Power door lock stopped working

[lofftjm]

My drivers side from power door lock quit working on my 2003 GT at 65,000 miles. Has anyone ever replaced this and how much effort is it? What did it cost?

[Whelan]

Put your ear close to the lock mechanism, do you hear any noise at all? Its not hard to pop it out either and listen closely for anything. Be sure to also check the fuse panel, should be the first thing checked in most electrical situations.Fairly inexpensive part if found in the right place. I can't imagine at 65k it going out suddenly.

[Sublimewind]

It's possible that the actuator went, if the seal went and it got water in it... I would do as mentioned, if you don't hear anything, then you can move on to (well the fuse obviously) removing the door panel, if you like... then you can find it and feel if there is any movement, if there isn't, you "could" have a bad wire in the door jam where the wires pass through... It's most likely a bad actuator though, they can be had in the aftermarket as well as factory...

[Sub-Vibe-R]

Quote, originally posted by lofftjm »My drivers side from power door lock quit working on my 2003 GT at 65,000 miles. Has anyone ever replaced this and how much effort is it? What did it cost?Your telling that the driver side does not work anymore, so it this mean the passanger side still work? If so, it is not an actuator or a fuse trouble, but more a wiring/switch trouble.

[Whelan]

Quote, originally posted by Sub-Vibe-R »Your telling that the driver side does not work anymore, so it this mean the passanger side still work? If so, it is not an actuator or a fuse trouble, but more a wiring/switch trouble.This is very true, I didn't think of that point! Although you sure they would'nt be different as the one for the drivers side is Auto Down? Just curious as I am pondering the steps I would go through for this.

[Sub-Vibe-R]

Quote, originally posted by Whelan »This is very true, I didn't think of that point! Although you sure they would'nt be different as the one for the drivers side is Auto Down? Just curious as I am pondering the steps I would go through for this.Auto down?? The auto down is for the power window, and Lofftjm is talking about the power door lock. I think you're a bit confused.

[lofftjm]

OK...for clarification...the drivers door is the only lcok that doesn't work elecronically...all others work. The lock still works manuallly. I listened close to the door when using the remote lock/unlock and I don't hear any noise coming from the drivers door. The other doors can be heard clearly.How do I go about taking off the door pannel? I haven't taken a door panel off since I owned a 1978 Chevette and to do that you had to destroy and then replace the plastic clips that help the panel in place.

[Whelan]

Quote, originally posted by Sub-Vibe-R »Auto down?? The auto down is for the power window, and Lofftjm is talking about the power door lock. I think you're a bit confused.Yeah I lost my brain for a second there.

[Sub-Vibe-R]

Quote, originally posted by lofftjm »OK...for clarification...the drivers door is the only lcok that doesn't work elecronically...all others work. The lock still works manuallly. I listened close to the door when using the remote lock/unlock and I don't hear any noise coming from the drivers door. The other doors can be heard clearly.How do I go about taking off the door pannel? I haven't taken a door panel off since I owned a 1978 Chevette and to do that you had to destroy and then replace the plastic clips that help the panel in place.This looks like a dead actuator.To remove the door panel, take a look herehttp://forums.genvibe.com/zerothread?id=785

[lofftjm]

Well, I got everything apart, door panel off, and the locking mechanism un-attached from the door frame but that is as far as I can get. There appears to be an internal brace or something that is preventing me from getting the locking mechanism out of the door frame. It is just too large to manuver out of the frame. It is probably something that is put in there before the frame is assembled.If anyone has any suggestions, I'd appreciate it.

[lofftjm]

Well, I got everything apart, door panel off, and the locking mechanism un-attached from the door frame but that is as far as I can get. There appears to be an internal brace or something that is preventing me from getting the locking mechanism out of the door frame. It is just too large to manuver out of the frame. It is probably something that is put in there before the frame is assembled.If anyone has any suggestions, I'd appreciate it.

[joatmon]

I don't know, haven't dug into that part of the car yet. I would expect there to be a way to the part out of a finished door, but can't say what that would be. Did you buy a new one yet? If so, can you hook up the wires to make sure the new one works. One one hand it would suck if the new one ad the same problem, indicating that the issue had a different cause and you didn't need to buy the part, but on the other hand, if you can't get the one part out, not needing to get it out would be a good thing. How much does one of those cost?

[lofftjm]

I didn't buy a new one yet as I want to make sure i wouldn't have a problem getting the old one out...

[Sublimewind]

Well, your there, have you tested it to make sure the actuator is dead?Did you try manually moving it? Is it hung up, dry/sticky, completely seizedDoes the passenger side work ok? Just look everything over really well, the process should come to you, you may have to remove the rod or cable from the lock end of the system to get the actuator to come out and get the connection rod/cable to come off the actuator.

[Atomicpunk]

Joseph, get yourself a 12 volt test light and test to see if you have power to the plug for the bad power lock when you hit the switch. You can also check the ground for the power lock with the test light.As for something in the way when you try to remove the lock you may have to raise or lower the window to get it or parts of it out of the way. Just keep your hands and fingers out of the door when raising or lowering the window, also their are many sharp edges and points in doors to cut yourself on.

