Ok, so it took me a day to realize that my door lock wasn't working right. I searched on the boards(always the first thing I do) and with my new found info narrowed it down to being the actuator.

I picked up the part from my dealer ($30) then did little more research and printouts from here about getting and figured I was good to go. Well I'm back here on my computer, I didn't replace it, I'm bleeding.

Door panel removal was no problem at all and I worked my way down peeling back the plastic lining and got to the whole locking mechanism. Here's where I ran into a problem and hesitated. The actuator and the lock are all in one plastic housing. I couldn't clear the guide of the window to work on it. I also didn't wanna mess with it. And I couldn't release the bar to the door handle.
Even if I couldn't get it out I felt like I could reach the part but I couldn't see how this whole lock housing came apart. After a bit of playing I finally gave up for the day and put everything back together and made sure it worked.

Anyone else ever replaced this piece themselves? Any info would be great. It's not the hugest problem in the world to use the key and i'm not paying the dealer like 200 in labor to do it.

 

same problem. turned the auto locking off and living with it.

 

I hate working on anything that has to do with automobile doors.
I have the same problem on atleast 2 of my doors...
Obviously this is a manufacturer defect that once again the car manufacturer minimizes as a maintenance item put on the back of the consumer ... i %@(*&%^ hate this kind of crap. You're a brave soul just to get as far as you did... good luck ! I'll probably have to bite the bullet and let my acura dealership handle it .. Of course I will be mentally cursing them out every minute and dollar of the way ...

 

Well I have to replace three screws that stripped son once I have a nice day and some free time I'll go at it again. Now i'm determined not to give the money to the dealer to do the work.

 

OP -

Since I'm a tech at Acura, I do these somewhat often, and it just so happens it's fresh in my mind because I did one today

I'll skip the door panel removal part since you're ok with that. Once it's off, peel back the thin plastic covering about 12" (starting from the rear of the door and working towards the front). You'll then see a three wire connector, disconnect it. It's a little to the left of the center of the door. Next, you'll see two harnesses (a two wire and three wire connector) that plug into the actuator. Unplug them. Remove the run channel on the rear. This is easier then you think on the TL's. Just remove the 10mm bolt (bottom left of door), and then pull straight down on the channel. DON'T remove the rubber in it, you don't need to on TL's. Almost forgot too, remove the screw up at the lock knob, and pull the lock knob bracket out of the door.

Next you see the rod that goes to the door handle. Flip up the locking clip up, and then pull the rod out from the handle. If you are having trouble, there is an access hole (about 1" diameter) on the top left of the door. You'll have to remove the clear adhesive circle thing covering it. I normally slide a trim removal tool through there, and between the rod and handle, and twist to pop it out. If you don't have one, use a larger headed flathead, using the same twist method. Be careful though, those handles aren't super strong.

Now there's a small rod that you'll see going up to the key hole. This one is easier. Just flip up/unclip the clip from the rod, and the rod literally falls out. Now on to the three screws that hold in the assembly. If you have a regular old Phillips head screwdriver, these are easy to strip. Most of us at work have different Phillips bits (from Snapon, Matco, etc) that have little grooves in that literally make it impossible to strip stuff That being said, if you don't have them, do the best you can. Put as much pressure, straight on, as you can, and loosen them. Also, the "standard" Phillips is a little small for this screw, we generally use the next size up bit.

After this, you can easily pull out the assembly. Once it's out, you're almost done! Set the assembly face down (meaning the metal bracket is on the bench/table), and you'll see a small Phillips screw. Remove it, and then pull up on the plastic cover to remove it (you're not actually removing it, just pulling it up. Now you'll clearly see the actuator. Flip up the locking pink clip to release the one rod. Then unscrew the screw that holds the actuator to the assembly. Pull the actuator out to the left. And it's out! Don't forget to transfer the old pink to the new actuator! The new actuator doesn't come with one. Now when you're putting the new actuator in, make sure the little "lever" on the right lines up and fits into the other "lever" on the assembly. There's also a little tab that the actuator has that locks into the assembly to help line you up.

