Auto Question - Door Lock Actuators

[Belinda Barfield]

Apparently the door lock actuators have died on both front doors of my car. One thing I really didn't notice until this happened is that there is no key entry on the passenger side - something you can bet I'll check for next time I buy a car! I spoke with the service center at the dealership today and the estimated amount to replace the actuators is $800.00. I really don't want to spend that much so near the holidays but this is something I definitely don't want to tackle myself. Any suggestions, other than just live with the problem a while longer? It's not a big issue as typically I'm the only one in the car but when I do have a passenger and it is raining it is a bit of a pain for the passenger. I know that this will require removing the door panels and I'm pretty picky about who does what to my car so I don't want to have just anyone do the repair. Is this best done by the dealer service center or something the average repair shop can do?

[Bryan Morgan]

Removing panels is easy if you have the right tool and know where the pins are. Are they SURE its the actuators? There are relays that control them. My wife's old Chrysler had problems with the door locks and it was the relays (which happened to be bundled in a module and not replicable separately). Could also be the wiring in the loom between the chassis and the door.

[Belinda Barfield]

Thanks for the reply Bryan. Best guess at this point is the actuators. I haven't taken the car in, just called to try to get an idea how much the repair was going to cost. The key fob will unlock the trunk and the two rear doors. The master unlock button on the driver's door will unlock the two rear doors. The car is a 2005. It only has 45K miles on it but I guess low mileage has nothing to do with door lock part lifetime.

[Matt Meiser]

Unless they went bad at different times, I'd put my money on "other than the actuators."

[Jason Roehl]

Care to share make and model? If I were a betting man, I would put money on a certain one of the Big 3, and that it is an electrical problem--both front doors are probably on the same circuit.

[Dave Lehnert]

Don't get me started about dealers. I only use a dealer if the car is under warranty. You would think all dealers would have the best of the best. Not what I have found in my world.
I use a family owned shop that has been around a long time. No way are they cheap but I take the car in and it's fixed right the first time. DONE!

I worked with a lady who had a car that would keep cutting out on her. She took that thing back to the dealer many, many times. They charged her hundreds of dollars each time but never fixed the problem. My brother purchased the car cheap. Called the Auto guy on the radio who runs a auto shop. Said he gets that model car with the same problem all the time. Told him what part needed to replace. Cost $30 and fix the problem forever.

[Jerome Stanek]

Will they work with the button inside? check the fuse panel and in the book to see if they are on a circuit breaker. Also batteries in the remote

[Brian Vaughn]

I know it's a dumb question, but have you checked the fuses? My wife complained that her mirror had quit auto-dimming, and I thought it might be something wrong with the mirror itself, until she offhandedly mentioned that the windshield squirters had gone out as well. The light bulb went off, I checked, and sure enough, she'd blown a simple fuse. That's the first place I'd check (Especially if they went out at the same time)

Second thing I'd say is ask around and find a good non-dealer mechanic. They are usually half the price, and a good one can be even less. My dealership could barely change the oil without messing something up (I once had to put a 2' cheater and pull as hard as I could on a socket wrench to get the oil plug to release...this on a plug that's supposed to be torqued to 27 ft-lbs.)

Lastly, what has already been said, pulling a door panel off is not a big deal if you know where the pins are and have the right tools. And the actuator should just be a simple solenoid, two wires, or a wiring harness. But again, that's assuming that it is the mechanism, and not something else wrong.

[Brian Elfert]

This doesn't fix the current car, but I don't think you'll find a car with key entry on the passenger side unless you get a relatively high end car.

This "cost reduction" has been done on pretty much every low and mid range car out there in today's market. Apparently manufacturers think folks would rather save a few bucks on a car than have a passenger side lock.

It hasn't affected me, but I don't have a wife or significant other and almost never have a passenger.

[Belinda Barfield]

Unless they went bad at different times, I'd put my money on "other than the actuators."

Passenger side went first, then about a month later the driver's side went.

Care to share make and model? If I were a betting man, I would put money on a certain one of the Big 3, and that it is an electrical problem--both front doors are probably on the same circuit.

Acura TL. AAAHHHH . . . don't . say . electrical . problem. Please!

Will they work with the button inside? check the fuse panel and in the book to see if they are on a circuit breaker. Also batteries in the remote

Won't work with the button inside, but the rear doors do. Haven't checked the fuse panel. Batteries in remote good. Umm . . . dumb question . . . how do I know if a fuse is bad?

I know it's a dumb question, but have you checked the fuses?

Second thing I'd say is ask around and find a good non-dealer mechanic. They are usually half the price, and a good one can be even less. My dealership could barely change the oil without messing something up (I once had to put a 2' cheater and pull as hard as I could on a socket wrench to get the oil plug to release...this on a plug that's supposed to be torqued to 27 ft-lbs.)

Lastly, what has already been said, pulling a door panel off is not a big deal if you know where the pins are and have the right tools. And the actuator should just be a simple solenoid, two wires, or a wiring harness. But again, that's assuming that it is the mechanism, and not something else wrong.

See above regarding fuses. Have a great mechanic that I trust about 90%. (I'm not a real trusting person). I'm a little out of practice on car repairs having not done anything of that sort in quite a while. I had a 97 Maxima that was a great little get around town car. Never, ever had a problem. Sold it last year to a guy that works next door. I miss that car every day. So far the Acura has been hit in the parking lot of the post office, one side creamed in the condo complex parkig lot, and now the door lock problem. I think it is jinxed or something. The Maxima had keyed entry on driver and passenger doors.

[Robby Jones]

I see problems like this alot. The first two things I look at is the switch itself and then listen to see if you can hear the actuators moving. My suggestion would be to take your car to a auto glass shop. We have lots of practice taking off door panels and working inside doors. My customers tell me that my prices are about half of the dealership and I get my parts from the dealers.

[Jason Roehl]

I'm not familiar at all with Acuras, but if it does have a fuse panel somewhere (often underneath the steering wheel), you can check the fuses there. Either on the fuse panel itself or in the owner's manual should be a diagram of the panel indicating which fuses go to what circuits. The fuses are likely blade style.

Here is a blog with some relevant pics:

http://kennethfinnegan.blogspot.com/...ng-my-car.html

(I don't read it, it just had the pics after a Google search).

There may be a little plastic tool for removing fuses somewhere on the fuse panel cover, but I find those things are usually useless. A pair of needle nose pliers and a light grip work much better for pulling fuses.

Robby has a good point, though. Using either the key fob or the interior switches, push the buttons and listen for something trying to move in the door(s). If you hear "electrical effort", then it's probably the actuators. If not, it's probably elec...uhh...you can't fix it with a hammer.

[Myk Rian]

Acura? Ugh.

Go to a repair shop, not a dealer.

[Jim O'Dell]

Most likely, unless Acura does their set up strange, is if the back doors work, the fuses are fine. One fuse should work all the door locks. I'd agree with the actuator being the problem. Now, if you can hear the actuators making noise at each of the front doors, then it could be the rod that the actuator moves to lock/unlock the mechanism. Especially if you've had body damage at each of the doors. It could be the plastic clips that fold over onto the rod and lock down on it is loose/broken allowing the rod to fall out. Easy repair if that is it. Jim.

[Ron Jones near Indy]

Drive over to Jim's and let him take a look at it. He might even let you take a setter home with you. OK, sorry--I got carried away. Your favorite non-dealer body shop would be a good place to check. They deal with door panels and locks daily.