Hi everyone. I was hoping someone here could help me. The lock on my 2005 Acura TSX passenger door was not working a couple weeks ago... would not respond to the keyless entry or to pressing the automatic unlock button. So I looked on forums and found that this happens often and bought an actuator to have it replaced.

I ended up having Acura replace the actuator. Bingo, door lock works. Now, however, the door will not shut if opened from the inside. You have to pull the outside handle and then close the door for it to shut. I took it back to Acura and they're saying the latch is broken and needs to be replaced for another $260.

My question is, does this sound legit? Has anyone heard of the latch just breaking without any physical contact? I can't find anything anywhere about the latch needing to be replaced. Is it possible the latch was broken when the actuator was being replaced and is there a way to find out? Of course, the dealer is saying it didn't break when they were replacing the part. I'm not saying they're telling the truth or they aren't. Just very suspicious right now.

Any help is much appreciated.

 

This is a new one on me, and I doubt coincidences come this big. Without more information (or should I say information to the contrary), I couldn't help but assume that the latch assembly was damaged when the actuator was replaced. Or..... part of the latch assembly may not be connected properly (which sounds feasible since the door latch resets when you pull the outside handle but not the inside one). Sucks that the servicing dealer won't fess up, and I think I'd go for a second opinion before I went ahead and spent $260 to get it fixed. May sound surprising, but I think a body shop (collision repair) might be your best bet to check it out.

 

If the latch was working fine prior to having the dealer replace the actuator, I'd think the latch was "broken" during the repair/replace process. Getting the actuator out requires detachment of the door handle (inside and outside) cables from the lock assembly that houses the actuator. The cables are held in place by small plastic fasteners, which could easily break during the repair process.

Are you willing to do the work yourself? If so, this link helped me replace my actuator, saved me $200+ compared to having the dealer do it. http://dest.tv/acura/faulty_acura_actuator.html It shows some of the internal workings, which can help diagnose the problem.

 

I actually did try to replace the actuator myself. I took the panel off but could not actually get the actuator out because of those three countersunk screws. I had to use a screw extractor to get them out, then the extractor bit broke off into one screw making it impossible to get out. So Acura had to drill it out.

So, is it possible that I broke it even though I didn't even get to disassemble the actuator? It seems like the latch is attached to the inside of the actuator, closest to the end of the door. I don't want to accuse Acura of breaking it if they didn't, but I am not sure that I could've broke it without even touching the actuator.

Thanks a lot for your responses by the way. Very helpful.

 

Yea, those screw were a pain for me too. I used my hand held impact driver to loosen, WD-40, then my electric drill with Philips bit and torque at 22 lbs to get them out.
It could be that cable in question that attaches to the actuator wasn't placed right. Hard to say without getting in their to check it out.

 

Acura actually was able to fix this for no charge by playing with those three screws... it must've moved the latch to where it needed to be. They also said the latch will probably fail again, but who knows, I hope it won't. They were very helpful and courteous in trying to get this resolved without charging a dime. Thanks for your replies as well!