Expert: Roland Finston - 10/9/2011

Question
I have an 05 Grand Caravan with manual sliding side doors and an after-market installed keyless entry/remote starter. The lock on the passenger side sliding door will not unlock, either manually, by using the key fob, or with the electronic lock buttons on the front doors. I have removed the interior panel and inspected the linkage from the lock button to the locking mechanism. There does not appear to be anything restricting its movement. The cables from the outside door handle to the locking mechanism and the inside button that is used to open the door move freely, but the door will not open. I have disconnected the wires to the locking mechanism, with the same result. The locking mechanism is mounted behind the inside metal panel of the door, with not much of it being easily visible or accessible, so much of my inspection has been done by feel. All of the other door locks work fine. Any suggestions? Thanks.

Answer
Hi Ed,
You will want to remove the latch/lock assembly to see what is wrong. To do that you have to remove the 'stop bumper' which is at the upper front corner of the door interior. The easiet way to get you all the details is for me to copy the pages from a CD of the manual and attach them to an email that I send directly to you, not via Allexperts.  So I need to know your email address which I don't ever see here at Allexperts. You have to tell me it directly in a question you ask me. To do that you will need to ask a NEW question and in the question space tell me that email address. Then check the box to 'keep question private' or the address will be erased and I won't get it. Follow these instructions exactly and it will work.
Roland