Door won't lock or unlock with key fob or interior button

My 987 Boxster does nothing if I push the interior locking button or if I push the key fob button. I can lock the driver's door with a key but it only locks the driver's door, not the passenger side door. I recently purchased a spare key from the dealer and they said there was some thing wrong with the door handle, some kind of switch maybe? They said the computer wasn't recognizing that the car was locked or any kind of signal from the door handle,and so it refuses to lock to just be safe. Their solution was to replace the entire door handle at a cost of about $1,000 even though they admitted that all of it wasn't necessary, that's the only way they would fix it. I was curious if anyone had ever run across this problem and if it's possible to just replace the switch? Thanks for all the good advice people have so generously given out on this forum. It's really helped my Boxster ownership experience be a positive one! James Reeser 2005 Boxster S

James - there are two different mechanisms at work with the locking. The manual key in the door handle is exactly that - manual, it will work with or without electricity. It's pretty bone simple and not prone to breaking because of its simplicity. The other mechanism is more complex - that's the electronic locking system. It uses the same latch assembly as the manual lock does - but actuates it electronically. That may be what the dealership is referring to - that latch assembly likely does have a switch in it that tells the immobilizer/alarm that the door is closed and when the door is locked. I doubt they're replacing the door handle.. Since this is a Boxster - do your windows drop down 1/4" when you lift the door handle? That's one switch that's known to go bad once in a while. If the windows drop, that switch is working fine. If they don't - first I'd be checking fuses - all of them. Make sure it's not something simple like a fuse. Then I'd be hooking up my Foxwell diagnostics tool to the car and looking for error codes related to the locking system. Those codes would give you a clue to what's happening. The other thing the Foxwell can do is look at the "state" of a switch in a control unit (state = on/off). It would tell you if one of the switches is misreporting its state preventing the electronic locking from working. If you're serious about not paying dealers exorbitant prices for repairs, or if you just want to REALLY know what is wrong with the car before taking it to a shop, a Porsche -specific diagnostics tool is really a must. And knowing what the tool is saying is wrong will make it much more likely someone here can help you narrow down the problem, and not just start replacing parts based on guesses. Good luck! BTW - I noticed you haven't introduced yourself or your car. That's sort of a tradition here.. you can do it at New Member Introductions and lots of photos are welcome!

maddydaddy, have you ever gotten stuck where you cant open the door from the inside/outside even with the car unlocked? if yes, it could be the door lock actuator causing the issue.

Don, Thank you for the assistance. I remember the dealership telling me that something was not talking to the computer to tell it if it was locked or not, and that's why the key fob and central locking button didn't do anything. I have seen a bunch of videos on replacing the window dip micro switch and was hoping this would also be a DIY issue. The windows are dipping like they should. I have a durametric pro , but am not sure if it would tell me what I need to know? Thanks for the reminder to do an introduction. I'm heading there now! James Reeser 2005 Boxster S

No, everything about the doors and windows work fine except you can't lock it with the key fob or central locking button.

As you have a good Porsche diag tool, basically you want to look for the switch monitoring values in there. There should be some areas to see the state of those switches. Once you find that, use your key to lock and unlock the door, and see if the switches respond as expected... if they don't then you can dive in and troubleshoot that switch (could be a wiring, mechanical, or wear-out issue, basically... just need to find out which it is and then fix that accordingly. Work your way through the various items and it should start working, in theory. If it doesn't we can certainly dive deeper!

If anyone is still interested in pursuing this with me further, I have these screen shots of what the Duramentric pulled up. I'm not sure if they are even helpful in diagnosis. At the time these were taken, the left door was open, the car was in accessory mode and the doors were unlocked. I was able to activate the central locking button from the durametric and could hear it make a locking sound 3 times, then stop. Same result when unlocking from the durametric. The central locking button still does nothing. I'm trying to figure out what I need to replace in order to be able to lock my car before the wife and I take a road trip in a couple months. Any help is appreciated! James 2005 Boxster S

I'm not that familiar with Durametric, but it seems to be saying the lock module is not coded. I would start there - go into the programming for the car, and see what modules are present and coded. I'd start with the lock ones, as this seems to be reported as a problem on that last screenshot. You mention that durametric can activate the lock cycle, and you hear it make a sound 3 times. Does that mean it IS locking that way, or are you only hearing noises for attempted locking? The reason I ask is because my wife's 2-13 Jetta does the same things - on some doors it makes locking noises 3 times. That specific door doesn't end up locking, because there is a known failure mode on them causing them to fail to lock when they get old. Apparently, VW Group has known issues with failing lock actuators, and there is tons of info online about how to replace them. I haven't seen the same on Porsche specifically, but given that it's the same group, I suppose it's possible and maybe even likely?

Hi! Maddydaddy. Were you able to recrify this? I'm having the same issues after changing my door lock actuators. Windows drop down when i open but the key doesn't lock the car anymore and i don't get a response from the central lock button. I scanned the car with my icarsoft v2 and it has a door Lock module fault now. Do you have any suggestions as to how to solve this?