Drivers door won't lock
 

Hi, I left the side lights on and flattened the battery on my V40. I used the key to manually open the drivers door and get in to get jump leads etc etc. now the drivers door won't lock, even when I try with the key. The remote central locking works on the rest of the car, but automatically unlocks when I open the drivers door handle because it stays unlocked.

Any help gratefully recieved.

thanks

A

Try locking the drivers door with the key, turning it as far as it can go.

Then try unlocking it with the key, but this time turn the key slightly, until it engages the microswitch to unlock the car. Then, try locking the car with the fob and see if this works.

In general, the car can be locked electronically with the key when you turn it only slightly to engage the microswitch or it can lock mechanically when you turn the key all the way, which pushes down the rod that engages the lock.In your case, since your battery was dead, you had to mechanically lock the door which can sometimes cause this problem.

I have this on my v40 .... i sit in the car with a small pair of plies and activate the unlock button .. when the lock thingy on the door pops up grab it in the pliers (takes a few goes .. also helps to remove the ring round the bottom).

Now ensure you have a good grip and pull the lock thingy straight up .. you should feel / hear a clunk and hey presto it now works !

Iain

Very useful discussion. This has happened to me recently. I have been driving around unable to lock the driver's door on my 18.6 years old Volvo V40. I had taken out the battery to give more space to replace headlight bulbs. Key fob was in my pocket. I closed the car bonnet, not having put the battery back in position. I had left the car unlocked but as it is prone to do, the car had automatically locked itself. Agh!!! I could not open the car automatically as the battery was not connected! Panic! With great relief I opened the driver's door manually with the key. However the door will now no longer lock but the rest of the doors will, with central locking.
Tomorrow, I shall try the advice of ijmorrison and gatos. I shall keep you posted. Roy Dean

And guess what lol
 

Read this and thought I'd check mine low and behold car locks but you can open driver's door luckily alarm initiates lol.
Thanks for thread now sorted out lol.

Okay folks, I have sorted it. I tried the Gatos method and no success. I understood the ijmorrison suggestion with the use of pliers but decided to be brave and go a step further. I watched a video online of a guy removing the door panel on a volvo v40 and it did not look too difficult. So I unscrewed all the holding points and found I did not have to detach the electrical box serving the window opener, door opener and side mirror adjustments. I could pull the door panel out by a couple of inches and have perfect access to the black plastic lug that pops up and down when the door is opened and closed. The lug was stuck in the DOWN position but this was not locked, it was open.
With pliers I pulled the lug up and felt the release of the mechanism. Everything had returned to normal, opening and closing and importantly, LOCKING was working again. Carefully put the panel back in position, making sure that the black lug can go up and down through the hole. Make sure you re-insert the ring around the lug to keep the lug free to go up and down smoothly. Enjoyed fixing this problem.
My car is a Volvo V40 1600 cc, purchased new on 27 July 2001 from Stratstone Volvo, Bristol Street, Birmingham. Have done 144300 miles. Registration Y402 BOK.

AEGIDIUS......Did you fix it? Which method did you employ? Would be helpful to know......

I've had this in all 3 of my S/V40's and when you can't lock the driver's door via the key or fob the best workaround I've found (short of replacing the offending component) is to:

1. Ensure the doors are unlocked so the other three buttons are "up", the

2. Pull the driver's button up with some pliers or a multi-tool to re-set it.

I've found that it will then start locking again & if you lift the drivers door handle when the car's locked that won't instantly open the door.

Sidenote: this problem NEVER happens when my wife locks or unlocks the driver's door, only when I do it! She said I unlock it too quickly and, funnily enough, when I unlock it S-L-O-W-L-Y then, yes, I don't have a problem with the lock and the button rises and falls as it should.

So perhaps being more gentle might help you guys too!

drivers door locking problems
 

I had same problem, all I done was take off plastic lug on top of door panel. And with longnose pliers pulled up the lever, sorted out door locks and unlocking like should be, 10second fix..

Thank you for your advice. My car, a 2004 V40, and now 19 years old, has been cured on your tips.