99 Tahoe door lock tries, but fails

The front passenger door sometimes will not lock/unlock. It tries, sometimes goes up or down slightly, but won't fully lock or unlock. Seems to happen when the door gets hot from being in the sun. Anyone have any ideas what part it would be? We greased it up thinking maybe it was sticky, but that didn't work.

thanks.

My 99 does the same exact thing on the drivers side, and it definately has to do with the sun/heat. I have two options to park at work, sun or shade. When I have to park in the sun, which I rarely do, the drivers side faces the sun, and I can almost guarantee it won't unlock at the end of the day. I haven't figured out why this is yet, and it is annoying in the summer as I am always hitting the remote lock, but then I still have to check the door as it is not always locked.

Not sure you are describing the same symtoms but there is a thread over on the Suburban forum on a problem where the rivets holding the door actuator shear off. This results is the door lock not fully engaging/disengaging.

This happened on my rear passenger door. It would not fully unlock but the lock could be moved up manually.

Remove door panel, drill out whats left of the two rivets, use machine screws to reattach.

i had the same problem on my drivers side door. i found some plastic stuck in the mechanism, most likely from the catching latch itself. i pulled it out and used white lithium grease to lube it. no problem since. also , on the inside of the door-locking mech. there are some spring steel "cleats" holding the locking bar onto the mechanism. they may have stretched and worn. be careful to not force the lock, you dont want to damage the mechanism any more than it already is(or seems to be).

Not sure you are describing the same symtoms but there is a thread over on the Suburban forum on a problem where the rivets holding the door actuator shear off. This results is the door lock not fully engaging/disengaging.

This happened on my rear passenger door. It would not fully unlock but the lock could be moved up manually.

Remove door panel, drill out whats left of the two rivets, use machine screws to reattach.


Hey Ketch,

When you noticed that your door lock would go up or down, did and of the other doors still work?

I have a lock (passenger front) that I think is bad and none of the other locks will work. They wiggle a little, but will not work.

I took the door panel off, I can see the actuator but can't figure out how to get it out of the door. That's where I need help.

Can you help?

WorleyGuy@gmail.com