any mechanics: truck locks not working

[John Pratt]

I need a little help from the mechanics out there. I have a 2001 GMC 2500HD 6.0 extended cab. The passenger side automatic door lock does not work properly. when you hit the button on the door or remote all you hear is what I assume is the lock actuator buzzing. in order to actually lock the door, I have to manually flip the lock slide. I recently took the truck to a mechanic to have the transmission serviced and had him look at it. He quoted me a price of $800 for repair of the lock. That seems high to me since a lock actuator can be had online for around $30. Am I missing something? Is there a another hugely expensive part in there that I am unaware of? Is there that much labor involved? Any help would be greatly appreciated.

John

[George Bokros]

Seems way out of line to me. Two hours labor at most. I would fix it myself.

George

[Dok Yager]

John that`s Way out of line. Yes it`s not an easy 1/2 hour job but it is not that difficult. On most doors there are two rods one for lock and another for unlock. When you pull the door panel be careful not to bend any of the rods or pull the wiring out too far. As far as the actuator it is a simple replace the old with the new. You will have to unhook the rods from their holder, being careful not to break them and once you install the actuator re-install all the rods in their clips and replace the panel.

[Justin Ludwig]

Lawton is only 4 hrs from me. I'll drive out and fix it for $750. :D

Enjoying the sounds of artillery out there? Maybe the cool dry summer zephyrs? So glad I was never at Ft. Sill.

[Rich Engelhardt]

He quoted me a price of $800 for repair of the lock.
As an FYI - when the locks on my 2004 Honda Odyssey quit working, I was quoted that same amount per lock to repair them.


The situation was different though. The remote still worked, but, the key wouldn't turn the lock. That meant that if the battery died - which on my Odyssey had a tendency towards happening - there was no way to get into it.

[Mike Cozad]

I dont remember off the top of my head how the actuator is attached to the rods but I thought itvwas a plastic clip. In reality it is easy to do yourself. I have taken the door panel off of my '03 many times for different reasons, so if you need help there I can provide some assistance. PM me if you need to. To overview, if it is like an '03, which I think it would be - same body style, the door panels have tabs that slide into slots. These doors don't have the traditional ribbed fasteners that get stabbed through a hole. Found out the hard way after I broke one.

But again if you need any help, pics of where the hidden screws are, etc. just let me know. Be happy to snap some and send your way.

[Steve Rozmiarek]

It is probably a retaining clip failure if you can still hear the actuator. That would make it a free fix if you open up the panel yourself. It's tedious, but not hard.

[Phil Thien]

I agree w/ everyone else.

Check youtube and see if there are any instructional videos on performing the fix yourself.

[Brian Ashton]

It is probably a retaining clip failure if you can still hear the actuator. That would make it a free fix if you open up the panel yourself. It's tedious, but not hard.

+1 except for the buzzing. If you can here the actuator making noise it sounds more like something stiffened up and it's no longer strong enough to lock or unlock the door. I'd say if you can get the panel off easily and get in there and feel around, see if you can find anywhere where the mechanism isn't moving freely. Maybe all it needs is a clean and a bit of lithium grease to get things working well.

[Judson Green]

I just replaced my door lock actuator on the passenger side on Thursday. My cost less than 20 bucks and about an hour or so. Was really easy, shouldn't have put it off for so long.

Something I noticed was that the new one, when moving it unpluged with my fingers, made a noise (I think I was hearing the mesh of the rack and pinon). The old one, when doing the same thing, was silent. Wonder if the gears broke/striped.

My vehicle is different from yours but I did find some good write ups about how to remove the interior panel. Probably wouldn't have needed them, but its good to know what to expect.

[John Pratt]

I appreciate the great advice from all. I have had the door panel off a few times already to replace the power window unit. I will take it off again and see if I can actually locate to actuator.