Technical Passenger door problems

[clarethomer]

Hi

New poster here. I have just inherited a 3 door 52 Stilo. For the last 3 months, had no problems with the passenger door but yesterday my passenger got stuck as the door wouldn't open internally.

Normally, I would just press the button on my door which unlocks the door as it auto locks when you start driving. Now that doesn't seem to work. The handle doesn't seem to have any resistance at all and the door can be opened from the outside with no problems.

I have an MOT due at the end of the month and I am wondering whether this is an easy fix in terms of its something to do with what I am doing or something needs resetting or whether its a case of someone is going to have to start taking door panels off etc.

Any help would be much appreciated. I have seen some problems on deadlock and central locking but cannot relate these exactly to my issue so apologies if this is covered elsewhere.

 

[12[X]]

internal door handle just pulls a small metal cable (which opens the lock) - from your description sounds like it has managed to slip out (if the door was taken apart before and the cable was not put back in the right way - there is a small plastic catch that holds it in place - it can slip out). Easy enough to check and fix - remove door trim (it cannot be taken off without undoing the cable..) and see if anything is wrong. If there is no catch – just use a small plastic tie clip to ensure it stays in place (though it could also be the case that the handle has disintegrated – again its a cheap part if you can get it – never had to replace it me self so wouldn’t know). Imagine it would fail (kind of hard to get out of the car in an emergency if you can’t open the door)

 

[minimad99]

Hey Clare,

Welcome to the forum.

Firstly the fact that you can open the door from the outside is a good sign as the lock is obviously functioning correctly. Some Stilos have deadlocks that activate when you press the lock remote button twice, these have been known to fail in the locked position leaving the door locked from in and outside (not good).

As yours is still working from outside I'd agree with 12[X] that either the interior handle has broken by someone pulling it too far back or the cable has come detached inside.
Either way it should be easy to see the proplem by removing the door card. There are a few screws/bolts behind caps/covers and also 4/5 push fit clips along the bottom of the door.

Whatever you do, don't take it Fiat as they'll more than likley say you need a new lock and that'll cost you upwards of £150 with labour.

Good luck, let us know how you get on.