[canoester]

My passenger door lock stopped working automatically a couple of years ago. Have been running it manually since but the other week it seized locked on me! had to break the lock plastic lever to get the door open and panel off. Lock works fine by hand using the wire. Need to look at the actuator next week and i assume replace. What was the final word on your repair so I have some guidence for next weeks work!Much appreciate the thread!

[canoester]

Noticed first poster was from Buffalo, must be a cold weather thing as mine originally stopped working in the winter then worked the next summer until it finally pouched. Again thanks for any feed back on the final resolution.

[canoester]

Me again. All fixed this weekend. The struggle mentioned by one poster above was most likely getting the hey lock mechanism rod out of the actuator unit. It's fiddley and done blind in the door much tougher to get back togther. Anyway door now works fine. Door panel is back on, just glued a couple of dog-houses on th back of the panel that cracked when removing. Off on our summer road trip this weekend!

[esjones]

Quote, originally posted by lofftjm »My drivers side from power door lock quit working on my 2003 GT at 65,000 miles. Has anyone ever replaced this and how much effort is it? What did it cost?Hey.. did you get it fixed, and if so, did you DIY or pay a shop?My Vibe developed the identical problem yesterday. Took it to the dealer today, who popped off the door panel, told me the actuator needed to be replaced and that the part ALONE would cost $322.00!!!I told them to close it up, paid them $40 for a half-hour's labor, and now here I am at GenVibe asking for advice and assistance.I'd appreciate any tips on how to fix this myself or get it done affordably.

[Kamikaze]

Personally, I'd just go get whatever the part is that I need, and take the door apart, and try to figure it out myself... then when push comes to shove, take lots of pictures and ask us lots of questions...

[lofftjm]

I had the door panel off and was able to get the latch / actuator assembly disconnected from the door frame, but I could never get assembly out of the door panel as it wouldn't fit through the hole abd I couldn't see inside the hole to see if there was another way to get it out.Needless to say I am now using the key to unlock the drivers door....If anyone knows how to get that assembly out of the door please let me know how to do it.

[canoester]

As I said above the fiddley part is getting the mechanism un hooked from the linkages then out the opening in the door. To avoid all the goop around the plastic water seal I just sliced it at the opening in the door structure panel where you can bring the actuator through. Once it's all changed out just tape up the plastic really well as it is technically a water seal from the wet side to the dry side of the door. Getting the mechanism back in was the hard part getting the linkages all on then getting the latch screwed back into the door. The latch mechanism itself is a couple hundred dollars. I beleive the root cause of the problem is in the door lock switch at the handle coz even after mine was all back togther it still takes more force to manually throw the pasenger side than the drivers side. Si I beleive it eventually wears out the electric actuator. Haven't had the time to take it apart again and try and better align the door lock switch.

[Lava red'04]

I have had both drivers side power locks go out on me in the last month. I did all of the ususal diagnositic stuff, including removing both from the doors. To get them out, you have to remove a silver bolt below the lock assembly that attaches the rear window rail to the door. After that it's a matter of snaking it out. The front door requires that the manual locking bar from the outside door lock being slipped out of the assembly. It just slides in so it's not a big deal. I found replacements at http://www.gmpartsdirect.com. Both front and rear are over $200. The site is down right now or I could give the exact amount. I went to http://www.toyotapartsdirect.com and the Matrix power lock assemblies are ~$50 less. I've tried to get a Toytoa service guy to help, but they are all clueless about whether the Toyota part will work in the Vibe. My guess is that they will. I pulled the driver door lock out last night hoping to find a part number and all I found is what looks like a manufactured date code. I took pictures of it in hopes of sending it to someone who could compare it to a Matrix assembly.So, does anyone out there have a relaible Toyota source that could help research this with the help of the pictures I took?

[engineertwin2]

I can't say for sure, but every virtually every other part in this car is compatible or taken from the Matrix.I see absolutely no reason that the Toyota part wouldn't work here.

[Lava red'04]

The Toyota power lock assemblies will fit the the first generation Vibes. The local GM dealer wanted $305 for the drivers side front assembly. I got it from http://www.toyota parts direct for $175 + shipping. Before ordering the new lock, I took the old one apart. It's a bit tricky, but what I found was that there was a significant amount of black buildup on the internal contact despite liberal amounts of lubricant. I cleaned the contacts, put it back together and it stared working ~80% of the time. I didn't get it entirely back together correctly so maybe it would have been 100%, but I didn't feel like tearing it down again. This is the first thing I have had to repair in almost 5 years and 85K miles, so I'm not complaining.The back door lock has a different interal setup than the front door. I took it apart after installing the new front lock and found that the motor just snaps onto the contacts. I used some contact cleaner on the motor, put it back together and now it works! If you are not real handy and patient (I'm a mechanical engineer) don't bother tearing the lock assembly apart.

[Cwew]

I have the same problem. Brought it to the shop and they told me it was the lock assembly gone bad, and it would cost about 600 dollars to replace. I told them to put it back together and declined service. I figured I'll go dig around in a junk yard someday to do the replacement. Did you ever get yours to work again? Or did you replace the part?All of my other power locks function fine, and the drivers side lock works with a key only. I figured for $600 it was worth just using the key.