slb33

Recently on my 2005 Acura TL when I open my door from the inside using the inner door latch and get out of the car and close the door it won't latch shut. The cam where the door striker hits stays in the open position. When that happens I also notice that the inner door latch seems to have some slack in it. I checked the inner cable and it seems to be attached correctly. During that same period the door is hard to unlock after I lock it using the remote or key. After playing around with the inner and outer door handles it eventually starts working again. I had the actuator replaced at the dealer about a year ago and it lasted about 6 months before having any more issues.

Anyone else have a problem like this or have any hints on what needs to be repaired or replaced?

Vlad_Type_S

iTrader: (3)

The actuator is just a motor that locks/unlocks the door, so if that's working fine, the actuator has nothing to do with your problem. (Maybe when the dealer installed it, they messed up something else).

The inner door lever is connected via cable to the latch, so if it feels loose, it's possible that something could either be misaligned or damaged. If you are reasonably handy, I suggest removing the entire latch and inspecting it for damage. This is time consuming, but it could affirm that the latch is the issue. It may be repairable (perhaps something is bent not quite right and could be bent back) or you may need to replace it.

An issue like this always points to the latch, because the rest of the system is just levers, cables, and static mechanical parts that will (almost) never break. I recently replaced the actuators on a 2003 Toyota Celica GT-S and when I put everything back together, it wasn't working right. I later realized that when I was removing it, I accidentally bent one of the brackets. Maybe the dealer made the same mistake.

slb33

Thanks Vlad, I'll check it out.

It only does it occasionally and when it does it I can usually get it to start working again after messing with the inner and outer door latch. I'm assuming the cable is getting stuck and not going completely back to where it should be causing something else to no be where it should for the door to stay closed.

Vlad_Type_S

iTrader: (3)

Good luck! Let us know what you find.