Undignified Exit

[8Ace]

All,

I had to disembark from my x300 via the passenger door today, which wasn't very elegant. This was as a result of a soft "ping" noise that I heard when I went to get out of the drivers door. The central locking worked and the car unlocked, but the door doesn't open any more and it feels like there is no connection to the locking mechanism.

Just trying to find out if this is a common problem, with a simple fix. Can anyone shed any light or should I assume the position and to go a garage for sortage?

Edited by 8Ace on Tuesday 29th June 10:18

[pete5570]

Sounds to me like the rod from the inside handle to the latch has come off, easy enough to fix, usually a plastic snap fit joint or similar. If you remove the door card you should see the rods easily enough.

[8Ace]

pete5570 said:

Sounds to me like the rod from the inside handle to the latch has come off, easy enough to fix, usually a plastic snap fit joint or similar. If you remove the door card you should see the rods easily enough.

Hope this is the case - will open it up tonight and give it a go. Thanks

[TurricanII]

Does the handle work from outside? If so perhaps you can 'wind' your window down and let yourself out

[ymwoods]

8Ace said:

pete5570 said:

Sounds to me like the rod from the inside handle to the latch has come off, easy enough to fix, usually a plastic snap fit joint or similar. If you remove the door card you should see the rods easily enough.

Hope this is the case - will open it up tonight and give it a go. Thanks

This is most probably the case, or the cable has snapped. Let us know how you get on!

[8Ace]

Update:

Removed the door handle last night. Was clear that the cable has snapped, just before it goes into the interior handle. Currently I am opening the door by using a pair of pliers to pull on the exposed cable, which is OK in the short term.

I also attempted to take the door skin off to see how the cable attaches to the mechanism, but couldn't get it to release. I undid all the screws I could see, but something was still holding the skin on and I didnit want to force it in case more things broke and it got even harder to mend.

Followed the instructions on the Jag Lovers x300 book, but no avail. Attaching the cable to the handle looks like a bugger of a job too, so I think I'll get specialist attention.

Hey ho, hopefully not too big a job..

[king arthur]

8Ace said:

Update:

Removed the door handle last night. Was clear that the cable has snapped, just before it goes into the interior handle. Currently I am opening the door by using a pair of pliers to pull on the exposed cable, which is OK in the short term.

I also attempted to take the door skin off to see how the cable attaches to the mechanism, but couldn't get it to release. I undid all the screws I could see, but something was still holding the skin on and I didnit want to force it in case more things broke and it got even harder to mend.

Followed the instructions on the Jag Lovers x300 book, but no avail. Attaching the cable to the handle looks like a bugger of a job too, so I think I'll get specialist attention.

Hey ho, hopefully not too big a job..

What screws did you undo? I'm not sure if all the door cards are the same, I think they are, but on mine - a Sport model - you can remove the top part separately. First you prise off the plastic screw cover on the door lever bezel, then undo the screw it covers. Remove the bezel and the chrome trim. Now you can slide the wood door trim forwards and off, this then reveals the screws you need to undo to remove the top door card. To remove the bottom door card, there's a screw in the underside of the door handle covered again by a plastic insert, and this card is supported by a number of plastic lugs that you need a wide flat bladed screwdriver to prise out.

[louismchuge]

theres also a screw hidden under the round rubber air vent bit in the top corner of the door!

[8Ace]

Thanks chaps. I don't think I need to completely remove the top card, but the bottom card I do, and I wasn't aware of the one under the armrest. Will give this a go. Cables and the like seem available on ebay etc so may end up a cheap fix after all. Hurrah!

[8Ace]

Update: Spent a massive £10 on ebay to get a replacement cable. Then spent an hour trying to swap the things over. This is a really fiddly bd of a job, and I found out my hands are only just small enough to get inside the door lining.

Anyway, mission accomplished and can now exit normally. Was getting fed up having to pull on the broken end bit of cable with some pliers!

Had a moment when I thought I'd managed to ruin the central locking though; once cable was replaced I tried locking the car to see if it would unlock using the handle, and the car simply would not lock. It locked, then 2 secods later, unlocked. Oh dear. Took me ages to realise I'd left the back door slightly open.

[pete5570]

Nice one! Just goes to show that with a bit of effort, you can sort these niggles out for very little money. Wonder how much a dealer would have hit you for?