How to Fix a Car Door That Won’t Open from the Inside

Unless you’re sitting in the back of a Police Cruiser, you should be able to open your door from the inside. Before the panic sets in, read my quick guide, and let’s figure out how to get you out. The solutions are pretty simple, so you should be out in no time.

The most common reason a car won’t open from the inside is the child safety lock is engaged. The switch for this can be found on the pillar of the door in question. If that wasn’t it then the next step would be to take the door panel off and look inside to see if you notice the issue. If any parts are jammed, they should be cleaned or replaced. If there is structural damage or extensive damage, then you should replace the whole car door with one found at a local junkyard.

In the following sections, I’ll outline how a car door works, why yours isn’t opening from the inside, how to pop open your car door to troubleshoot it, and finally, how to fix a car door that won’t open from the inside.

How A Car Door Works

A car door isn’t a super difficult assembly, mechanically. It works a lot like a door in your home, with a few added parts.

When you pull the door’s handle, a latch will depress into its housing. This allows the door to be opened. Once closed, the latch will extend, preventing the door from being opened. Furthermore, a locking mechanism can be used to ensure the latch won’t open until you unlock the car door and open it.

Since you can lock and unlock a door remotely, there are some internal pieces that move around automatically. They are a series of rods and linkages that span the inside of your door. You won’t ever see these until you take the door panel off (spoiler, you’ll be doing this later).

It also uses actuators to force the motion. When they receive a signal, they have a mechanical output.

There are also some wires running through the door. They connect to things like the lock and unlock buttons on your door, window operations, and automatic controls for side mirrors.

Why Your Door Won’t Open

In the next section, I’ll outline how to start officially troubleshooting the issue. For now, I want to cover some of the theoretical reasons why your car door won’t open from the inside.

The Latch Is Jammed

When you pull your door handle, the latch will depress and allow you to open the door. It works similarly to a door in your house.

If the latch is jammed, then it won’t get out of the way. In other words, the door won’t be able to open at all.

There’s Rust or Dirt

Dirt and rust are big enemies of vehicles. It’s why we try so hard to prevent rust on our vehicles. In the case of a jammed door, it could also be the culprit.

Your door’s assembly relies on a series of parts to maneuver around smoothly. If any of these parts have dirt or rust obstructing their path of motion, your car door won’t open.

Structural Damage is Jamming Things

After an accident, there can be a lot of damage that goes undiagnosed for a while. This is why getting a car with a rebuilt title comes with extra risks.

One of the issues that can show up is structural damage to a door. If the latch, any of the rods, or the lock assembly are damaged, then the car door won’t open from the inside.

Alternatively, the metal parts of the door could be bent inwards, obstructing the motion that goes on within the door.

The Lock is Broken

Over time, things break within your car. One of those parts could be the car door’s lock. You can replace the part for less than $50, but the trouble is getting to it when you’re stuck inside.

Luckily, the other doors can be opened so you can still get out of the car.

The lock is the part of your door handle assembly that prevents random people from opening the door. If it gets broken in the “lock” position, it means that you won’t be able to get in or out, even if you have the key.

The Safety Lock is Engaged

If this is one of the rear doors, you could be dealing with a child lock situation. This is a safety feature designed to prevent kids from opening the door while the car is moving.

There’s a button on the driver’s door that will activate and disengage the child lock feature. Try pressing the button and try opening the door again.

You’re Deadlocked In

There are certain cars that have a built-in safety feature called a “deadlock”. A lot of BMWs have this feature, and it can wind up trapping you inside the car.

It doesn’t allow the doors to be unlocked or opened unless you use the master key. That means you can’t use any unlock buttons within the vehicle, and you can’t open the doors from the inside (or outside).

Step 1: Open the Door

The first step is to open the door. If your door still opens from the outside, do this now. If it doesn’t open at all, then disregard this step. Instead, open the door on the opposite side and climb into the seat with the door that’s jammed.

Step 2: Remove Bolts, Screws, and Window Crank

You’ll be working on the inside face of the door for this process. It will have a lot of plastic, and maybe some leatherette in the way.

Trim Removal Tool, 120Pcs Car Panel Door Kit with Storage Bag

Start by using a screwdriver to get rid of all the bolts and screws that you see. There’s probably one near the handle and another on the pocket near the window buttons of the door. There might also be screws along the bottom face of the plastic trim of the door.

The mission here is to start unscrewing and detaching pieces that could be in the way while you’re working.

If you have a window crank, then remove this as well.

Step 3: Take Off the Handle

The interior car handle might need to come out for the following steps. With newer cars, you might not need to do this. Instead, remove the plastic trim that has the window buttons.

Step 4: Remove the Door Panel

This is the most fun step, in my opinion. With all the screws removed, you can now completely remove the plastic door panel from your vehicle.

