# 04 Driver's Door Won't Unlock



## LS1 2 Go (Nov 13, 2008)

OK, this has been the week for lock problems for me. First the trunk and today its the driver's door. Has anyone else had this happen on their 04?

Today I actually felt like the stereotype Blonde joke of someone who got locked INSIDE their car. No kidding, my drivers door would unlock (hear it) the door latches on both doors sprung up but for some reason the driver's door would not open. I crawled through the passenger's side and locked/unlocked the doors and could not open the driver’s door from inside or outside. It almost felt like the latching mechanism had broken away from the inside and outside handles. I got back in and then started the car with the mode button pressed. I then reset the computer to the factory default settings. Guess what, the door unlock???

I also noticed that while I couldn't unlock the door that every time I pressed my key fob to lock the doors my headlights would flash (normally do) but my horn also beeped twice. I checked the program and the horn was selected off. 

Question: I'm wondering if the transponder in the key has anything to do with this? Does the alarm system have anything to do with the door locking or unlocking with a bad key transponder??

Thanks again for your help!


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## GTO JUDGE (May 14, 2005)

Could be the Body Control Module or the door actuator. I just had the same thing happen to me on the drivers side, and it was a door actuator.

If you have another key fob try that. My bet is on the door actuator. If you take the car to the dealer they can hook up their scanner and they will get error codes. That will tell them where the problem is, (hopefully).


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## Northeast Rod Run (Oct 29, 2008)

sounds like a bad actuator. I had both of them replaced on my '04

as far as the horn going off. that is a very nice feature these cars have. even if you have it deactivated for your alarm, if your locks aren't working right, the horn will sound to let you know there is something wrong. that's a lot better than you walking away from your car somewhere, pressing the button thinking your doors were locked, then find out later that they weren't and someone stole something out of your car. I think it's a great thing


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## LS1 2 Go (Nov 13, 2008)

An update on the door-unlocking saga with my 04...

I contacted a Holden dealer in Australia and he basically said that the door actuators were probably the problem. He also said that the BCM might be the problem and the best way to check it was to do a resistance check on it and compare it to a new BCM.

I opted to replace the driver’s door actuator ($185 at my local Pontiac dealer). It appeared to work for a month but then nightmare happened again. Both of the door locks would pop up with the key fob but the door handles would not open the door. After ten minutes with the key I was able to unlock the drivers door. Once I arrived home, I lowered the windows (the old Dukes of Hazard move) and locked the car. While inside the car, I unlocked the doors with the key fob. Both locks popped up but neither the inside or outside handles would unlock the doors.

Three hours later, I had both doors opened. I removed the door panels and locking mechanisms to discover that the lubricant from Holden was probably not made to withstand the friendly winters in Ohio. The locks would “stick” and not fully open on either door. After a quick degrease, I applied some white grease and worked it through both locks and they open every time now. I also noticed that the passenger door had a new door actuator installed by the previous owner.

My apology for the novel but I think that I’ve finally resolved this headache and will no longer question if I’m going to get into my car once it’s unlocked.


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## GTO JUDGE (May 14, 2005)

Could be the BCM acting up. If it happens again that will be your next expense.


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