you can start finding the fix right away, and maybe figure out how to open the door from the inside by moving the mechanism directly. Even if isn’t that clear, you can close the door and go home, as long as the inner cover is now out of the way.

Before you take it somewhere, get aggressive with it. I had the driver’s door on my Riviera stick like that. Took it to a body shop and decided to try myself again. Make sure the door is fully unlocked or manipulate the lock mechanism, pull on the handle on the inside and give it some good shoves from the inside. This must be a GM thing. You can’t get the panel off with the door shut.

A locksmith may be able to open it with a Slim Jim. He might consider even asking the local police department if they can do the same. The PD around here has been known to help someone out with a Slim Jim now and then.

If he gets the door open I would advise trying to clean the latch assembly up a bit. These come from the factory with grease on them and over time that grease ages and hardens a bit and combined with dust over the years causes parts in the latch to bind a bit.
This may involve removing the door panel (once the door is open) to really clean the latch up. I’ve done them with aerosol carburetor cleaner followed by the application of a light duty aerosol grease. Hope that helps.

I think Bing’s suggestion is the best. Let’s remember the problem isn’t that the door is locked, it’s that it won’t open.

Buick Century
Model-Year ?

"Let’s remember the problem isn’t that the door is locked, it’s that it won’t open. "

Just because the lock moves to the unlock position doesn’t mean the door’s unlocked. As has been pointed out, a lock rod can become detached.

CSA

CSA: It’s a Buick Century 1996.

Bing: He did get aggressive with it. :slight_smile: He had me hold the outside latch open while he used both feet to kick against it from the inside. Nothing budged. So we suspect the latch is not connecting at all.

Thanks, everyone! I’ll pass on all this advice when he gets home today. He does have an alternate vehicle for mail deliveries, which is helpful.

If he doesn’t care bout the door panel, he can use a hole saw to cut out a circle (or razor blade, but be careful). From there, he can reach in and manually trip the mechanism and open it.

You should be able to find another door panel in a yard somewhere. You may want to check that before destroying the existing one. BUT…if it’s more important to get it opening/closing than looking good…heck, it’s 15 years old.

Hey guys, I just managed to open my car door after many frustrating hours. The solution was , I used a long screwdriver to pop it open. The mechanism was on the top part of the inner-lock. Hope this helps.

I would hope after five years the problem would have been solved.

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You can get the panel off with the door closed from the inside. Did it today, think smarter, don’t be scared.

It’s 2018… the car has probably been turned into tin cans by now.

All postings are useful. People read these for years cause the same problems keep occurring.

Not at Car Talk, half of the posts are complaints about the information that other people offer. The topic is about a door that won’t open, that problem will continue to occur for many years.

It’s 2019 and my door is stuck! I’ll try some of the suggestions and let ya know!
Thanks everyone!

I have a 14 year old Lexus es330 where I know without a doubt the plastic linkage which locks/opens the door has come apart inside the door. Driver’s side - rear. Like this issue the panel cannot be removed with the door closed. I believe I see the hinge bolts from the open front door and am going to attempt to completely remove the door so the panel can come off and then reassemble everything.

Well good luck with that. I’ve taken a door off and it’s pretty heavy to get it back on again and aligned. Might want to let someone do it. I believe the hinge bolts will be accessible if the fender is removed but can’t say if you’d be able to slide the door off the lock or not. Wouldn’t it be easier to take the seat out so you could get at the door panel? When mine stuck I took it to a body shop and suggested worse come to worse i’ll cut an access hole in the door and weld it up again. That would have been a last resort though and got it open by being aggressive. Try the seat though.

If you can see the disconnected link why not use a tool to push/pull the latch lever to open the door? In most cases that is the method I use to open a customer’s door to perform the repair.

If you belong to AAA or have tow coverage on your insurance, you might contact them to see if they can spring the door. I’ve seen it done, but not on a Lexus.

You can’t see the linkage, but based on tests and symptoms I know that’s what it is. I tried removing the door from the hinge side last night but the center piece which keeps the door from opening or closing too quickly stopped the the door from coming out. I’m about to cut a portion of the door handle assembly to try reach the linkage as you’ve suggested. I believe I’ll be able to cover the opening at the end which will likely cause a rattle but hey, it’s a 300k car.

You might try using a rubber or wooden wedge (gently) in the lower part of the window frame. Then you may be able to see the problem, or even be able to push/pull on the latch release.