car won't lock!

[RandallNeighbour]

My mechanic is saying one of the door lock mechanisms is shot and that's causing the car to unlock. Evidently, when the timing is off between the two doors the alarm system unlocks the car thinking one door is open.

Sad part is that he quoted $250 for the friggin part plus labor! Sheesh. I do not have this kind of money to spend right now.

At any rate, he said he could diagnose it with a PST tool and I could bring the car to his place later this week or this weekend and he had the part in stock.

Just thought I'd report back on this thread for historical purposes for others to read in the years to come when it happens to them.

[vath2001]

$250 for parts. I think I paid about $400 in parts, which had to come from "da fatherland" , for my broken door parts. And another $400 in dealer labor.

[RandallNeighbour]

Quick update: Last night I fiddled with the car a bit and the passenger side door lock assembly makes a "brrrrt" sound as if it's tapping the striker plate and not actually clicking down to keep the door locked. Then the alarm system unlocks the doors and beeps twice.

It really must be my right door lock assembly gone out. Here's the crappy thing about this situation. I have a 97 without airbags. All the other 986 models have airbags in the doors and therefore the part is plentiful and cheap brand new @ $160.00.

LA dismantlers has a used one (Porsche part #3B1837016D) for get this... $500! Oklahoma Foreign says they never see them because these are rare, and German Auto Haus' web site says they have a used one for $156, but I am seriously doubting they actually possess that part so I've emailed them.

The 1997 is that one year model only and Sunset can order it for me for just $307 ($479.00 retail, and probably $600-900 at my local Sonic-owned stealership, which marks up parts 50% or more ABOVE retail).

I also discovered that this situation is critical to fix because the passenger side cannot be locked at this point, so the car is not secure in public. I guess I can drive it around when I like but not take my eyes off it in public or leave anything of value in the car for fear it will be stolen.

At any rate, I'll know for sure if this is what the problem is by the end of the weekend and report back here as to what I did about it and how much it cost to sort out.

I've a good mind to yank the old one out and fiddle with it to see if I can repair it with new solenoids or whatever. I'm no electronic wizard but being broke forces a guy to get smarter fast or go nowhere.

[timothy]

This is kind of a long shot. If you want to attempt repair I can send you a 2003 left door lock assembly for parts. Wrong year and wrong door, but you may be able to cobble two into one. Let me know if you want it and we'll work something out.

[RandallNeighbour]

Timothy, how'd you get a 2003 door lock assembly? And how much do you want for it?

[timothy]

Originally Posted by RandallNeighbour

Timothy, how'd you get a 2003 door lock assembly? And how much do you want for it?

Removed from my car. I suspect it has a broken micro switch and intend[ed] to fix the assembly and resell, but have not gotten around to it yet. Will call you in a bit to discuss ...

[braq]

Hello,
My answer is try to check it out first on auto repair shop...

[prsch1]

Originally Posted by RandallNeighbour

My mechanic is saying one of the door lock mechanisms is shot and that's causing the car to unlock. Evidently, when the timing is off between the two doors the alarm system unlocks the car thinking one door is open.

Sad part is that he quoted $250 for the friggin part plus labor! Sheesh. I do not have this kind of money to spend right now.

At any rate, he said he could diagnose it with a PST tool and I could bring the car to his place later this week or this weekend and he had the part in stock.

Just thought I'd report back on this thread for historical purposes for others to read in the years to come when it happens to them.

I have been reading up on your door lock issue before RandallNeighbour, how you have successfully addressed it and the advice others have generously given. In turn, I wanted to request help in figuring out what I should.

Car is a '98 Boxster with M535 option that experienced the water under seat occurrence. Replaced alarm control unit. Main issue is that the key remote control does not lock and unlock both doors. Also, the dash central lock button is not working. The driver's door can be locked using the key but even when locking the driver's door with the key, the passenger door remains unlocked. The remote is however able to open the rear trunk and the red LED on dash blinks when the remote is pressed. So it appears that the key remote is able to send signals.
Curiously, when the key remote control is pressed, the gas cap door pin actuates to lock but almost immediately retracts (and the gas cap actuator makes a buzzing sound in the process) so gas cap door is also always unlocked (even when manually locking the driver's door with the key, you hear a buzzing sound from the gas cap door actuator, and the gas cap door remains unlocked).
The windows drop down a few inches when the outside and inside door handles are used. Even with the emergency three times manual turn of the key on the driver's door, the passenger door remains unlocked.

Durametric shows the following alarm faults:

46:
Control locking synchronization
Status: present
Occurance Counter: 1

10:
Voltage failure at terminal 30 with alarm system active
Status: not present
Occurance Counter: 1
This fault is displayed for informational purposes, it is not an indication of a problem and no repair is needed.

