Expert: Ryan Van Leuven - 3/26/2009

Question
1995 dodge caravan Le side door has mind of its own. will open if it wants too but only if cars on and if car did self lock door (self locking ones) I there a solenoid that pops it open and could it be its bad.

Answer
A couple things to check. First, make sure the child lock is not on. The switch is located on the door. With car off, lock all doors from the drivers seat. Then unlock. Will door open then? Lock all doors from the drivers seat. Manually unlock side door, will it open? Manually lock, then unlock side door. Will it open then? Make sure you try opening it from the inside and outside.

If the lock on the side door, is locking and unlocking when you use the switch on the drivers door, the actuator in the door is working, but it's possible that it isn't working properly. It may be worn and not pushing the lock mechanism enough for the door to completely unlock. This could be out of adjustment, an electrical problem, or just a bad actuator. The next step would be to remove the inner door panel and manually move the lock lever up. Make sure nothing is catching. Just investigate until you see something that is different from when you lock it vs when it locks itself.