Suburban Door Locks and Windows

pmcbpmcb Member Posts: 5
edited July 2014 in Chevrolet
My husband and I just bought a 99 Tahoe. We assumed that the rear cargo doors could be opened using the master door lock at the driver's door, but they won't. Is that switch supposed lock and unlock that back door or do you always have to use the key to do it? Also, the two windows in the back seat will only go down a fraction of the way. I found a child safety switch on each door jam and slid it over to disable the switch thinking that would make a difference, but the windows still lowered to the same height. Is there anything else I can do about it? And, while I'm on the subject, the master door lock at the driver's door seems to have some problems locking and unlocking the front passenger door and also the driver's door. Sometimes it works just fine and sometimes the lever will only go part of the way up or part of the way down. The two back passenger doors seem to work fine from that switch. Do I need to replace the switch, the motor for the locking mechanism, or just try to clean the contacts? Any suggestions would be appreciated since we didn't get an owner's manual with the car and have no idea what to do.
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  • rockman59rockman59 Member Posts: 250
    PMCB said: My husband and I just bought a 99 Tahoe. We assumed that the rear cargo doors could be opened using the master door lock at the driver's door, but they won't.
    ____________________________________________________________
    The master door lock at the driver's door should control the rear cargo doors.
  • pmcbpmcb Member Posts: 5
    Rockman59,

    Your reply stated that the master door lock at the driver's door SHOULD lock and unlock the rear cargo doors, so since ours won't, do you have any suggestions as to what we need to do? Someone said to try cleaning the small square brass contacts on the door frame of the cargo doors, so my husband did that last night and was able to get the master door lock to LOCK the rear door, but it wouldn't UNLOCK it, so I assume the contacts are still a little dirty. Another person suggested that we buy some electronic contact cleaner, the kind they use on computers, and spray some of that on all the contacts. The master door lock also seems to have problems locking and unlocking the driver's door sometimes, so maybe all the contacts in the driver's door locking system need to be cleaned. What do you think?
  • martin22martin22 Member Posts: 53
    I have a '97 Tahoe which is presumably similar

    The reason the rear windows don't go down far is the wheel cut out not allowing full travel of the glass.

    Regarding the manual, I recommend you visit: https://www.mygmlink.com

    There you can register your vehicle and download a pdf copy of the manual for free. Go to 'vehicle home' then go to 'glovebox'. There's also lots of other useful info on your vehicle such as maintenance schedules, recalls, etc.
  • pmcbpmcb Member Posts: 5
    Martin22---Thanks so much for the info regarding the GM website. I went on it this morning, scrolled through the 424 pages of manual (which took FOREVER!) and then printed out the pages I felt I needed. I've punched holes in them and will put them in a notebook for future reference. I never knew there was a source for a FREE manual, so I greatly appreciate you telling me about it. Thanks again!
    In regards to the rear cargo door locks, my husband tried cleaning the contacts on the door frame and jam again last night, and he got the door to LOCK using the master door lock at the driver's door, but it wouldn't UNLOCK. To me, if it locks that way, it should unlock that way. Anybody know why it didn't?
  • rockman59rockman59 Member Posts: 250
    pmcb said: I never knew there was a source for a FREE manual
    ____________________________________________________________
    Almost every manufacturer of goods that require manuals has the information available on their company website. Cars, musical equipment, TV, whatever, you should be able to get that info for free. Regarding your rear door lock not opening....just keep checking out the wiring and contacts and pump that cleaning spray on all the electrical connections.
  • roadwenchroadwench Member Posts: 5
    Did you ever solve this problem? I also have a '99 with same problem and have done the same steps you have. No luck. :cry:
  • pmcbpmcb Member Posts: 5
    No, we haven't been able to find a solution to our problem. Sometimes the back cargo doors will lock using the remote but other times they won't. We always seem to have to unlock those doors using the key. They won't unlock using the remote or the master door lock at the driver's door.
  • roadwenchroadwench Member Posts: 5
    Well, I will keep trying and will let you know if I come up with a solution. Thanks for replying to my post! :)
  • roadwenchroadwench Member Posts: 5
    I think I found the solution. I just ordered new door lock actuators for my driver door and the rear cargo door since both doors give me grief. I will let you know in about two weeks if it solves the problem. :)
  • pmcbpmcb Member Posts: 5
    I'm sure that will probably work. I'd thought about doing that too but would rather put up with a little inconvenience than spend a lot of money to get it fixed. How much did the new actuators cost?
  • roadwenchroadwench Member Posts: 5
    The actuators cost about $80 each at the dealer, but I got on a website 1aauto.com and bought them for $42 for one or $75 for two. To put on the rear cargo door we had to cut off the pop rivits holding the bracket that holds the actuator in place and replace those, but it is working fine now. I still have to put in one for my driver door. :)
  • roadwenchroadwench Member Posts: 5
    Since my last post this morning, I have tackled the driver door actuator (by the way it is the exact same as the rear door actuator) and it was a booger bear, once again we had to cut off the rivits....good thing my hubby has a dremel tool! Anyway, everything electrical in my Tahoe is now working like it is supposed to! It was worth the $80 to me. Good luck should you try it on yours. :);)
  • az32guyaz32guy Member Posts: 3
    Push Unlock once for only the driver door to unlock
    Push Unlock twice to unlock the passenger doors
    Puch unlock 4 times quickly to unlock the rear doors
  • guzickiguzicki Member Posts: 2
    Hi, I have a 00 bonniville. My door lock and window work only on driver side. The windows and locks on front passenger and both rear do not work. I got in and probed al the wires from the switch and at the window modual. I found all ground down by kick panels those seem to be ok. i have a after market car start I thought maybe that had something to do with it so I followed every single wire to make sure there was not a short. I even unplugged the dumb thing since the remote start is wired into the locks. i have taken every single door panel off. I am going crazy here. I noticed that my fuse box under the car seat , there are 4 fuses that are getting very hot. One is to the cig lighter, the other is ign. 3( whatever that is). The fuse box under the hood, there are fuses very hot in there also ignition 1 ( what ever that is) The switches all the way around do not work the only button that works is the driver door for that door only. Any suggestion I need help.
  • pete43pete43 Member Posts: 1
    I have a 2003 Tahoe The rear seat and tailgate locks are not unlocking with the key fob or the door switch. I hear them clicking but they reamin locked. Anyone else have this problem??
  • sellis1053sellis1053 Member Posts: 3
    I have a 1990 Suburban with a tailgate. The window rolls up and down fine, but the tailgate won't completely unlatch. As you're looking at the tailgate from the rear of the vehicle, the right side unlatches but not the left. I can't get to the screws that hold the inside panel onto the tailgate. Any thoughts?
  • barjm0729barjm0729 Member Posts: 2
    I have been experiencing the same problem with our 2003 Tahoe. When the dealer first diagnosed this, they replaced the fuse block. Shortly after that, the problem resurfaced. The second time it was in the shop, they replaced the rear door lock relay. Now, approximately 60 days since the last repair......same problem.
    It seems the problem is somewhat intermittent, I've tried trouble shooting it myself by using different remotes and changing the lock settings on the driver information center, all to no avail. I can get the rear doors to unlock while sitting in the drivers seat, start the vehicle, close the drivers door, activate the lock button on the drivers door and repeat the lock, unlock sequence a couple of times and finally the rear doors and hatch will unlock. Anyone else out there equally frustrated?
  • jtdeerslayerjtdeerslayer Member Posts: 1
    dear sir,

