My 2006 Forester passenger door locks electronically sometimes with the key fob, but only sometimes. It’s not dependable. Sometimes it will lock when the fob is pressed, sometimes it will unlock when the fob is pressed, but other times it doesn’t respond at all.
fob? bad connection or corrosion in mechanism…
Perhaps someone with model specific experience can comment on how often door lock actuators fail on this model. With the BMW line (my involvement ended in 2002) door lock actuator failure was common on every car they made.
Your sympton description does fit actuator failure but more diagnosis should be done (we had a device that tested the actual transmitter,or remote fob). When you do get familar with a line of cars it is common to skip much of the diagnosis and go with what you know fails and suprisingly you seldom get burned.
Maybe it is the battery in the fob.