47:
Control locking synchronization
Status: not present
Occurance Counter: 13
This fault is displayed for informational purposes, it is not an indication of a problem and no repair is needed.


25:
W lead
Status: not present
Occurance Counter: 1
This fault is displayed for informational purposes, it is not an indication of a problem and no repair is needed.

21:
W lead (DME immobilizer)
Status: not present
Occurance Counter: 1
This fault is displayed for informational purposes, it is not an indication of a problem and no repair is needed.

33:
Interior sensor faulty
Status: not present
Occurance Counter: 14
This fault is displayed for informational purposes, it is not an indication of a problem and no repair is needed.

23:
W lead
Status: not present
Occurance Counter: 31
This fault is displayed for informational purposes, it is not an indication of a problem and no repair is needed.

Thank you so much in advance for all your help.

[RandallNeighbour]

I've no idea what all those codes mean nor did I hook up my boxster to an ODB tool.

What you are describing though is a bad door lock mechanism in the passenger side just as I had. When it could not lock the door, it sprang back into unlocked mode.

You are in luck though. The 98's through the 03's use the same part number and you should be able to get a passenger door lock assembly cheap and they will be plentiful.

You can take off the door panel and pop it out in under two hours if you are willing to give it a try. The only difficult part is finding the correct bit for the bolts on the exterior of the door that hold the mechanism in place. I bought a rather expensive 12-point bit set from Sears to do the job and it still didn't break the seal on the bolts they were so tight and I ended up stripping out one or two of them. Vice grips on the edge of the bolt does work though but you'll need touch-up paint afterwards if you are as anal as I am about my car.

Start contacting salvage yards.

[97 Boxster]

Randall is correct with all his information. You are lucky you have an newer model. You could call anybody and find what you need. The Door Lock Mechanism is what you need though. Good luck and its not too hard to DIY it but you do need long fingers or a skinny arm to do the trick. Patience will not hurt either.

[prsch1]

Thanks for all your guidance. Through the encouragement and assistance of Randall Neighbour and Boxster 97, I was able to remove the door panel and replace the passenger side Door Lock Mechanism (thankfully, as you pointed out, it is for the later than 97 model so they are more readily available and in abundance).
I am happy to report that the used passenger Door Lock Mechanism I bought now enables me to lock the passenger side door when I use the manual key lock on the drivers side (unlike before). Yet, three issues remain:
1. Still not able to close the doors with the central locking button on the dash.
2. The driver's side door can only be locked and unlocked using the manual key and does not respond to the key remote control. If I use the key remote the passenger door and fuel door actuator locks momentarily and unlocks right up again (makes me think that the driver's side lock is not allowing it to lock). If I first lock the driver's side door with the manual key lock, both driver's and passenger are locked. But when I unlock the doors with the key remote, the passenger's side door unlocks (without any issue) but the driver's door stay locked (and can only be unlocked by using the manual key). Does this also suggest a defective driver's side Door Lock Mechanism?
3. Also, when I use the passenger side outside door handle, the window drops only slightly (and not fully - not enough to clear the roof top seal when closing the door) so windows bangs against the roof top seal) afraid it might break the window glass. Does this suggest a defective microswitch inside Door Lock Mechanism?
Incidentally, lastly, when I lock the doors, there is buzzing sound at the fuel door actuator (did you have the same symptoms before and does this mean a defective fuel door actuator too?)
Again, thank you in advance for all your help.

[RandallNeighbour]

Sounds like you still have a locking issue, but the window not dropping enough to clear the tab on the top is a worn out regulator on that side of the car.

You may need to get the car hooked up to a PST tool at a dealer or indy repair shop to diagnose this locking issue.

[97 Boxster]

Hmmm. I agree with Randall. It sounds like you have done everything to solve the problem that you can do.

I had issues with mine a few weeks ago and so I took the door lock out of the drivers door and looked at it for anything I could see out of line. These mechanisms are too well sealed up to inspect for any breakage so I ordered a new part.

Well, guess what? That part came yesterday and I spent the evening out in my garage taking the door off and replacing it with the new part. This should have only taken 30 minutes or so but when I put the new part in ...... ta da - It didnt work at all. No response from the window at all and the door was not locking like it should. I tried resetting the windows and following the Bentley manual but no luck. I took it out and compared it to the old one and there were a few things that looked a little different but nothing major. When I say a little different, I mean some of the markings were not the same and stuff like that.

So I put the new one back in again. Keep in mind that you have to hook everything back up to make sure the door handle in and out work right?? Still not working. At least my old unit would work on occasion. This new one was not working with the locks or the window drop at all.

So I looked at the original unit and put it back in and guess what???? Door lock and windows all work like they should. I wonder now if it is a microswitch in the convertible top? Could that be a possibility??

Anyways that is why it took me all night and now I have an extra door lock mechanism. I will keep it for later. I know someday I will need it.