car won't lock!
 

It was a good long stretch. Nearly 18 months since something broke on my boxster. I knew it couldn't last though.

Today I locked the car with the remote, then the key, and it immediately unlocked the doors and beeped the horn twice.

If I am inside the car, I can use the dash button and lock the doors. I can also turn the key to the right 3x real fast and keep the doors locked (manual override).

I consulted my trusty manual and it says that something's not closed, but the doors, trunks, oddments tray, and the clamshell for the top are fully closed.

Any ideas for me or if this happened to you, what did it finally turn out to be?

since it's what usually gets a finger pointed at it when there's an electrical problem - ignition switch?

Just a Thought
 

Hi Randall, just a simple thought but maybe the little battery in your key holder is dead? Co0uldn't be this easy though I am sure. Sorry I couldn't be of more help, Jerry

If you have the Durametrics tool, you might be able to find out which item isn't setting.

BC.

I replaced the ignition switch two years ago and the batteries in my remote just a few months ago... the problem occurs when I use the key in the door as well, so I don't think it's remote battery related.

The ignition switch might be out again, but I don't think this is the issue.

Keep those ideas coming!

probably the ignition switch. my car did the exact same thing and it was the clicky thing in the switch that was stuck (do not know the technical term for it). I pushed the key back into the ignition turned it on, turned it off and pulled the key back out and the locks worked fine after that. The key cylinder thinks your key is in the ignition, so that is why the car is not locking.

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.

$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.

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.

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.

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 ...

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

Update for archival purposes...

The Porsche part required for a 97 door lock assembly for the right side (passenger) is 3B1 837 016 D

Sunset in Oregon ordered this part for me from Germany for $307.65.

The ones that end in "A" will NOT function in a 1997 Boxster because they require an airbag.

Timothy, I decided to just bite the bullet and buy the right part new so I wouldn't have to screw around with frankensteining your part with mine only to find out it didn't work and have to buy yours AND the new one.

If you have a MY98-04, from what I've learned this part is half the price through Sunset and also plentiful from salvage yards.

Let's hope the driver's side doesn't go out as well. I am not holding my breath though. I bet it will crap out on me sooner than later. Fortunately, it has a key lock on the outside and I could manually lock the driver's door and secure the interior of the car that way while I save up the money to buy the part.

This is just one more example of how the Porsche accountants trimmed manufacturing costs to increase profit margins for the company in the mid 1990's.

My overpriced door lock assembly part arrived today. This explains everything. Just look where it's made! No wonder the first one wore out. Sacre bleu!

same part different car???
 

looks a lot like the same latch (crappy) on the VW passat ... oh and they sometimes! won't open or close

smile brother its still a great day :D

I got the blasted thing installed today and I'm now back to locking the car when it's out and unwatched.

This was not a simple job though. Those 12 point bolts were easily stripped, but a vice grip got them loose and re-tightened!

Randall,

I have to do this sometime this next week. Any advice?? I will also be replacing the ignition switch at the same time.

It's not hard if you have a Bentley manual and know how to take off the door panel.

The triple star bolt heads that hold the mechanism in place inside the door would not break loose when I bought a triple star tool. I stripped them out.

So, I had to take vice grips and grasp the side of the bolts and turn them loose. Chewed them up real good, but I touched them up with touchup paint and no one has noticed... even me.

If you don't have a bentley manual and you want to borrow mine or just come to my place to do this swap and get some help, I am happy to do that for you. I live in the Heights near downtown.

Let me get the parts and I just may take you up on your offer. How long did it take you to do the swap? Of course, now you could do it faster since you know and have done it, but just for times sake and if I cant make it to you let me know.

This repair happened in 3's for me. Key FOB broke, ignition switch and of course this window crap all happened this past week. Hopefully thats it for now and that I can drive it for a few with these repairs.

:)

glad the car's mo' betta now, Randall. Seems I may be in the same boat as you should my lock(s) go out, and if it happens further down the road I may be paying even more of a premium. I too, have a model without side airbags.

I have to wonder how much weight would be saved without all the powered crap in the car? Of course, I know there's no model that is so base that it has manual windows and locks, but wouldn't mind it. :rolleyes:

60-90 minutes tops if you have the right sized triple square tool for those bolts. Do sort that so you don't have to take vice grips to them.

You're on your own with the ignition switch though. I've not done it and brought it to my indy mechanic to do it for me. He had one in stock and swapped it in 45 minutes.

Ignition Switch doesnt seem to bad its the lock crap that I was not looking forward too. I will keep you posted.

actually, the ignition switch is a pain in the butt. You have to work upside down and use really tiny screwdrivers and yank out parts of your AC duct work.

The lock mechanism, if you purchase the right one for the 97's which is model year specific, is far easier to access although the door panel has to come off (5 minutes work if you've done it a bunch of times like I have).

