Lucerne door will not open
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I bought a used 2006 Lucerne and both rear doors would not open. Here'* how I fixed it without opening the rear doors first.
Remove the seat bottom. It'll come out with the doors closed.
Remove the screw behind the inside door handle. It'* hidden under a plastic cover that you must first remove.
Pry the interior door panel off. Yank and pry it from the upper corners. You will break off the lip that the door panel hangs on (a light steel panel) located on the inner top of the door panel, but it'* not critical anyway. All the other bits that secure the inner panel are pins that pull straight out. Pull off the door panel, detach the cable that runs from the inner door handle to the latch mechanism. Detach one wire harness and set the door panel aside.
What follows is pretty much out of sight. On the first door I did, I had to cut an access panel in the steel inner door structure to see what I was doing, but the second door I did blind, by feel. Try it without cutting an access hole. If that fails you can always cut a hole if necessary.
Follow the cable that goes from the inner door handle to the latch mechanism. At the end of the cable, on the latch mechanism, there are exposed parts that are corroded and stuck. You can kinda see them with a flashlight but it'* not easy. You want to concentrate on the bits that are near the end of the cable. Spray them with penetrating oil. Work them back and forth. Grab the far end of the cable and pull with vise grips. Push the exposed bits the opposite way with a finger and then pull the other direction with the cable. Back and forth. Harder. More penetrating oil. Cuss a little. Push with your fingers, pull with the cable. Then, "Click". The door will open.
When you reassemble it, the inner door panel will no longer "hang" from the light steel piece that you broke off, but the other pins that you didn't break, plus the screw under the handle, will hold it good enough to work.
These instructions are offered in honor of my father John, who taught me how to make old crap work without spending much money.
Remove the seat bottom. It'll come out with the doors closed.
Remove the screw behind the inside door handle. It'* hidden under a plastic cover that you must first remove.
Pry the interior door panel off. Yank and pry it from the upper corners. You will break off the lip that the door panel hangs on (a light steel panel) located on the inner top of the door panel, but it'* not critical anyway. All the other bits that secure the inner panel are pins that pull straight out. Pull off the door panel, detach the cable that runs from the inner door handle to the latch mechanism. Detach one wire harness and set the door panel aside.
What follows is pretty much out of sight. On the first door I did, I had to cut an access panel in the steel inner door structure to see what I was doing, but the second door I did blind, by feel. Try it without cutting an access hole. If that fails you can always cut a hole if necessary.
Follow the cable that goes from the inner door handle to the latch mechanism. At the end of the cable, on the latch mechanism, there are exposed parts that are corroded and stuck. You can kinda see them with a flashlight but it'* not easy. You want to concentrate on the bits that are near the end of the cable. Spray them with penetrating oil. Work them back and forth. Grab the far end of the cable and pull with vise grips. Push the exposed bits the opposite way with a finger and then pull the other direction with the cable. Back and forth. Harder. More penetrating oil. Cuss a little. Push with your fingers, pull with the cable. Then, "Click". The door will open.
When you reassemble it, the inner door panel will no longer "hang" from the light steel piece that you broke off, but the other pins that you didn't break, plus the screw under the handle, will hold it good enough to work.
These instructions are offered in honor of my father John, who taught me how to make old crap work without spending much money.
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markzintel
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Jul 23, 2010 03:51 PM
