Door stuck locked from inside and outside
I had this problem recently on my 2003. I could not get the inside panel off without removing the bolts holding the door to the hinges. My rear door was stuck so I was able to get to them easily by opening the front door. It was still tight but I was able to lift the panel lip off the top after removing the screws and then pry/pop the rest of it off starting from the hinge side. With the panel off you can get to the child safety lock if that was part of the problem. It wasn't for me so I drilled through one of the convenient existing holes in the door in an attempt to drill through the teeth holding the door. I had a replacement actuator that I was using as a guide. I drilled into the actuator unit and started carefully making holes just above where I could see the strike plate. This was uphill sledding so I broke down and decided to widen the hole to get a better angle. (I found out later that trying to drill the teeth was never going work) By drilling into the actuator just beneath the strike plate you can hit a spring or lever that will release the lock. I hit it once by accident and immediately re-locked the door on myself. After a short profanity laden outburst, I tried the same positioning again and it popped open. No holes/damage to my door or paneling. I wish I could say I knew that would happen going in but I'm still calling it a victory!
I had this problem recently on my 2003. I could not get the inside panel off without removing the bolts holding the door to the hinges. My rear door was stuck so I was able to get to them easily by opening the front door. It was still tight but I was able to lift the panel lip off the top after removing the screws and then pry/pop the rest of it off starting from the hinge side. With the panel off you can get to the child safety lock if that was part of the problem. It wasn't for me so I drilled through one of the convenient existing holes in the door in an attempt to drill through the teeth holding the door. I had a replacement actuator that I was using as a guide. I drilled into the actuator unit and started carefully making holes just above where I could see the strike plate. This was uphill sledding so I broke down and decided to widen the hole to get a better angle. (I found out later that trying to drill the teeth was never going work) By drilling into the actuator just beneath the strike plate you can hit a spring or lever that will release the lock. I hit it once by accident and immediately re-locked the door on myself. After a short profanity laden outburst, I tried the same positioning again and it popped open. No holes/damage to my door or paneling. I wish I could say I knew that would happen going in but I'm still calling it a victory!
