Patrol door lock not working

No worries...You might be surprised at what WD40 might do. These things can be very touchy if a bit of dust or dirt has got in.

I had a similar thing happen a couple of months ago with my bonnet. I could hear and feel the latch release but the bonnet would stay down. I could not for the life of me find the problem. Even WD40 was no good...Then after trying everything else I could think off, I dabbed a small amount of grease on the latch...Problem solved.

I have tried Google to get a picture. But not much help. From what I have seen, it will have a door opening handle above the arm rest. The arm rest appears to have master switches for the windows and locking. It appears to have a speaker below the arm rest towards the front. From what I can tell in the pictures I have seen, the front end of the door butts up to the dash board when the door is closed, so you will not be able to remove the trim with the door closed.

The locking latch appears to be about 1/3 of the way down from the top edge of the door trim. It should be the same as the passenger side. First activate the electronic lock a few times to the open position. Once you have made sure that the electric lock is unlocked, pull the manual door opening lever to the open position. (of course you will need to go in from the passenger side for this). Do not apply to much force, you just want it to be in the open position without forcing it. Then, with the palm of your other hand give the door a thump in line with where the latch is. Don't thump it like you want to kill it, but don't be afraid to give it a fair thump if need be...That is, give it a thump whilst holding the manual door lever in the open position.

If that fails...You should be able to remove the backing plate of the manual door lever. It should be held in place with a standard No2 Philips screw. When removed you should be able to see a wire type rod attached behind it. If you can grip that wire with long nosed pliers, you should be able to pull it hard enough to release the locking latch.

Lean on the door while operating the unlock mechanism, that might be enough to open it, then pull it apart. It will definitely need to be open to pull the trim off

Not up the creek yet :)

I am on the NSW south coast...Maybe there is someone reading this a bit closer to you, that might be able to call in and take a look.

But in the mean time... Are you saying that the handle will not move at all? You need to be able to pull the handle to the open position in order to remove the backing plate. The backing plate will be held in position by little hooks moulded in it's underside, so you might need to use a small screwdriver to ease it out.

If you are saying the handle will not move at all...Are you able to open the window? If you can open the window, you will be able to remove the inner weather shield strip. This will give you more access and better view to see what is causing the blockage...Blockage meaning what might be causing the handle to be jammed.

The weather strip is simply held in place by steel spring clips. With a small screwdriver prize the rear end up and work forward. That is from rear end of car as the front end will be behind the dash with the door closed. Again, be gentle, you don't want to cause damage but don't be afraid to apply enough force the release the spring clips.

It is not a lot of room, but with the weather strip removed you will have 5mm to 10mm of gap to look down and work through. It is not easy for me as I do not know the design of this door, so I cannot be very specific. You might be able to feed a coat hanger type wire down and hook on to the locking latch and release it. Most doors Up is Open...So if you can see the wire rod going from the door handle to the lock and can hook on to it, then pulling it up should open the door.

Thanks Bonz...

Try what Bonz says...Force at different angles and different directions might do it. These locks are designed to stop people getting in. Any small thing that does not match the requirements will not allow the lock to open. Even a single grain of sand will be enough for the lock to not open.

Thanks again Herbal and Bonz,

I have removed the backing plate but the handle won't move. The window is open so will try the weather strip removal in the morning, have decided a couple of drinks are a lot easier to tackle then this little problem.

Will post how I go tomorrow

Cheers
Dax

Thanks Ron, I had already seen it and tried all the suggestions but still can't get the door open. That's my immediate problem at present
Cheers
Dax