Driver's side door lock

Asked by Berrnadet Feb 15, 2016 at 09:58 AM about the 1997 Ford Explorer 4 Dr XLT AWD SUV

Question type: Maintenance & Repair

Power button works on drivers side to lock
and unlock all doors except drivers side.
Key & keyless entry fail to lock drivers side
as well, key feels like it doesn't "catch" at all,
just wants to spin. Keyless entry locks all
except divers side. Door was "stuck open"
last night, opened it up (door panel) and
ended up feeling the hook, seems like it's
broken? Fumbled around, got the "claw"
open - in order to shut the door. Now, it will
not lock at all, but functions properly
otherwise as far as opening and closing.

2 Answers
74,260

OJ answered 8 years ago

The locks on the driver's side door are always the first to fail because they are the one's used the most. Sometimes the mechanism gets all gunked up with dirt and corrosion to the point where the small electrical device activating the lock/unlock function cannot overcome the resistance. You can try flooding the pertinent mechanical parts with something like WD40 to see if it will loosen things up. Absent that working, the mechanism will have to come out for inspection/testing/replacement. Small hands are definitely a plus here.

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