My drivers side door suddenly will not lock. The central locking actuator still works, locking and unlocking all the other doors, but the drivers door lock won't move to the lock position.
I can turn the key to the unlock position with the key, but not to the lock position, it won't budge. Likewise, inside the car I can't press down on the lock knob. All I can do is trigger the actuator.
If I half close the door (1st of two latch positions), I can move the lock. But when the latch is fully open or closed, I'm stuck in the unlocked position.
🎬 Video demonstrating the issue here. Wondering if anyone has any ideas? I've found a few other mentions of the same issue but most leading to dead ends.
It's basically the same problem as described here on swedespeed in 2007:
Quote, originally posted by jennig »
my drivers side door lock on my 1990 240 will not lock.
the key will turn in the lock to the unlock position (this is the drivers side!), but not to the lock position. the door lock on the inside will not budge if i try to lock it, either.
I had this very same problem with an '89 244 I used to own (before I stripped it for parts), I think it was the actuator itself. These cars have a key safety feature, the driver's door will not lock with the door open. This is, I believe, the problem with mine. If I closed the door to the first catch, then gently closed the door to the second catch, fully closed position, then tried to lock it, the door would lock just like normal. However, if I just shut the door it would do exactly what you are describing. Try closing the door in this two step process and see if it will lock, you might just prove the actuator bad.
As for fixing the problem, I never did, I just lived with it until I stripped the car for parts.
