Hello,

My drivers side lock is making a 'painful' whining sound when locking the car, and in fact will not lock unless I open the door, hold the lock button above the inner latch down while clicking the keyless remote. I removed the door panel to take a look and confirmed there was nothing obvious obstructing things, but now am at a loss as to how to fix. I am wondering if my latch assembly is not working, or is it something else. I am pretty handy but dont want to bite off something that is better left to the dealer to repair. Any thoughts are appreciated!

Matt

 

Sounds like the power lock motor is failing cincera. Is fairly common on Protege but not as much so on the MPV. Might try and get the latch assembly out and see if you can manually move the linkage that the lock motor should be operating. If you can manually move that link then motor problem would be confirmed. The motor is not available as a separate part from the latch assembly so unless some foreign material has lodged in the mechanism you will probably need to replace the entire unit anyway.
Power lock/latch assembly for drivers door is part #LC62-59-350. dealer retail is $142.20. You could save a few bucks at www.onlinemazdaparts.com and get same one for $113.76.
Not a great diagram of the lock but was all I was able to locate.

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