After this, it's pretty much "install is the reversal of removal". Things to note. The run channel WILL slide right back up into the upper part with no problem. You don't even need any lube, ect. TL ones are easy! Also, doublecheck your harness routing, making sure nothing is pinched, all clips are in place, and it's all plugged in. Otherwise, it's pretty straight foward. First one or two are always a bit confusing. But once you get it down, they take less then 15 mins

I hope I'm not forgetting anything! I reread this all, seems to be complete

Good luck!

 

my locks stopped working on me as well, couldnt lock inside or with the remote. it did it for about four days and then it just started working again. no idea why it stopped working but you may just want to wait a couple days and see if the problem fixes itself.

 

Thanks to acuratech239's instructions and a few PM's, I replaced my door lock actuator in about an hour. It is a bit scary pulling the rods out but they came out exactly like he described. The part was $32.00 at my local dealer. My hand looks like i got in a cat fight, but it was worth it.

 

Casey car problems that fix themselve are rarely "fixed" for good . Usually they are waiting for something else to break too . lol

 

Cbin - Glad that my posts and PMs helped, and once again, congrats on replacing it yourself Hopefully you'll encourage others to try it themselves too!

 

I just bought an 02 acura rsx, and I think I am having the exact same problem. I will lock the doors using the power lock and the passenger side works but the hatchback and the driverside act like they WANT to lock, but they don't. Could this be the actuator? Also, is the fix any different on the RSX?

Thanks guys!

 

I recently bought my 02 RSX. I think this is happening to my locks as well.

When I try to lock from the inside my driver's side door lock and now my hatchback lock ACT like they want to lock, but they don't. Passenger's side is fine. When I use the key on the outside, my driver's side door locks fine, but the hatchback doesn't. At the momment, I am having to climb into my hatch back to lock and unlock.

Could this be an actuator? Also, is it the same fix as the TL? THanks guys!

 

Hey everyone, kudos to all the suggestions. I replaced the actuator in my MDX today and it works, mostly. The only problem is that there must have been something that didn't get hooked up correctly because all of the locks work, except the drivers door.

Now, I would start over and retrace my steps however I CLOSED THE DOOR AND NOW I CAN'T GET IT OPEN !!!! Nothing works to unlock the drivers door. Not the key in the door, not the manual lock, not the remote.

How on earth am I going to get it open again to check the connections? Am I screwed? Sigh. and I was so proud that I had no left over parts, I didn't strip the countersunk screws.

Can anyone help me?

Thanks,
Linda

 

Do you have AAA? I don't think they even go into the door anymore because of the risk electrocution from the air bag wiring. At least that is what the guy said to me while unlocking my car. He put a shim at the top of the door where it meets the frame and out a metal rod in to pull the handle open. Maybe it is worth a shot.

 

I don't think that the shim will do it because they're going after the same mechanism that the manual lock uses. I need some way to actually engage the release mechanism in the assembly.

Sigh.

 

Enter through the passenger side door

Then, crawl into the driver side seat, take the car to a body shop, because they know how to get the door open.

Was involved in a hit and run while back, and the body shop was able to open the door, even though I couldnt through the outside door handle, or even the inside door handle....

 

That's how I had to get out... I just couldn't bring myself to go all "Dukes of Hazard" and go out the window. If I no one has any other suggestions I'll head over on Monday. So much for saving money...

 

Just had to thank acuratech239 and his walkthrough. I finally got to do this fix today since I had nice enough weather and time.

Works great!

 

No prob, glad I could help. I really think I should start taping some of these repairs and posting them on youtube or something...

 

Okay, I've found that if I put the key in the exterior lock and turn (hold) then open the door, it will engage the lock. Also from the inside, if I pull up on the manual lock and open the door, this also works. So, I'm off to pull the panel again.

Where I got in trouble was disconnecting the exterior door handle rod from the actuator assembly. Since I'm working on an MDX, I don't know how much this differs from the other models people have been describing. This is when my husband came along and swapped out the actuator while it was still in the door. So, now the other doors work correctly but the drivers door is not reconnected right.

Any suggestions as to what I'm supposed to reconnect? Or, start over and do it all again (in which case I'm still stuck removing the exterior door rod).

