Car door wont unlock

hi, hoping someone knows a few tricks. So i can’t get my driver door to unlock. I’ve tried the key, manually form inside and electronically with the door lock but nothing works. I watched a video on dissembling the door but I need to get it open first. i was hoping someone might have a tip on how I can get it unlock/open. I was also wondering if anyone had any ideas as to what the problem is with the lock so I can have some idea what to look for when i finally get it open and the panel off. Hope someone out there can help, I’m getting tired of crawl through the passenger side.

oh, probably should mention it’s an 04 corolla

I have had this problem happen an a few cars that come into my shop. It’s never fun but can be interesting. The door latch assembly is at the rear part of the door about half ways up as it is on most cars. There are 2 rods that run from the interior handle and 2 rods that run from the exterior handle/lock cylinder assembly. These rods are retained in place by small sometimes fragile metal or plastic clips that sometimes break and let a rod come loose. I have seen them stuck from corrosion also. If you can put the window all the way down take a small bright flashlight and look down in the gap where the window is. You can usually see the latch assembly on the inside of the door. Try operating the exterior key lock or the interior lock and you may see why it is not working. A rod can be fashioned with a small hook on the end to possibly pull on the lock mechanism to release it. I hope this helps a bit.

Is it locked or just won’t unlatch the door? I had that once and after commiserating with a body shop, decided to just get aggressive and gave it a good couple of shoves from the inside and it opened. Just seemed to be gummed up. I have also had the tumblers in the lock corrode so the key wouldn’t work. Removing the lock and one of the tumblers did the trick. No one will know.

The outside handle is connected to lock mechanism. As is the inside handle. 2 different levers but 1 latch. Pull handle, and push door open at same time. Sounds like latch is stuck.

Just wanted to say thanks for all the advise. I finally managed to get the door open and the locks working again. Still not sure what the issue was but a generous amount of WD40 seemed to get everything working again.

I had issues with door locks and latches not working on my old Toyota Previa. The dealer quoted me hundreds of dollars to replace the mechanisms which were frozen up with corrosion and, on one side, apparently broken. On a pleasant Saturday afternoon I took off the door panel, removed the mechanisms, cleaned them, reassembled the broken one (it just had a dislocated lever), and lubed them with Muscle Grease (used by Toyota techs) before reinserting them. They worked like new and I never had a problem again.

WD-40 will dry out eventually so you need to get some real grease on the actual mechanisms or you will have a repeat of this problem. Good luck!!!