Door Won't Open

Hi, I just found this forum and hope someone can help. I have a 1994 Corsica. The driver's side door would not unlock at first, but I could open it from the inside. It has power locks and would not unlock using the key from the outside. Now it won't even open from the inside. Now what? Thanks!

See my posting ('92 Corsica Door Latch Problem) and see if that helps.

SMF

Yep. You seem to have the same issue as me. I better take it in! My son drives this car and has been climbing over the passenger seat! LOL!

homedog7,

I you or anyone else wants to try this repair themselves, let me know and I'll write up a detailed explanation of the repair. It really wasn't that hard and only cost me $0.81 for a new spring.

SMF

If its that easy, then alrighty! I will give it a try. My biggest concern is the door is locked shut! How do I get the panel off?

Ah, there's the rub...

Actually, I had the same problem. I ignored the problem until it was too late. One too many closed doors as it were. Anyway, here goes....If you're not too good at remembering things you may want to write down everything you take apart and if you have a digital camera, even better.

First you need to remove the window handle. I didn't have any special tools so I just used a screwdriver and needle-nose pliers. You have to push/pry the door panel in a little to be able to see the spring clip. Don't forget to remove the plastic spacer. Next, remove (2) torx bolts in the front and middle of the armrest. Remove the small screw that is behind the inside door handle and remove the plastic assembly containing the electric door lock switch. Disconnect connector from door lock switch. Remove the small screw behind the inside manual door lock slide and remove slide. Its been awhile since I took the door panel off but I believe I removed the trim at the bottom of the door and the trim on the front pillar. Now all that is holding the door panel on are push-pins. This next part is a little tricky. You basically need to muscle the door panel off. Pry, pull, yank, etc. Sorry that’s the best I can offer for this part. It was difficult but it did come off even with the panel wedged between the door and the dashboard. Surprisingly enough, I didn't break any of the push-pins or their housings in the panel. Next, remove or cut away the plastic sheeting covering the inside of the door. Disconnect the connector to the electric door lock actuator.

This next part is the most important and possibly challenging. You basically need to use a long flathead screwdriver, working blind, to get the door to unlatch. Sound tough and impossible? I thought it would be but just keep at it. You can't see anything, you just need to get a feel for where you are prying the screwdriver. If the spring is deteriorated like mine was, then all there is to move is a little toggle lever that rides up and down on a rod where a spring would be. The spring is what keeps the lever up when you want to unlock the door. Also, make sure that the door mechanism is unlocked when you try to open the door. I was using the screwdriver in tandem with the inside door handle. If you have dental mirrors it may help you to get a feel for what you are try to do but keep in mind that you can't use both mirror and stick you hand in at the same time. I personally did not have any mirrors. Perseverance is the key....I wish I had taken some pictures of the lock assembly to help, sorry.

Once the door is open, hopefully, look inside the door and you will see (2) rods. One connects to the outside key lock (short) and the other connects to the outside door handle (long). There are little plastic clips on the ends of the rods where they connect to their respective parts. Slide off the clips and pull out the rod from the hole that it is sitting in. Having smaller hands makes this a little easier. The larger rod is only connected with a clip on one end. The other end has a flat blade that inserts into the outside door handle. Once the bottom clip and rod is removed, work it around a little and it will fall out. Next, remove (3) torx bolts from the latch side of the door.

Now the only thing holding the door latch assembly is (3) rivets. You need to drill these out. Don't listen to people say to use a drill bit the size of the rivet shaft...Wrong... I started with that approach and all it bought me was a spinning and intact rivet which I then had to chisel off. Pick a drill bit size that is larger than the shaft of the rivet and is large enough to remove the head of the rivet. Knock out the back half of the rivet. Note: you will not be able to replace the rivets. The top (2) rivets are encapsulated by a rolled piece of metal inside the door which makes it inaccessible. The bottom one can be replaced but why bother. You can just drill new holes next to the rivet hole and use a good sheet metal screw. Don't worry, they will be strong enough. Now that the assembly is free of the door, you need to just pull it out.

Take a look at the door latch mechanism. There are (2) springs. One is placed horizontally (with respect to its orientation in the door) and is an expansion spring. The other is a small light compression spring placed vertically on a thin shaft. The spring is about 3/16" x 1 3/4". Mine was completely rusted and disintegrated. Remove the spring or pieces of spring. Go to a local hardware store and get the replacement. Bring the assembly with you if that helps. I went to a True-Value and they had good selection. I believe it was a #9 on their "Spring Fast" sheets. Just make sure that the spring you get will move freely on the shaft. Better too big than too small. That spring location has plenty of extra room. It also needs to be long and strong enough to push the lever back to the top. The one I got was just right. Spray down the entire latch mechanism with penetrating oil to clean the assembly and lube up with white lithium grease or other.

EDIT: One thing to note, you will need to thread the spring onto the shaft as the ends of the shaft is captive. Thread is just like putting a key onto a key ring or better yet, a key ring (spring) onto a key (shaft).

Reassembly is a piece of cake with the exception of the long rod connected to the outside door handle. For this you will need two people and a bright light. As I mentioned before, this rod has a blade at the top end that slides into a curved piece on the inside of the door handle. You can barely see it but with the light in the right place you can get it. Make sure the second person holds the door handle up while you connect the lower half of the rod. Once both rods are inserted and clipped, replace (3) torx bolts on the side of the door. Drill new holes by the old rivets and tighten assembly with sheet metal screws. Reconnect the electric door lock actuator and reattach the plastic sheeting. Next, replace the door panel making sure all push-pins are aligned. Pound into place. Replace (2) torx bolts in front and middle of armrest. Replace plastic assembly with the electric door lock switch making sure to reconnect the connector. Tighten with small screw. Insert the manual door lock slide and tighten with small screw. Replace the plastic ring spacer for the window handle and replace handle. Make sure you partially insert the spring clip into the handle before you place on shaft. Then use your screwdriver to snap it in place. Replace all door and body trim.

Almost forgot, I happened to break the plastic piece which holds the drivers mirror adjustment cable to the door. I may have broken this when removing the panel by force, so use care. For me to secure it, I just drilled a hole through the plastic into the metal door. Not the most ideal or best looking, but what can you expect. Cheap, cheap, cheap. Besides this car isn't going to win any awards and is currently rusting like heck above the window and trunk gutters.

That should be it. I hope you read this entire thing before you get started as I mentioned it was "easy" aside from getting the panel off with the door closed and working the door open with a screwdriver. Let me know if you need any help.

smf

Thanks again. I will let you know how it goes. I hope to get ot it this weekend.