Hey everyone,

I was looking for some advice. I got a 95 Ford Exploder and the rear passenger door's lock is stuck. I can't pull the tab up (well, I probably could just do now know how much damage it will cause) to get the door open. I wanted to see if anyone has run into this problem before and what they did to "unstick," the lock so I can open the door and remove the paneling to replace it.

Thanks for the help, Wdy!

Maybe it is time to retire the 16-year old Exploder and get a reliable vehicle.

As Click and Clack recommend on Car Talk, drive it until it won't go any more.

You can still have minor repairs done and keep driving her until she won't go any more.

Then look for another used vehicle from an individual.

You can get a nice Corvett from a friend of mine. All it needs is a paint job and you will be ready to roll.

When you say 'tab', are you referring to the outside door handle or the inside lock ? Can you open the door from the inside ?

Either way, you will likely have to remove the door panel and see what's going on inside the door frame. If it's power locks, there will likely be some sort of solenoid actuator that may have failed. That will be a Ford dealer only item and could be expensive. You may get lucky and be able to free up the linkage with penetrating oil. Don't use WD40, the 'WD' stands for water displacing. Use PB Blaster or a similar type oil that is made to free stuck parts. Good Luck.

You could try and Google "stuck door handle Explorer" and find something useful.

Thanks for the suggestions! I probably should have searched that before I posted in here, but I was on the forum so........The tab I meant to be the part that sticks up through the door paneling. If you push lock on the power lock button it goes down, I feel like an idiot for that name escaping me.

Bilg, No, I can not open the door from the inside of the SUV.

Ok now iam really going to make you feel dumb. Check the child lock on the door frame. If you can open it from the outside. That might be the problem. I had the same problem when I got my car a few years ago.

My Exploder doesn't have the child door lock feature and I do not have a key slot on the outside of this door to try that. The window motor works, but nothing else on that door.

Thanks for the suggestions so far,

Well I guess that sucks. My only other choice is take it to a body shop. If you want to you could spend a hour and pop off the door panel. All you should need in a Philips head screw driver to remove some screws. Unless it has rear crank windows. Then lift up and the door panel should come off. There will also be a plastic barrier that is just epoxied on. That will come off. Just go slow and and will be able to press it back on when done.

With every thing off you should be able to see the rods for the handles. Look at the rod for the inside door handle. Its come off there or a the door catch. If thats the case you might have to remove one of them, or both of them to get them reattached. All you would have to do is there should be colored plastic next to the hole for the rods. Spin them back in till they snap on the rods.

I hope this helps. This is all I got for you. I know this because I use to do auto body for a living.