Door is shut, but the “Left Rear Door Ajar” message displays on instrument panel, and the interior lights won’t turn off because the computer thinks the door is ajar. Tried shutting door multiple times with no change.
Any suggestions short of bashing out all the interior lights?
Check the courtesy light switch either in the door frame or latch handle.
Spray some electrical contact cleaner in the switch.
If the vehicle has been in a prior collision the door may be out of line causing a switch fault
There is the chance a wire has corroded off or come loose from the switch.
I haven’t taken the door apart at all to access any switches. No prior damage or anything. This condition started when I returned from a trip and got in truck at airport parking lot. Interior lights wouldn’t go out and the display said left rear door ajar, so I stopped, opened and shut that door to ensure shut, and still didn’t go off.
Turned off, took out key, restarted, and no indicator. Started again after about a week with no problems. Now, the interior lights won’t go off at all even though the door is closed. Still get the control panel warning that the left passenger door is ajar.
If it is something I can easily do, I’m all for removing panel to access wiring/switches. I just don’t see anything by looking at door or frame to indicate any electrical circuit.
About to resort to dealership, because I don’t even know where to look for problem.
Sometimes, the door latch is just enough out of alignment to cause this.
This happened on my mother’s car, and I adjusted the closing pin/latch so the door would close a little tighter. Try this and see if it cures the problem. With my mother’s car, it made the inerior lights stay on and would run down the battery. She was 89 years old at the time and did’t drive the car every day, so the battery would run down. When she was a little over 90, she started to park the car and forget where she parked it, and then get all nervous and cry. I didn’t have the heart to tell her she couln’t drive anymore, so I pulled the starter relay, and she just thought her battery was dead.
She had the beginning stage of Alsheimers, and it progressed from there. She never knew what I did, and kept her dignity to the end, which came last September at age 94.
If the switch is part of the latch soak the latch by spraying PB Blast into it. It has worked for me.