Ah the joys of owning a first model year. In '06 when I was looking to buy, I had my eyes on a "cherry" '97 with about 50k miles on it. I had negotiated a price with the Porsche dealership, but when I saw the long list of repairs that had been done (including several ignition switches), I backed out and waited until I found my '01.

At least you've got one of the collectibles! :)

Randall,

Did you have to replace several clips when removing the door panel? Want to know if I need to get a handful of them in case they break.

Also looks like I need to figure out the Ignition Switch cause its going to happen more than once. It is an awkward position though.

Can find plenty of ignition switches, but that door lock mechanism seems to be like finding a unicorn. Pricing is crazy on those. Nobody with a wrecked 97 out there??

Order it from Sunset. Special order from the fatherland, but that's the route I took. I looked everywhere for a salvaged one and could not find it. :ah:

Just an update (I will post pics later). I removed my door lock mechanism and wanted to see what this part was all about. Not to difficult to remove. Kind of an awkward position to fit your arms into the doors :confused: . Once I removed the mechanism I noticed that the spring was out of position so I used my pliers and put it into place (again, it will be in the photos) and lubed the necessary parts. Cleaned the mechanism and microswitches and re assembled and voila the door lock now works like a charm :) and the window drops as it should.

Seems like this may hold me over for a while (I will keep you updated on that one). I will order the ignition switch next week and install that next weekend.

Thanks to all for your advice and help.

It really bothers me that you just took it out, fiddled with it a bit and put it in and it works now. I didn't even think to do this!!!

I might have saved myself a couple of hundred bucks. :mad:

I did spend quite a bit of time looking at how this thing works (or in my case how it didnt). I looked at the Bentley Manual and how it compared to my DLM (door lock mechanism) and in the manual it says that the spring needed to be in the proper position for the door to operate properly. That was a BIGGIE for me because this was not in the correct position on my DLM. I basically gave the part a full service job and hope that from here on out it works as it should. Glad I didnt just plunk down the $$ but I am sure someday I will have too.

As far as the ignition switch, I heard they are going to be scarce. Is this the case? I dont think so because so many cars use that same switch right?? This shop in Houston said you will only be able to get the switch in the future if you purchase the whole ignition mechanism not just the ignition switch.

All in all it was a great day and I am so glad my window and door are working. The bad about today is I washed, waxed and detailed my P Car and while taking my son to a b-day party it rained and washed that clean away. :(

DLM started acting up again tonight :mad: . I will take it apart tomorrow and see if the spring came unhooked again. Wish there was more available than just one source for these. These friggin things are expensive.

Anybody want to part with and early 97 DLM for a Boxster without airbags?? I thought not. ;)

Who has found the cheapest source? I am guessing that all are from the same place and quality??

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.

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.

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.

Update
 

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.

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.

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.

Update Update
 

Well, I shouldnt have jinxed myself. My door locks/window drop worked last night and this morning on the way to work. Even once I got to work the door window drop and locks worked as they should.

After work I went to get into the car and it wouldnt unlock both doors. The key in the lock just turned without resistance and when I opened the door the alarm went crazy. The window did not drop either.

This is too crazy. Has to be a short or bad connection somewhere is all i can figure. Can anybody shed any light on this?? Before you comment read my earlier post today to see what I already have done.

I want to tackle this tomorrow morning so any response is appreciated.

hi boxster 97, i truly appreciate your response and certainly hope I did not do anything to cause cause you any concerns. i actually felt better when i received your initial post as i exactly experienced the same thing - working the whole evening on the car - trying to determine what may be amiss.
i would defer to the experts on the board, but for what it is worth, from what i have learned first hand so far from working on the car and what i gather from the forums (and again the experts may know better), when turning the key and you feel no resistance, it could be a loose connecting rod between the physical lock and the lock mechanism - believe it can work itself loose and you check it by removing the door panel.
On the alarm, as I understand it (again the experts may determine otherwise) if you unlock the car with the key you have to place the key in the ignition within several seconds or the alarm will go off (I am not sure if your alarm went off right away when you used the key but it is possible because presumably you locked the door with the remote).
On the doors, from my experience, if one of the doors/door mechanisms is amiss, it affects the other one so if one is amiss, it may affect the other door as well.
On the window drop down, I understand there is an inside door handle microswitch (which may be bad if window does not drop when opening the door from the inside); an outside door handle microswitch (which may be bad when window does not drop when opening the door from the outside); a door larch mechanism microswitch (which may be bad when the window raises back up when either door handle is released) and a convertible top latch microswitch (which may be bad when both windows do not drop when using the convertible top).
I continue to work on mine, and will let you know if I determine anything that may be useful to you. Please let me know as well.