drivers side back door will not open

riptricket · **Posted:** Wed Aug 21, 2013 7:38 pm

All of a sudden my window fell and now I cannot get my door open... I can get the release to pop but it will not budge. Any ideas?

USPLibby · **Joined:** Thu Jul 28, 2005 12:29 am **Posts:** 377

Maybe the window falling down tripped the kid lock? or trapped/pushing against the door release?

riptricket · **Posted:** Wed Aug 21, 2013 7:55 pm

it won't open from the inside or the outside

papaindigo · **Posted:** Thu Aug 22, 2013 9:30 am

It's not going to be easy but you need to pop the interior panel. IIRC there is a screw, behind a small trim plug, behind the door handle and one inside the hole in the top part of the arm rest. Remove both of them and then you are at the hard part as the door won't open. Normally you would use a trim tool or the universal substitute which is a 1-1.5" wide stiff blade putty knife to slid between the trim panel, usually at a bottom corner, to pop a couple of the trim pins loose (I typically work the putty knife behind the panel and then slid it along until it's adjacent to a pin before prying which takes some force. You can get an idea of where the pins are located with the putty knife on the other back door. Since you cannot come in straight from the side you will need to obtain or fab a tool like the putty knife but with about 1/2-3/4" of the tip bent at a right angle.

Once you get the panel off there will be a clip holding the lock/latch mechanism that needs to be removed. Remove the plastic water dam being careful not to contaminate or get that nasty black goo on anything as it stains wonderfully. Once that's done you should have access to pop the door open. I imagine you will need to replace the broken plastic regulator part (steiger performance is the best IMHO).

If panel removal intimidates you given the access issue I imagine a decent body shop can pop the panel for nominal charge, say 30 minutes labor.

fortx4 KJ · **Posted:** Thu Aug 22, 2013 5:18 pm

If your window motor works you can lower/raise (forgot which one) the rod which is mostly holding the door shut. Sit in the back seat and roll it up or down till the door opens.

JeepinJarhead03 · **Posted:** Fri Aug 23, 2013 10:46 pm

that happened to mine when the regulator broke, it was blocking the lock mechanism from unlatching

papaindigo · **Posted:** Sat Aug 24, 2013 10:30 am

The OP already said the window fell down hence the motor trick won't work and it's essentially a certainty that the plastic window bracket, a known problem, has broken so the window is no longer attached to the window regulator assembly and is blocking something. I've already posted the only solution I see assuming of course that the window fell "all" the way down so there is no way to grab the upper edge and pull it at least part way up.

BugginKJ · **Joined:** Mon Jul 06, 2009 7:35 pm **Posts:** 4576

Just an fyi, it's called a lift plate and is covered under a warranty even if yours is out of warranty. Jeep had a silent recall on the issue. Known problem, just get a hold of your dealer and they will fix your lift plate for free with the newer updated model. I know, had 3 done so far and total cost was $0. I did however have the door operational before I took it in. Steiger is cashing in on something that is covered by the dealer.

papaindigo · **Posted:** Fri Sep 06, 2013 12:29 pm

Yes some have had success getting a replacement window regulatory assembly installed for $0 at a dealer. IIRC the replacement also, for 05 and early 06 models, involved new window glass as the replacement assembly is the late 06 style which involves a hole in the bottom of the glass.

However, Steiger is most definitely NOT cashing in on something covered by the dealer at least not in the long run. If you get a dealer installed replacement it has the same or similar plastic piece, what Steiger replaces with metal, and it's likely to break again in the future. Bottom line is the Steiger part actually fixes the problem while the dealer "fix" merely replaces a regulatory assembly with a busted plastic part with a new assembly with a plastic part that is likely to bust again.

Now what DCJ "should" have done is issue a TSB to replace the defective plastic part with a metal one. But heh what would one expect from the bunch whose solution to a weak torque converter one the CRD model is to detune the engine instead of fixing the torque converter.

bigdogself · **Posted:** Tue Jan 21, 2014 10:06 am

papaindigo wrote:

It's not going to be easy but you need to pop the interior panel. IIRC there is a screw, behind a small trim plug, behind the door handle and one inside the hole in the top part of the arm rest. Remove both of them and then you are at the hard part as the door won't open. Normally you would use a trim tool or the universal substitute which is a 1-1.5" wide stiff blade putty knife to slid between the trim panel, usually at a bottom corner, to pop a couple of the trim pins loose (I typically work the putty knife behind the panel and then slid it along until it's adjacent to a pin before prying which takes some force. You can get an idea of where the pins are located with the putty knife on the other back door. Since you cannot come in straight from the side you will need to obtain or fab a tool like the putty knife but with about 1/2-3/4" of the tip bent at a right angle.

Once you get the panel off there will be a clip holding the lock/latch mechanism that needs to be removed. Remove the plastic water dam being careful not to contaminate or get that nasty black goo on anything as it stains wonderfully. Once that's done you should have access to pop the door open. I imagine you will need to replace the broken plastic regulator part (steiger performance is the best IMHO).

If panel removal intimidates you given the access issue I imagine a decent body shop can pop the panel for nominal charge, say 30 minutes labor.

Mine did this yesterday out of the blue. Window fell, door won't open. I removed the inner door panel, easy enough since I'd done it before to replace a speaker. Pulled the sound deadening white plastic away, and spent a few hours trying everything I could to get it to open, short of a torch or the jaws of life.
If looking at the inside of the door (driver side rear) then on which side is the mechanism that I need to pop the door open. I've tried all four sides to my knowledge, lubed it w/ WD-40, and I'm stumped.
Any help would be greatly appreciated.

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drivers side back door will not open

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