99' Suburban rear passenger door lock

[jcs1226]

Hi all. Have a '99 K1500 Suburban. My passenger rear door lock will not move. It is very difficult to pull up the lock in order to open the door. The keyless entry and master door lock does not work on this door. None of the other locks seem to have trouble. Does this sound like something is bent or need cleaning?? Or could it be the actuator?? Doesn't seem to be electrical because the lock will not move?? Thanks for any help.

[jstthefacs]

Originally Posted by jcs1226

Hi all. Have a '99 K1500 Suburban. My passenger rear door lock will not move. It is very difficult to pull up the lock in order to open the door. The keyless entry and master door lock does not work on this door. None of the other locks seem to have trouble. Does this sound like something is bent or need cleaning?? Or could it be the actuator?? Doesn't seem to be electrical because the lock will not move?? Thanks for any help.

I have a problem that seems to be similiar to yours with my 99 Suburban. The rear door locks are frozen in the locked position making it impossible to unlock and open the doors. I was wondering if you ever resolved your problem and if so how? Thank you!

[bg862]

I had a similar problem with my 99. Maybe related, maybe not.
The right rear window would stop when only halfway down. When it was down, the lock would not work, either manually or electrically.
Took the door panel off and found that the pop-rivets that hold the door-lock actuator in place had come loose. I drilled them out and replaced with some sheet metal screws since I don't have a rivet gun.

Maybe your lock thing came loose and was knocked down to the bottom of the door by the window?

[QSub]

I also have a 1999 Chevrolet Suburban K1500 with power door locks that are freezing up (not due to temperature). This problem appears to be widespread. It is a serious safety flaw as both rear doors sometimes can't be opened. I filled out a complaint at the National Highway Traffic Administration, US Dept. of Transportation. If enough people do this they will open a Defect Investigation which could lead to a Safety Recall. Here is the link to NHTSA, Office of Defects Investigation:
http://www-odi.nhtsa.dot.gov/ivoq/

If you don't want to use the online form, call the DOT Auto Safety Hotline at 1-888-DASH-2-DOT (1-888-327-4236) and a NHTSA representative will record your complaint information.

Here is the complaint I submitted:
Left and right rear door locks are often immobilized in the locked position preventing the doors from being opened from either inside or outside the vehicle. It is not related to temperature. The left rear door failed first and now can rarely be opened. The driver's door is also showing signs of failure. This is a design and a manufacturing defect. It's a manufacturing defect because the doors are failing in large numbers and it's a design defect because the doors can't be unlocked manually when the power locks fail. The dealer said the door actuators and latch assemblies must be replaced. Chevrolet Customer Assistance said the vehicle is out-of-warrantee and the problem is not a safety defect, so I am responsible for the repair, approximately $300 per door. This clearly is a safety defect since it is probable that up to six passengers would have to climb over seats to exit the vehicle in an emergency.

You can also search for Technical Service Bulletins. It looks like they charge you to copy them. I didn't see a TSB about power door locks. Here is the link:
http://www-odi.nhtsa.dot.gov/cars/problems/tsb/

[Fretbuzzer]

I am also having problems with my 99 suburban. The passenger rear door locks fail as do the drivers. They either stay locked or unlocked for an undesignated period and then randomly work once or twice and then are stuck all over again. It does not matter which key fob is used or if you use the door lock button inside. In fact, if you hit the button a couple of times to try to get it to "unstick", it almost seems like it begins to lose power (at least the truck still starts). I have filed a complaint, but it would be nice to fix this issue! Does anyone know what the dealer actually replaces on the door to fix the problem?

[thughey]

I just bought a used '99 Suburban, and I am having the same type of issues as Fretbuzzer. Anyone have any idea's, I can't see it being actuators; unless the same one runs all of the locks on one side. L

[NoEcm]

Originally Posted by bg862

I had a similar problem with my 99. Maybe related, maybe not.
The right rear window would stop when only halfway down. When it was down, the lock would not work, either manually or electrically.
Took the door panel off and found that the pop-rivets that hold the door-lock actuator in place had come loose. I drilled them out and replaced with some sheet metal screws since I don't have a rivet gun.

Maybe your lock thing came loose and was knocked down to the bottom of the door by the window?

I found the same problem with my 96. Both pop rivets that held the door-lock actuator had sheered off. I replaced both pop rivets and all was well again. In retrospect I probably should have used a couple of steel machine screws along with a lock washer and a nut........less chance of the same problem coming back.

[Ketch]

Originally Posted by NoEcm

Both pop rivets that held the door-lock actuator had sheered off.

I had hoped this was MY problem and thank goodness for this forum! Prior to this I was convinced the actuator was dead but after getting in there I found the two rivets broken. They appear to be aluminum so I guess that is for weight savings....

Drilled them out and replaced with #12 screws. Hope those will hold. Now all I need are some of those plastic connectors that hold the door panel. I had one break on me trying to get the panel off.

[84fiero123]

plastic conectors that hold the door pad on are called carrots and are available at any parts store but bring an old one with u so u get the right style. as far as the sticking locks if its not the eivets and nothing inside is jambed try some lube in the lock cylinders then get a can of spray lube with a straw and lube anything inside that moves when u push the door lock rod. and keep moving the door lock rod as u spray, dont forget to spray inside the accuator for the electric release in side the boots of the rod itself. had the same problem with a fiero and this solved the problem they now work slick. good luck

[craigdahl]

I have a 99 Suburban and the rear passenger doors will not unlock at all. I've checked fuses, relays and tried to take the panel off the door but I'm unable to because the doors will not open. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated. One day the doors were working just fine and the next day they locked. I've been trying to figure this out for about a year, meanwhile anyone using the rear seats have to enter from the rear door and climb over the the various seats.