Help with intermittent door (not un) locking issue

This just started happening about 2 weeks back and now on 3 occasions. Its only on the passenger side door. Even with the doors unlocked and the engine running, the passenger side door on 3 separate occasions cannot be opened. What needed to happen is to switch off the engine, restart, lock the doors from inside with the central locking tab below the aircon vents and unlocking with same central locking tab. On 3 occasions, the passenger door could not be opened from the outside. On 1 of the 3 occasions, it could not be opened from the inside as well. When pulling the handle (both inside and outside), the window lowers slightly as it always does when opening. No issues with the driver side door (no issues with rear trunk and frunk) and never had this issue for past 6 years of ownership until 2 weeks back. Any ideas what the cause may be? Thanks and stay safe.

Following as I seem to have the same issue

Sounds like a mechanical issue internal to the locking latch. Since you say the window dips when the handle is lifted, the car thinks it is unlocked. Do you hear any sounds coming from that door when locking/unlocking with the Fob? You'll have to listen carefully since the gas filler access door also locks and makes a loud clunk. It also might be the latch needs adjustment and something is binding which holds the door. Some outward force might be necessary. Maybe if you push the door inward slightly while lifting the outside handle you can pull it open. There's a cable&lever connected to the inside handle that breaks occasionally. But that would only affect opening when using the inside handle. Seems unlikely that both inside and outside would break at the same time.

Well... its not a quiet locking sound like on my Merc but I won;t say a clunk as well but you know when its locking for sure . Will check it its that cosmetic medallion I attached to the don't know what its called (the rectangularish thing for the lock that is attached to the body). Never had an issue before and no issue with the same medallion on the drivers side. Regardless, thanks for chiming in.

So you added covers to the striker latch on the body of the car? I have those as well with no issues if that is what you are talking about. Mine are just black plastic caps that slip over the striker. There was another member who started a thread almost like yours a few weeks ago with similar behavior of the door suddenly not wanting to open. In his case he claimed it was worse on warm days when the car had been sitting in the sun, and if I recall he was getting door latch errors in his logs of some sort. Do you have a way to read codes to see if anything is showing up related to this?

Yes.. striker latch. That's what I meant. No way to read codes at home but no fault codes have popped up in the cluster. Well, I will be putting in the GT3 MC soon at the mech so I'll get him to run a check again. Thanks for your thoughts.

I have posted in multiple threads on this issue of door lock opening and not being able to open the darn doors. having my wife or me stuck in the car led me to learning as much about this issue & it pops up at the most embarrassing times..... now of course YMMV depending on the issue but the most common is the door lock actuator. if you're stuck - give a "fist bump" to the part of the door near the exterior handle. If a couple of bumps allows the door to be opened, it points to the door lock actuator. according to my local independent, they are a known issue for the 987/997 generations. personally I've had to replace both sides within a year of each other. have a look at some of these threads for more details. Driver Door no open 1° time Dear Friends. My is Cayman S 987 - 2008. In PCM .. I indicated release opens 2 doors.. Let's go to the facts ... Driver's door .... I already put spry LC150 in the microswitch of the window sensor to go down to decompress ... WD40 on the open door.. External and internal .. WD on the lock... www.planet-9.com Locked out of car and need suggestions I've browsed countless forums and googled so many solutions and yet nearly all have failed me. Due to COVID, have not been driving as often meaning my 2007 Porsche Cayman S has gone into hibernation. No biggy, I'll use the manual lock to unlock like I'm supposed to. Turn. Nothing. No... www.planet-9.com Door Handle Issues My 987.1 door handles seems abit wonky, after i unlock the car it takes a couple of pulls before it finally opens. 2 months ago it took 2 to 3 pulls but now it takes at least 4 to 5 pulls before the door releases. I'm aware of the autolocking and having to pull twice but 4 to 5 times seems... www.planet-9.com Door look issue and error codes Hope someone can help me decipher what is going on. I have an 2007 987 Boxster . A couple of weeks back the right side door locked and would not open, either with the key or from the inside, this lasted for a day and then it released. took the car to an auto electrician and he plugged in code... www.planet-9.com

Cool thanks. This is the part : 2005-2013 Porsche Door Lock Actuator Motor 3D1-837-015-C | Sunset Porsche Parts 2005-2013 Porsche part # 3D1-837-015-C - Door Lock Actuator Motor www.sunsetporscheparts.com Reading the first link you shared, its what I'm facing.

glad the post helped....its also been established that the VW group shares this part across many models incl. Audi and Porsche - and the last link, our australian friend was able to buy the part at a really attractive price.