Do this by grabbing both sides of it and moving it upwards with a little twist. If the door is completely jammed close, this is going to be a difficult process since there’s not a lot of space to work with.

For certain cars, you might need to use a screwdriver to pry the panel off before removing it. Try not to crack the panel during this step. I’d suggest doing this on a warmer day since a cold day can lead to things breaking.

Step 5: Remove the Plastic Barrier

You’ll expose a see-through plastic barrier. This prevents water from coming into your car from the outside, and it also protects the electronics within the door. Carefully remove this and keep it for later (since it’s so important).

After doing this, you should have complete access to the inside of your door. Now, you can start officially troubleshooting the issue.

If your door won’t open from either side, this is a good opportunity to finally open your door. There are a series of linkages that you can manipulate to force the door open so you can now work on the door from the exterior of the car.

Start By Troubleshooting

I know this is easier said than done, but it’s a good idea to take a close look at the inside of the door. Now that it’s opened up, you can start troubleshooting.

Trace the different rods, see if anything is obviously broken, and look for signs of dirt or rust. The more time you spend during this step, the less time you’ll spend fixing this issue.

If you want to make things a little easier, you can also remove the door panel from one of your doors that functions correctly. This can act as your guide for what a “good” door should look like. By comparing the two, hopefully, you can find the dissimilarities and fix the broken door — like a not-as-fun version of Spot the Difference.

Clean the Linkages

If you see any dirt or corrosion, you’ll have to clean up the assembly. This could apply to many car parts, but it’s largely found on the different rods and linkages that go across the door.

You can use the same cleaning supplies that you’d use in your kitchen to destroy dirt and corrosion. Make sure you let everything dry before trying to use the door again.

In some cases, you’ll find that the rust is too far gone. If this is the case, a simple cleaning most likely won’t fix the problem.

Apply Lubrication

Lubrication can go a long way when it comes to your car door. There are a lot of moving parts within the door, so spend some time lubricating each of them. The latch is probably the biggest place to focus on.

This works well if you notice a part gets jammed as it moves. With enough lubrication, the problem goes away.

Swap Out the Lock

If you tried cleaning and lubricating the lock but it is still jammed, your next solution entails swapping it out. It comes out as a single piece and has a key associated with it.

If you swap out the lock, you’ll probably need to get a locksmith involved. They’ll map a new key to your lock, or they’ll be able to make a master key for your whole car.

Whichever lock you replace is going to have a different pin set up inside, which means your old key won’t work on this specific door.

Change Out the Plastic Connections

As you trace the rods and linkages inside your car door, you’ll see a number of plastic connections. These tie the rods to whichever parts they’re supposed to be connected to.

If the plastic pieces are broken, the rods will fall out of position.

Getting a replacement of these plastic pieces is easy, and so is the installation. It’s just a matter of finding the correct size.

Replace the Latch

The latch is the metal part that extends and retracts to close and open your door. If the latch is jammed, then you’ll need to swap it out with a new one.

This is a lot like the lock for your door — the replacement is inexpensive and pretty easy to do, now that the door panel is taken off.

Unlike the lock, a new latch doesn’t require a new set of keys.

It’s possible that the door’s handle isn’t activating the latch. This could likely be why your door only opens from one side. This will be fixed once you replace the latch.

If your car is older, you might want to get a couple of backup latches too. It doesn’t hurt to replace the latches in all the high-use doors, but you don’t have to until they get jammed like this door.

Replace the Whole Door

If all else fails, you might need to resort to drastic measures: replacing the whole door. As extreme as this sounds, the process is surprisingly easy. You’ll need to remove the mounting bolts, wiring, and hinges. From there, the door can be removed.

Getting a new door can be expensive if you go for an OEM option from the manufacturer. Personally, I’d visit a local junkyard and see what doors you can take. It’s going to be a lot cheaper.

If your car is rare, a junkyard might not have a car door in stock. For common options like a Camry or Civic of any year, you’ll probably find a few options at the junkyard.

Make sure you take the correct door as a replacement. They aren’t carbon copies. A rear-left door will not work as a replacement for a front-left door.

Get a Mechanic or Locksmith Involved

If you can’t fix it on your own, it’s time to get the mechanic involved. There are certain problems that a mechanic won’t be able to fix when it comes to your car door, and that’s when you would need to call a locksmith instead.

However, it’s better to start with the mechanic. They’ll be able to walk through the troubleshooting process and figure out what the issue is. If it has to do with the door’s lock, then they’ll tell you that you need a locksmith.

Some shops have a person on their team that can deal with locks, but I wouldn’t assume that’s the case with every shop.

Conclusion

Now you know how to fix a car door that won’t open from the inside. As you can see, there are a number of different ways to solve the problem. If you want more car guides, I have plenty of guides on my blog. I also have a list of car products that can help you in your daily life. Leave a comment below if any of these tips helped or if I missed anything.