Here's the scoop:

The drivers side door actuator has been acting up on and off for a few days. Usually, it would get stuck in the locked position, and you had to lock/unlock the doors over and over until it eventually freed itself. It's now stuck in the locked position (or possibly somewhere in the middle), and there is no way to unlock/open the drivers door. The handle on the inside only pulls partially out, the unlock lever is stuck in, and you can't move it. The key will only turn in the lock direction, but encounters heavy resistance in the unlock direction (to the point where the key feels like it will break).

I'm freaking out. I'm going to take it to the dealer Monday, but I honestly don't know what they can even do. The interior door panel is not going to come off with the door in the closed position. The dash is in the way (at the very least).

Has anyone ever had this happen? Was the dealer able to fix it? I'm not going to get any sleep at all until this gets resolved. I'm having visions of them using the jaws of life to get the damned door open.

I really hope someone has had a positive experience in the past....

BTW:
2010 Mazda 3s
Technology Package (Keyless Entry, alarm, keyless start)

Thanks so much for any help!

-Jim

 

They might try to put a straw between the window and the door frame on the inside and blow some lubricant at it. I would use an electronics cleaner or MAF sensor cleaner because they will completely evaporate.
Do you hear a click when you push the button?

 

Yes, it's clicking. It also makes a whining type noise intermittently. If I had to guess, the actuator either has missing teeth on a gear, or a broken piece of something is preventing it from moving. It was working intermittently, but it seems to have taken it's last breath.

The only thing I think they might be able to do is force it with a slim-jim maybe. I don't think the key would hold up to being forced.

My fear is that they are going to have to cut a hole in the door skin or something to get to the actuator. I wonder if my auto insurance would cover that damage...???

 

I think you are probably right. the mechanism is broken internally and a bit lube is not going to help.
The dealer is most likely to slim jim it or they will go in form the inside. An interior door panel is easier to replace than a door skin.
I would talk to them before they go to work on it. Also, call a body shop and ask them if they dealt with this problem before.

 

I am not sure what you mean by actuator, but it sounds very similar what happened to my passenger side door. A friend of mine slammed it one way and it locked shut. I could not get it open and locking and unlocking did nothing. The little lock button in the inside of the door tried to move, but couldn't.

The dealership quoted me $800 to fix it because they were going to have to cut a hole in the paneling. They said the problem was in the lock mechanism between my door and the frame. They said that it was a rare problem. They did not use the word actuator, to my knowledge. As my car is a 2002, they said they would have to get a new panel from a junkyard and go through all this meticulous labor.

Instead, I had a friend of mine who can pretty much fix anything look at it. He basically pried back the paneling very carefully, and with a succession of jimmying the door and prying back the paneling he was able to get in and lubricate the lock mechanism. Honestly, that is all I know. He figured out how to do it by taking the panel of my driver side door and locating all the parts and how everything worked.

I don't know if that's the same problem you have, but it sounds similar. Good Luck!

 

UPDATE:

I finally got the door to unlock/open. I rolled down the window so I could access the door more easily. From the outside of the car, I leaned in and started pressing the unlock button while pounding my fist vigorously on the inside door panel right where the actuator is located (midway up about armrest level, on the part of the door where it latches). Finally, it unlocked!

Once I had that done, I promptly removed the inside door panel, and unplugged the actuator. I am ordering a new actuator tomorrow. I have the service manual, so hopefully it won't be too hard to replace.

Notes on operation with the actuator unplugged:

(1) The computer thinks the drivers side door is open. The door open light is blinking on the cluster, and the info panel has a message that says the same. Message is easily cleared from the info panel by using the buttons on the wheel. I had to turn off the interior lights (if set to DOOR, they stay on since the computer thinks the door is open) to keep from running down the battery.

(2) Using the unlock/lock buttons on the inside of the car, the remaining 3 doors will lock/unlock as normal. The drivers door with the bad actuator doesn't work (as expected).

(3) Using the emergency key in the FOB, I can manually lock/unlock the drivers door from the outside. It does not unlock any of the other doors.

(4) The FOB does not work at all with the actuator unplugged.

(5) The lock/unlock button(s) on the outside of the car (door handle) do not function.

It can be driven, and secured until the part shows up, which works for me.

I will post a follow-up on the actuator replacement after it is complete.

Thanks to all for the input. Jmarcin, your $800 comment gave me the determination to get that thing opened myself. Couldn't let some inanimate object get the best of me. LOL

-Jim

 

It looks like I can jumper the door switch to make the computer think the door is closed. This would fix #1 for sure, and most probably also take care of #4 & #5 as well. I'm not sure if I will pop the panel again to do this or not... thinking about it...

 

Happy to be a motivator!

 

MORNING UPDATE: The battery is being drained with that jumper missing. I had the battery on the charger at 100% at 12am. When I checked it 8 hours later, it was at 25% (11.9v). I'm going to place the jumper tonight, and re-check it.

 

With the jumper in place, it took care of #1, #4, and #5 from above. I am confident it also took care of the battery drain issue. If for some reason it did not, I will update the thread.

I hope this journal will help someone in the future with actuator issues.

I will add some notes on the replacement procedure after I complete the swap (waiting for the part).