Yeah. Good share. I've asked Adrian in the last link for teh VW part number and link if available. Thanks again.

While waiting for the Ozzie gentleman to chime in on the other thread, will be this be the correct VW part? Which VW model actuator is compatible to the 2010 Cayman 987.2 ? Door Lock Actuator K0003L Fits Front Left/Driver Side for Volkswagen Beetle Jetta Golf GTI Passat (Replaces# VW 3B1837015AS, 3B1837015AK, 3B1837015J; 931-500): Amazon.sg: Automotive Door Lock Actuator K0003L Fits Front Left/Driver Side for Volkswagen Beetle Jetta Golf GTI Passat (Replaces# VW 3B1837015AS, 3B1837015AK, 3B1837015J; 931-500): Amazon.sg: Automotive www.amazon.sg

ok... found this site: VW 3D1837015AD $32 VW Left Front Door Lock Mechanism Power Lock Actuator Golf R32 GTI Touareg. < The correct part numbers are : 3D1837015C 3D1837016C The part under the VW tag is 1/7th the cost of the same part under the Porsche tag. Part numbers obtained from AutoAtlanta's site.

I was going to ask if this had any correlation to VW. My wife's 2013 Jetta had issues with the rear door motor failing. After I did some checking into it, it seems to be a VERY common issue on VW and Audi . At least on the Jetta, it's a replacement process (with a special triple-square screw head - ie, it's not Torx, though it looks like it). Sounds like that's the same issue here on Pcars... might be nice to have a cross-reference for these parts (and any other shared ones), because I expect " Porsche " parts would cost more for the name, when they're probably identical to the VW ones?

wmclarenf1, the part number on the box that came with my part for driver side was 3D2837016S but in Adrian's pic was 3D2837016. (I didn't keep the code for the passenger side). Mine is installed & working so I'm assuming mine is ok...

schwinn, if they fail with almost clockwork on our cars, its likely to fail similarly in any car that uses the same parts. I would have expected the germans to have slightly better parts and QC but looks like this part is one of those that are not so well made... looks like the reality is Toyota is going to remain the reliability king...

That;s the price you pay for part commonality - it's great when they all work, but when there's a problem it multiplies across the brands! I disagree about Toyota being the "reliability king". I could tell stories, but in the end, to me, a Toyota is an average, overpriced car... I have had 2 as company cars, and I have hated them both as well because they are miserable to drive. I prefer to drive the company Ford Transit 350 over either Toyota . Even my wife, who's not a car-person in that way, found them to be numb and boring. Of course, that's just my take on it... rant over... no offense intended to anyone's purchase choices.

Thanks. Very similar to teh part number from autoatlanta. Maybe the 2 indicates RHD? I suspect the passenger side part number will be 3D2837015S.

Found this link at porscheclubgb for part numbers and DIY... How To : Replacing the Door Lock Actuator on a 9x7.2 ........ Replacing the Door Lock Actuator unit on a 9x7.2 ......... BACKGROUND Occasionally I had noticed that the window returned to the fully up position when the door handles where released which means the control unit does not realise the door is still open........a replacement requires a door... www.porscheclubgb.com

Happened again yesterday passenger side. Eye's tapping tip works well.

just be careful as the effect gets less with time as the actuator gets worse. wierd sitting inside the car trying to pound the outside of the door from the seat!

Happened again today. The tapping didn;t work. Had to close the driver side door as well, had to lock and unlock with the cabin lock. Will have to get the part ASAP.

Pelican has confirmed that 3D 2 837016 is for RHD and 3D 1 837016 is for LHD.

I've switched out my passenger door actuator with a compatible VOLKSWAGEN part. No issues. The passenger door closes with more of a thud now. I have the part for the driver's side door as well but as its not giving any trouble, I left it as is. The locking sound of the door with the new actuator is also quieter.

I have 970 which just had alarm upgrade by Porsche , but just started with locking and unlocking doors with key fob. Once you lock doors and unlock doors from key fob, front do not open from outside but can be opened from inside the car. can anybody assist