Door stuck

[queen b]

i have the same prob with my passager side back door. i locked it one day and it never opened again but i dont care u can still get in the other side and slide across. lol couldnt be bothered getting it fixed at this stage

[rfbqwerty]

Easy method to open a stuck Kia Rio door. Full credit to 'fastkia' for explaining how to open a stuck lock but after opening my lock by his method I found an easier way to do the job. You need a piece of straight wire (clothes hanger is good) and make a 3/4 inch square bend on one end. Wind down the window & push a tapered (plastic) wedge between the glass and the inside rubber to get a gap to work through. Poke the wire down beside the glass and pull up on the lever that is operated by the outside door handle. This is not the wire from the door handle but is the lever the wire connects to in the lock. While the lever is held up by your hook you can now pull up the locking button. Remove the wire from the door and everything works and it can be opened and closed as often as you like but don't press the button or use the key lock or it will be stuck again. The lever is normally held up by a small spring that has a sharp bend at one end and the spring will ALWAYS break at this bend. I used the same spring with a 'new' loop made from a section of paper clip to replace the old loop. Better than the original. No cost and it took less than 30 minutes.

[XGamesJ6]

i would first try and see if it is the lock, when u pull the lever do you feel it pull on something, because when its locked u know your pulling a rod, and nothing else, if u dont feel anything, lock issue, just try something, i would prolly get pissed and just push the lock up and down like crazy until something happened, but i dont know, i dont own a kia, but my friend does, and she loves it!

[waikiyi]

Originally Posted by andysm00th

I have a 2002 Kia Rio (4 door) and the drivers side door is stuck shut. I am not able to open it from the inside or outside. Does anyone know how to get the inside door pannel off with the door closed? Any info on this would be great..

I'm now having the same problem with my 2001 Rio and am sick of climbing through the passenger side. Doesn't make for good viewing. I'm currently an extremely poor student and don't think I'll be able to afford to pay the dealer to fix this problem. I don't understand exactly what I'm aiming for with the rod. Does this method work with central locking?

Also, how do I relock the car when I'm out and about? I don't have keyless entry, so I'd be forced to lock it by pressing the button or using the key - and here we go again!

JM

[schwar19]

i just opened my door using rfbqwerty's method. I had it open in a few seconds. This occurred after the kia dealer told me that they would have to take out the seat to remove the door panel. Now, all I have to do is decide whether I want to take the time to remove the panel and fix the latch myself, or allow my mechanic to do it. While I can't lock the door until I do, at least I did not shell out the $180.00 labor plus the part to do this. And no, because my doors were not electrical, this was not covered under warranty. Hope this helps someone else save some money. Oh, and by the way, I'm female. Don't let those guys tell you can't fix stuff on cars!

[schwar19]

oh i forgot to mention that i have a kia rio cinco, 2002. :-) God bless the internet...

[schwar19]

Followup... I did go ahead and buy the new latch from kia for $52 and installed it myself. All told, I spent about $80 on this problem and a few hours tinkering around with the old latch before I just decided to buy the new latch. I didn't want my temporary fix-it job to break in the middle of winter. However, when I took out the broken latch, I could better see the little spring that broke. If this happens again, I will try to just replace the wimpy little spring they used. I can see how a few cents more would have kept this latch from breaking. It's quite a shame, but at least I did not let kia fix this for the $200 plus they originally quoted me.

[blueharleyguy]

My 2004 Kia Rio passanger side door will not release. I have pryed the door panel off and the mechanisms look to work the same as the working drivers door mechanism. Nothing I do releases the door. Once I get the door open, I will change the mechanism, but gotta get the door open. Any know a trick to getting the door open?

[RahX]

Not to dig up an old thread but i've seen a LOT of the Kia latch screws come loose and jam into the body of the car and keep the latch from releasing. Simple method, pull the handle and give it a couple hard shoves. Sometimes you have to do it harder.

[schwar19]

my kia rio cinco 2002 drivers car door is stuck too. the lock pulls up and down but the door handles inside and out do nothing. so, i'll see if taking off the door handle will work? would that be the inside or outside door handle? What about holding the door handle up on the outside and having someone kicking the door open from the inside? will that work?

[schwar19]

well, the door is open. i had my roomie hold the handle up while i gave the door a good kick from the inside. it opened immediately. i then tightened the screws holding in the latch. they were loose and one had completely fallen out (there are three screws). mission accomplished. now i just have to buy a new screw and get some lock tight to make sure the screws don't come out again. hopefully, the latch (which I replaced last year) will be good for awhile. ;-)

[MustangCSA]

I have the same problem with my kia rio. The passenger door will not open but the latch seems to be working right. If I unlock the door and try to open it with the handle it will open, maybe a centimeter, enough to turn the dome light on but will not open completely. I tried holding the handle open, both inside and outside, and kicking it from the inside like suggested but still no luck. How hard did you guys have to kick it? I cracked the door panel, and I'm afraid if I kick it any harder I might break the window. Any suggestions?

[RahX]

I sit in the seat and shoulder it pretty good. I haven't had one that wouldn't open this way. I usually check the screws during an oil change since it only takes a minute with my electric drill.

[vince2010]

The key and pulling up on the door lock would not unlock the door. The lock was stuck in the lock position. After pulling up on the door lock with a vise grip and turning the key without breaking the key and door lock the lock opened up while trying to lift up the door handle. The door managed to open.

I removed the door paneling. I removed 2 screws at the bottom and 1 on the front side. A false hole was removed on rear of the door panel to reveal another screw. The false hole behind the inside door handle(closes door) was removed and a screw removed. The screw holding the interior door open hanle was removed. With a flat screw driver the front of the door panel was wedged loose so my fingers could loosen up the yellow pressure plastic tabs so the bottom paneling could be loosened. The interior open door handle was carefully threaded threw the open hole. The door paneling was lifted out of the top window groove. If the door tab is broken, one can goto the auto store to buy an assorted variety. It is better to install this while the paneling is off.

The plastic sheet was cut to reveal the door regulator. Since springs are expensive in this area, a non-biodegradable rubber band was connected between a white plastic ring and to an attachment point near the inside exterior door handle. This was a temporary fix until I find an appropriate spring.

The plastic sheeting was repaired with clear storage tape. The door paneling has to be properly groved and the inside door open/lock properly threaded. A solvent which does not damage plastic was used to clean up any grease and paper to sop up the solvent was used.

Good luck.

[Ashes1982]

(this is my gf's car) and I was just able to get the door open...same problem as everyone else on this thread. a 2002 rio cinco. I was finally able to get the door to unlock and open after a large combination of jiggles on the inside/outside handle and lock with the key.....felt almost like a lil snap and the door finally unlocked completely and am able to open it.....i havent taken apart the door yet but it sounds like from reading this thread that she isnt the only one who had been crawlin in and out of her passanger side door while trying to avoid a $200 repair at a dealership....