2005 Town and Country sliding door lock problem

suprdav95

I have a 2005 T&C. Within the past two weeks, both of the power locks on the sliding doors stopped working. I have to manually lock and unlock the doors after opening up the front doors. I tried the IOD fuse reset (as I have in the past when the locks stopped working), but it did not work. The power sliding door locks work sometimes, but don't at other times.

stocky09

The passenger side automatic sliding door stopped working 6 weeks ago. You can manually open/close it, but pushing either button to automatically open it does not work anymore. Now just in the past few days the driver's side automatic sliding door started acting up. I fear that it will stop working soon also. The vehicle only has 60k miles on it, why is this happening? Is there a recall on this from Chrysler?

dan_j

Both sliding doors on our 2002 Chrysler Town and Country can't be opened because the power locks won't release either electrically or manually. Is there any way to remove the interior panels to reveal the power lock assemblies, without opening the doors -- which is impossible, since the locks won't unlock? It doesn't look as if a tool can be applied anywhere to "pop" the panels out of position, but I may be overlooking something. Any ideas?

srs_49

Only tools I've seen require you to slide them in between the door panel and the metal part of the door itself, which you obviously can't do with the door closed.

Why don't you try a locksmith. Or a just-released-from-prison car thief :shades: . Either one can probbaly get the lock released and the door open.

dan_j

About the suggestion made by SRS 49 ("Why don't you try a locksmith. Or a just-released-from-prison car thief"): Do you know anyone who fits into the latter category? Just kidding. But seriously, thank you for mentioning the possibility that a locksmith might be able to help. I will follow up on your helpful hint.

srs_49

In all serousness, someone who know how to use a "jimmy stick" (think's that's what it's called) to open a locked door can do it. Someone in the auto repro business, maybe.

Jimmy Stick

dan_j

I may be wrong, but I don't think a jimmy stick will do the trick. There is no problem getting into the back seat area of the mini via the front doors. (In fact, I can easily reach from the open front doors to the sliding door locks.) The problem is that the manual door lock will not budge. It resists being pulled up to the extent where there is only a millimeter or two of "play." Even if I were to apply a lever to it, the most I'd accomplish would be to destroy the plastic "button" or strip the threads.

srs_49

Have you ever seen a siding tool? It's a stiff piece of metal with a hook on one end that allows you to unlock the overlaps on vinyl siding. I wonder if that would allow you to grab the edge of the door panel, even with the door closed, and pop the plastic pins out of the door. May mess up the door panel a bit, but I don;t know of any clean solutions.

dan_j

I'm responding to SRS 49's idea of using a siding tool. In spite of the possibility of "mess[ing] up the door panel a bit," as you pointed out, it sure beats the alternative, which would be completely destroying the door panel. Thank you! I will go our local Home Depot or Lowe's, buy the tool, and give it a try. I'll share the results with you.

driver1998

My 2006 Town & Country driver's side automatic sliding door not opening but you here the the motor working. I needed some help.

spadutyflugins

I have a 2005 Town & Country and the passenger side power sliding door would open a few inches and then stop. It would continue working when using the manual pulling of the handle. I took it in to get it appraised at a local car dealership and they said it was worth $500 less with that problem,s o I cam home and it was a broken wire in the harness. Easy fix.

I am still having trouble with the drivers side door and haven't checked to see if it is the same issue, but what it is doing is slightly different in nature. I will hit the auto open button and the motor will kick in, then the door jams and it doesn't even want to open when trying to do it manually. Although if you just try to open it manually from the start, it opens fine.

I am going to see if the wires on the drivers side are messed up as well, but figured I would ask the forum for tips and advice.

mississippi213

I have a 2002 LXI and having the same problems also, have you got yours fixed?

bedfordedmunds

---I'm having the EXACT same problem as Dan J. Can't open a side door on my 2002 TC including can not manually pull up the button (seems insane that such a safety hazard can exist,,, what if someone needed to exit that door in an emergency??? cant be done cause the door will not open, no matter what you do!!!).
----See the following Youtube video. I just found it. Shows how to remove the door panel (looks very easy and even with the door closed it seems) and then shows how to replace the actuator. I have not removed the panel yet but I assume the actuator is the problem and needs to be lubricated or replaced. At the least this shows how to gain access inside the door. Good luck and anyone who tries it please share your experience. I will try to do the same here after I attempt to remove the panel.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vqbJtTmkYfM

dan_j

This is to bedfordedmunds (and anyone else trying to get the interior door panel off without being able to open the door): Yes, it IS easy to remove! My son and I applied a bit of logic, slipped a butter knife(!) under the front edge of the panel, pulled, and once one of the nylon attachments popped out, it was a simple matter of getting our hands inside the panel and popping out the remaining attachments.

yippy_skippy

There is a flaw in the design of the door actuator. I paid $500.00 for two mechanics to work on this problem a full day. It's the craziest thing and Chrysler knows about this problem. It is a safety hazard and the government needs to get involved in it. I bought a new actuator and it did not fix the problem so the mechanic took it apart and studied it. He modified it and made it work. My van is a 2002 but I know there are other year models affected by this. It's scary when you are in a wheelchair and you need to exit your van and the locks don't work.

angiebob1

Just now found this forum. I'm new to smartphone stuff,but have same problem with door lock.Removed door panel and got actuator out.will inspect and try to fix or redesign.Look for helpful hints on other forums also.Over 45years as mechanic.Will try to post on more current dates.