04 Taurus Drivers Door won't latch

[bass440]

On my 2004 Taurus SE the latch on the driver's door doesn't always 'catch'. You have to exercise the electric lock several times to make it so that the door stays latched when shut. I've lubed the latch from the outside as best I can. My guess now is that the linkage inside the door that ties in with the manual lock button is sticky and needs cleaning and/or lubrication.

So I guess what I'm asking is how to get the door panel off? I spent about 10 seconds looking it over, and couldn't find so much as a screw head anywhere to signal that's the first thing you remove. Are there any special tools required for me to do this?

I appreciate the help.

[tripletdaddy]

This sounds like the very classic problem where the door won't properly catch due to a misalignment. If you watch the latch and the strike at their level as the door closes, you will be able to tell if it is properly aligned. Sometimes the strike becomes loose or misaligned or even the latch can become loose. As a last resort, the door needs to be loosened from its hinges and realigned. Sometines if the door has shifted enough, you can even look at the door space around it and see it is not right.

If you determine that your door is not in need or realignment, there is a special tool that is used to pop the inner door panel, that looks like a bent, wide blade screwdriver with a fork in the blade. It is much better than improvising with a screwdriver or like. The panel is held in place with plastic push in connectors. At a parts store, ask them for the tool and to look at the push in connectors so you get an idea what you are working on.