Since purchasing this MPV in late 2001 I have had the key get stuck in the ignition and intermittent problems getting the driver side door unlocked ( by remote or manually ). At one point while still under warrenty I had the ignition key cylinder replaced and the drivers side door latch replaced. I no longer have had problems with the ignition key, but the driver's side door continues to have intermittent problems getting unlocked. It is currently in the state of not opening and this appears to be its final resting state.
I can not unlock it manually with the key or by hand inside the car or by remote. The interior latch and exterior door latch refuse to open the door. The dealer convientently wants another $300 to replace the door latch again. I am tired of this problem. I have tried to NOT lock my car for the last year in fear that I will not be able to open it again, but occassionally it does get locked.
Can anyone tell me how to remove the interior door panel of the driver's side door while the door is closed? I am hoping the if I can get into the door I may be able to 1.) open the door; 2.) Dis-engage the locking mechanism so that the door will not get locked again.
The dealer claims that it is not related to the lock - but I have a hard time believing him.
Any help or suggestions would be appreciated.

 

Getting that door panel off with door closed may be a bit of a tough nut to crack garneke. There is a sectionlarger than a basketball that is sandwiched by the dashboard that will be the toughest.
Below is a diagram showing all of the front door attachments. Once all of the screws are removed, and you will probably not be able to get to the rear lower one but is just plastic so should just break without door panel damage, then pull the lower portion of the door panel straight out to release all of the plastic clips labeled "D". Once these are all released you need to lift panel straight up about an inch or so to release the hooks/pins at the top edge of the panel. Removal of the drivers seat will probably make things a little easier. You can probably also pull the main door weatherstrip up and out of the way so you have a little more room to pull the door panel away from the door sheetmetal. Damage the seal is probably going to happen but it is much cheaper than a new door panel.
Have seen problems with doors not unlocking and not being able to open due to the three door latch attaaching screws coming loose and letting latch assembly flop around inside and bind up.

[IMG]local://upfiles/1377/463F4726A6E448B4B356A2BC0C6103DA.gif[/IMG]

 

babyhuey, thanks for the image. "tough nut to crack" is not terribly encouraging though. I called the dealer again and they said that if they can not open the latch by sliding some tool down the the outside of the window - then they would attempt to remove the door panel. He said they often crack the panel and they would not cover the damage associated with that.
I don't suppose you would have a drawing showing the latch mechanism?
I would like to try and open it with a hanger or something if it is possible, but I do not know what the linkage even looks like or how I would begin.
Thanks again

 

Of course they will cover damage for a new panel as replacement is anywhere between $375-$500[:@][:@]
depending upon application. Only diagram I could come up with is not very helpful. There is a plastic cover over much of the lock assembly to prevent theft by using a slimjim or coathanger which is detriment at this point. If the attaching screws have come loose you will just want to be able to use a stiff piece of metal to push it back up against the door sheet metal as if the screws were tightened correctly and see if will then open. Is is a linkage issue then will be more difficult due to that plastic anti-tamper cover. Your best bet for getting an idea of how things are working would be to take a look at the passenger side with panel off.
You would be able see much better down inside the door with the outer belt line moulding removed. This is the trim piece at the outer base area of the window that cleans the window of moisture when rolled up and down. See second diagram below. Problem is that the rear edge of this moulding is held in place with a small phillips screw that you cannotget to with door closed. . Check your passenger front door and you will see what I mean. Could just rip it out as again, a beltline moulding is a lot cheaper than a door panel.

[IMG]local://upfiles/1377/5BA9D1D0D18B478BA66244750E79CA01.gif[/IMG]

[IMG]local://upfiles/1377/DF5B9382D9454B9F9EA67F4E318844A7.gif[/IMG]

 

Just to follow up. The lock assembly did not appear to be loose. I attempted to remove the door panel with the door closed - no success.
I was forced to resort to the dealer. He claims he fixes these all the time ( smells like a TSB in the making ). He says that it is not the lock but rather the latch assembly that binds. $312 dollars later and he replaced the latch assembly ( that they fixed once before while under warranty <= 5 yrs ago ) and broke my door panel ( crack up the middle, and three plastic fasteners ), but now my door works. He would not guaranty that the latch assembly would last even another 4 yrs. - nice [:@].
He told me he would not fix the door panel if it got broken during the repair, so I was not surprised to see that it did. However, I was surprised that they did not try and replace the three plastic fasteners. I would have paid the extra $0.50 for those.
Anyway thanks for your help babyhuey.
Now if either of the two remote entry remotes would have lasted longer that 5 yrs I would be back in business . ( Yes, I have already replaced the batteries - still do not work! )

 

Sorry to hear about the big gouge in the wallet there garneke. That really sucks.[:@]
Have never seen a bad door latch yet on an MPV yet and we have quite a few in out area. The Tribute however is very notorious for latches and/or inner outer handles breaking
Have you tried reprograming the remotes to see if that wil get them going again. ID codes do get blanked by the keyless module somtimes. Very easy to do and see if this will work.

1. Start with key out of ignition and all doors and liftgate closed
2. Open drivers side door
3. Insert key into the ignition and turn from LOCK to RUN position three times ending in LOCK postion
4. Remove the ignition key
5. Close and open the drivers door three times ending with door open
6. Doors should now automaticaly lock and unlock telling you that you are in program mode. If not then start over at #1 after waiting a few minutes.
7. Push any button on first keyless transmitter two times.
8. Doors should lock and unlock again telling you that keyless ID was recognized and programmed.
9. Repeat step 7 with any remaining keyless remotes.
If you only have one keyless remote then program it three times, If only two remotes then program one of them twice. There are only three keyless ID code "slots" in the
control module so you cannot have more than three but all three should be "filled" even if with the same remote(s).

 

That rocks babyhuey! You earned your pay that time. The remotes work great now. Thanks.
That little "Easter Egg" / secret handshake with the car was very useful. That would be neat to see a topic devoted to this type of hidden diagnostic, service routines.
Are these documented in a Chilton's manual?

Thanks Again.

 

"Earned my pay that time"??? You mean I'm supposed to get paid to do this.[sm=WTFsgign.gif]. Where is that admin at???
Glad that worked for you garneke. It is a little known fact on how to program the remotes and I doubt it is in the Chilton manual but have never looked in one.
The only other secret handshake thingthat I can think of right off is programming your own new keys if the van is equipped with immobilizer system. Is your van equipped with immobilizer??

 

How do I see the image(s) mentioned here? I really need to get the door panel off my 2001 MVP and this looks very helpful!

 

I have the same problem with my 2001 except BOTH my front doors are affected. This thread was not very encouraging.

If I find some kind of solution I'll post here for further searchers.

Sorry to hear it became so costly!