C5 stuck deadlock on rear door

[meeper]

Hi,

I have a non-opening rear door on my C5 (UK RHD driver side) and would appreciate any advice you may have other than taking it to my local dealer. The symptoms are as follows:

1. The door does not open using either the inside or outside handle.
2. I can hear the central locking mechanism working on this door when I operate the key in one of the front doors or use the remote.
3. On a C5 it is possible to cancel the deadlocks once you have locked the car. When I do this I can't hear any sound from the offending door, but can hear the deadlocks cancel on the other 3.

I have removed the inside trim panels to get at the lock from the inside, but am stuck as to what to do next other than take it to the garage.

I have searched the forum, but not found any relevant previous posts, that said I'm think I may be using the search function incorrectly as I get a lot of irrelevant hits when I do search!

Thanks in anticipation,

M.

[AndersDK]

You must use at least 3 characters for search criteria on the forum search.
Tipping in "C5" alone wont work, but "C5 door lock" will work.
Its possible however that the forum search function could be garbled, returning nonsense related to your search criteria.

Seems your deadlock has stopped functioning - for whatever reason - on the offended door.
Donno how it works on a C5, but usually its a simple small electromagnet with a plunger that locks the movement of the locks actuator rods.

With knowledge on the mechanism, lots of floodlight and some luck, its possible to move the plunger with deadlocks turned off. The garage may bill you less, if the door is already stripped and seats / squabs removed for best access. Give them a call. Some garages are very friendly on the "small problems" issues like this one.

[mooseshaver]

I had this problem on one of the rear doors, I could hear the central locking, but it would not unlock.
My brother took the insides of the door off and decided it was the motor for that door. I think he lubricated it, but it didn't make a difference at first. But after a week or so it started working again.
May be helpfull, may not be.

[Jolly Jack]

Hi
I had the same problem on amy xantia. It may be the same or similar lock. I put the job off for 2 years before attacking the lock from inside the door panel with a long screwdriver and a hammer. The back of the lock is white plastic which isnt difficult to break. It took me about 3 minutes to get the door open. The lock cost me about £110 to replace.
Hope this helps
John

[meeper]

Thanks for the input guys.

I'll start with the lubrication approach and get as much WD40 into it as I can. I need to put the door back together tonight as the in-laws are over for the weekend, but that should give the lubricant time to work so I can give it a wiggle next week and then consider the more drastic approach.

Would it be useful to photograph a "how to" on taking the inside trim off the door whilst I'm at it and then post it on here? Let me know.

Thanks again,

M.

[mooseshaver]

An How to guide would be most usefull. I may need to do it myself soon to repalce a snapped handle on teh front door.

[citronut]

if it like the piscaso lock a new unit from citroen is only around £30ish,as these are sealed units it is more than likly easyer to fit new
regards malcolm

[fred1]

Hi,

I had this problem on front as well as rear doors.

Using WD40 gave a temporary cure but I subsequently used a silicon based lubricant - 3in1 silicon spray lubricant sprayed into the lock area using the spray tube and this seems to solve the problem. A spray every 3 month or so and the problem has now not reappeared for the last 6 months.

I also found that a sharp rap with the flat of your hand on the door panel next to the lock and recycling the lock would free up a stuck shut door. Sometimes needed more than one attempt.

I had been about to replace locks!

I understand the problem lies with a small plastic slider which does not travel quite far enough due to increased friction. Because it is plastic silicon is better than wd40 and the rap with your hand encourages it to move that little bit further.

Regards

John