    i am also experiencing this problem, did you find a fix?
    how do you take off the door and window switch panel on the drivers side door?

    Thanks
  • barjm0729barjm0729 Member Posts: 2
    Since my posting on May 13th, the Tahoe went back in the shop at the Chevy dealer on May 15th and they finally determined the problem was caused by a defective Left Dash Fuse Block, GM part # is 15266954. It has been 60 days since they replaced this part and I have not had any problems with the locks since then. I am not positive that is the part number, I'm taking the information from the repair invoice so it should be accurate. Hope this helps. Good luck!
  • mlinggamlingga Member Posts: 60
    I'm resurrecting a thread that is closest to my issue that I could fine. Abruptly, our 2007 LT stopped responding to the remotes. One remote fails to lock or unlock the doors. The other will sometimes lock, but never unlock the doors. It's not 100% of the time. For example, once I manually unlock the door and get in, the remote works from inside the vehicle. I have also repeatedly tried to use the "reconnect your remote" feature off the data display in which you hold down the lock and unlock buttons til it beeps. It does this fine, remote seems to work, but a few hours later it's back to not working. I replaced the battery on the unlikely hope that was the issue but no improvement. If this were a computer, I'd reboot the thing. Any ideas?
  • kiawahkiawah Member Posts: 3,666
    My guess is it isn't your remote keyfobs, because all your remotes fail.

    The remote control door lock receiver is back in the rear corner garnish molding, but I suspect you're going to need the dealer to diagnose this problem with their diagnostic controller. And they may need to reboot your computer. Take all your keyfobs.

    Is your vehicle still under warranty?

    I guess the one thing you could/should check, is that the vehicle battery is at full voltage and clean corrosion free connectors.
  • mlinggamlingga Member Posts: 60
    kiawah: yeah, I agree, much to my regret it really has to be the vehicle, not the fobs, since they both stopped working simultaneously. Warranty went out a long time ago, battery voltage (at least on the dashboard voltimeter) reads the usual 14V or so when running. So, to the dealer and keep fingers crossed. Thanks.
  • tahoedrvrtahoedrvr Member Posts: 2
    At 120,000 miles, the second row locks won't power unlock, either from the fob or the switch on the driver's door. They do lock, from fob, switch and autolocking. Have tried all programming options, pulled 20 amp fuse labelled "LOCKS" that serves the system, disconnected battery, no change. Front doors work fine. Would pull the unlocking relay on fuse block and replace, but I can't get it out of the fuse block. Are they that hard to pull? Does same actuator/solenoid lock and unlock? Any thoughts appreciated.
  • hendersonjthendersonjt Member Posts: 1
    Hello! Did you resolve your problem? My 1987 Suburban tailgate is in the same exact situation -- unlatches on the passenger side, but stuck on the driver's side. To get the panel off, I'm considering drilling the screws out, . . . but would rather not! Thanks for any insights!
  • rocky3drocky3d Member Posts: 1
    I am having the same issue, wondering if you figured out your problem.

    thanks, John

    [email protected]
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