Thanks again everyone.

 

Thanks again everyone. I've fixed the locks and they're working fine. I've somehow disabled the drivers window, but I think I saw a thread on how to fix that one as well. Still, I'm doin' pretty good (for a girl) and I'm well into the learning curve on a car I will have for a very long time.

 

Reviving old thread.
Thank you acuratech239. This is the exact info I needed. Door actuator changed, hand scratched up. But my powwr locks work now with my remote and lock button only Cost about 30 from yhe dealer.

 

i'm having this same issue on my 04 - when i use the button on the key fob or on the door to lock all the doors, I hear the driver door click but the post doesn't move. I'm guessing it's the actuator.

For those of us still wary about DYI, any idea what a shop would charge to fix this?

 

Happened to mine a few weeks ago. Good thing was i was inside the car and i heard the doors unlock when in park but the driver side door didn't want to open. Got the part from Acura for $40 i think it was and it took me 2-3 hours to do the repair. The only problem was the damn screws and 3 of them

 

Did this today, Printed this step by step and it was perfect!!! got it done in 1.5 hrs but was tinkering when i was in there to see how things are put together. easy job and will probably take 30 minutes at most for the next time i do one.

Anyone that needs it done in SOUTH EAST WISCONSIN area and doesn't wanna tackle it themself, hit me up. Id be glad to help ya out!!!


Thanks AcuraTech if you still cruise the forums!!!

 

ok I'm having some similar problems with my 08 TL-S problem I'm having is the drivers door locks with the fob and from inside but doesnt respond when i put the key in the door lock and turn it, it doesn't nothing,

would this still be the actuator?

 

Someone correct me if I'm wrong, but wouldn't be the actuator. Even with my actuator not working correctly (or sporadically), I can still use my key to manually open the lock every time. It sounds like a problem between the key hole assembly and the rest of the lock, but I don't know enough about it to tell you specifically what.

Now that I have found this thread again (along with acuratech's instructions), I'm going to try replacing my actuator again. I almost stripped some of the screws, which would not budge, after I was almost at the very end of the procedure, so I'll take a look in my door assembly and see what points of failure I can find and then get back to you about what I see.

 

Oh man, with all the posts I'm racking up here in the diy mods are going to think I'm purposely post whoring.

LUCKILY TL owners know these are legitimate problems these cars have.

My driver side door locks do not function, and I'm unsure whether it's the switch or the actuator.

Might seem sort of stupid right now since the passenger side switch does work as well as the lock, and I DIDN"T BOTHER TO CHECK IF THE DRIVER SIDE DOOR LOCK WORKS.

However, I'm subscribing to this thread because Hondas are synonymous with malfunctioning actuators.

 

Ok, came back to update the reason behind why my drivers door lock wasn't working. Turns out it was my interior fuse box that was the problem. Everything on my driver door began functioning once I replaced the interior fuse box.

 

Oof, so at almost 12 years, I guess I made it pretty far. Helps that I have the auto off OFF and I only unlock driver door when I'm alone and never lock it at work.

Amazon prime, $27...can't beat that!

 

I replaced ours with an OEM part, so don't know anything about this product:
$9.99 + free shipping
http://www.ebay.com/itm/330831741247?_trksid=p2055119.m1438.l2649&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT

 

Amazon had OEM for $27 shipped, I went with that. But great find.

 

Must have saved you at least $100 over the course of 12 years.

 

beer money!

 

Your post made me realize I have my MID set wrong though, AKA unlock all doors on first unlock instead of just driver door. I missed that for so long and never changed it.

 

well, it's not "wrong" per se...if you have kids and a wife, I guess it makes sense since you won't be unlocking the driver door twice every time...but for me, keeping the other actuators working was my goal!

 

Most of the time I'm alone, I don't see a reason why all doors should unlock. Anyway unlocking all doors is a press away from only 1 door.

 

right, but if you DID have people getting in every time...then you're double unlocking the driver door every time so you'll wear that actuator out faster.

 

Funny this thread was bumped... mine just stopped working this morning on my 04 mt.

 

mine stopped yesterday...also 04MT