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Car door won't open

This particular car has been sitting on my drive for about a year and a half unused and unopened. I need to clean it out because there is some mould in it currently but I unlocked it and neither the driver or passenger side doors will open! The driver's side handle pulls all the way but the passengers does't even do that. The two back doors open, wondering how I could get these front doors to open, if anyone has any tips? I can't clean it otherwise I don't really want to get in the car with all that mould in!

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don't the internal handles work?
Reply 2
Avatar for liquity
liquity
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Original post by domonict
don't the internal handles work?


I can't actually get in the car to check if they work, it's not really a case of the handles not working, not for the drivers side anyway, it's the fact that the door won't actually come away from the car?
Pikachu use volt tackle ? Lol


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Reply 4
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liquity
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Original post by Pikachu94
Pikachu use volt tackle ? Lol


Posted from TSR Mobile


lol but seriously would washing it with warm water help or something???
No I would contact for help break down cover ? And say ur locked out


Posted from TSR Mobile
it could be rusted hinges, or a stock mechanism

If you can get into the car, better to push with both feet on the door, outwards, while someone uses the handle to release the mechanism
you could try spraying stuff into the door hinge but hard to do on most cars

don't just pull the handle as they can snap

check that the battery hasn't caused the central locking to fail
Original post by liquity
This particular car has been sitting on my drive for about a year and a half unused and unopened. I need to clean it out because there is some mould in it currently but I unlocked it and neither the driver or passenger side doors will open! The driver's side handle pulls all the way but the passengers does't even do that. The two back doors open, wondering how I could get these front doors to open, if anyone has any tips? I can't clean it otherwise I don't really want to get in the car with all that mould in!


Go in through the back doors and open the front doors from the inside
Reply 8
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liquity
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Original post by domonict
it could be rusted hinges, or a stock mechanism

If you can get into the car, better to push with both feet on the door, outwards, while someone uses the handle to release the mechanism
you could try spraying stuff into the door hinge but hard to do on most cars

don't just pull the handle as they can snap

check that the battery hasn't caused the central locking to fail


Okay I'm home alone right now and will be until about 7pm tonight so I'm going to try to get it open on my own because my mum will be really angry if I don't clean it and she said she won't get anything fixed on it until it's clean! The battery may have caused that because the it has been dead for some time

Original post by toonervoustotalk
Go in through the back doors and open the front doors from the inside


Okay I will try this, I'm just quite reluctant to because the seats are mouldy and stuff but I'll do my best, thanks for your help
There might be a child lock in the back doors, try to locate the lock on the side of the door, you will see a label with child lock written on it and follow the instructions, i hope this solves the problem for back doors. Otherwise its your door's latch gone rusty or defective, if your car is before 1996 model years, you can adjust them manually by tightening or loosening it by bending the rod at a greater angle, if its above 1998 or so you will need to replace the whole latch, its the rust that makes them stop working. Try opening your door assembly and locate the latch gone bad. Its a simple DIY, Watch this video for reference: https://youtu.be/-KvHK6kZOQ4
(edited 8 years ago)
Original post by liquity
I can't actually get in the car to check if they work, it's not really a case of the handles not working, not for the drivers side anyway, it's the fact that the door won't actually come away from the car?


Didn't you say the back doors open?
Why don't you try and reach the internal handles in the front from the inside, from the back seat? Surely if they opened the door would come away from the car
Original post by liquity
Okay I'm home alone right now and will be until about 7pm tonight so I'm going to try to get it open on my own because my mum will be really angry if I don't clean it and she said she won't get anything fixed on it until it's clean! The battery may have caused that because the it has been dead for some time



Okay I will try this, I'm just quite reluctant to because the seats are mouldy and stuff but I'll do my best, thanks for your help


How come you haven't used the car for so long?
Reply 12
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Original post by Emily.97
Didn't you say the back doors open?
Why don't you try and reach the internal handles in the front from the inside, from the back seat? Surely if they opened the door would come away from the car


Original post by Emily.97
How come you haven't used the car for so long?


Yeah I managed to get it open by doing that, I was just worried about getting myself covered in mould but it was fine :smile: turns out the passenger door was kind of jammed like the internal lock was still on.

We haven't used the car for so long because my mum got a new car about a year and a half ago and said I could have this one when I'm old enough to drive which I will be next month, so it's battery is flat, the 2 front tyres are flat, there was mould in it etc so I needed to clean it out before anything was done to it.
Original post by liquity
Yeah I managed to get it open by doing that, I was just worried about getting myself covered in mould but it was fine :smile: turns out the passenger door was kind of jammed like the internal lock was still on.

We haven't used the car for so long because my mum got a new car about a year and a half ago and said I could have this one when I'm old enough to drive which I will be next month, so it's battery is flat, the 2 front tyres are flat, there was mould in it etc so I needed to clean it out before anything was done to it.


Oh, wow. Sounds pretty minging if you don't mind me saying :tongue:
How are you feeling about driving for the first time? (If you haven't done so already)
Reply 14
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A5ko
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Have you tried crawling into the car via the exhaust pipe?

Surely you've tried the same technique with a water spout before?
If the tyres were flat, not just soft, the they are toast.

An occasional air is needed in a car, but you shouldn't have mould

I have been looking after a car for someone for a couple of years and it is fine
Reply 16
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Original post by Emily.97
Oh, wow. Sounds pretty minging if you don't mind me saying :tongue:
How are you feeling about driving for the first time? (If you haven't done so already)

Yeah it was pretty gross, took me an hour and a half and a lot of hoovering, antibacterial and soapy water and I managed to get rid of it, now going to wash the outside if I can find the hose anywhere!
I'm pretty scared ngl although I'm more scared about the idiots on the road making mistakes not me!
Original post by A5ko
Have you tried crawling into the car via the exhaust pipe?

Surely you've tried the same technique with a water spout before?

Obviously, it's the only way I could get in

Original post by domonict
If the tyres were flat, not just soft, the they are toast.

An occasional air is needed in a car, but you shouldn't have mould

I have been looking after a car for someone for a couple of years and it is fine

Well they look pretty flat so I'm not sure, we haven't tried pumping them up yet :P

It does sit in the sun all day though because we don't have a garage so that makes matters worse
Original post by liquity
Yeah it was pretty gross, took me an hour and a half and a lot of hoovering, antibacterial and soapy water and I managed to get rid of it, now going to wash the outside if I can find the hose anywhere!
I'm pretty scared ngl although I'm more scared about the idiots on the road making mistakes not me!

I'm glad you managed to clean it all up, well done :tongue:

I could imagine! Have you passed your test or are you currently having lessons?
WD40 ftw
Reply 19
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liquity
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Original post by Emily.97
I'm glad you managed to clean it all up, well done :tongue:

I could imagine! Have you passed your test or are you currently having lessons?


Thanks :smile:

I haven't even had one lesson yet because I'm not 17 until next month but I'm considering going on once of those intensive courses because the sooner I can drive the better!

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