I have a 1998 Accord that just had the ever so common Honda problem of a broken door latch mechanism. Of course, the door is shut and will not open from the inside or outside.

So, I removed the inside door panel. Not easy with the door shut. Looked around and all the rods were in place. The door lock actuator is still working. To the best of what I can figure is the actual latch failed internally.

My local dealer said it typically runs anywhere from $500-600 to fix this, including the roughly $50 part.

Right now I'm going to attempt to drill out the actual door latch, but save the striker. The dealer tech says they typically have to "swiss cheese" the old mechanism. Seems kinda crazy. Anyone know of a better way.

This whole problem seems like BS to me. The car has 11 years and 200k miles but seriously. You'd think Honda would've fixed this problem by now. Or made an easier way to release the door without butchering parts.

 

You may be able to push/pull the rods going to the latch to see if it opens. One may have become disconnected.

I have read more about that problem with 91-93 accords. If the release mechanism is the same as the 91-93's then the only way to access is to drill into the pillar and use a rod to push the release.

You may want to inspect the passenger side latch to see how it is set up.

 

Yeah, most people I've talked to are surprised this happened on a "newer" Accord. Seriously though, it's 11 years old with a lot of miles. That door has been opend and closed a lot. I'm not at all surprised this part failed. Am surprised Honda engineers haven't designed a back-up door release yet.

Spent most of yesterday digging around inside the door. All the rods are working. Have the replacement part so was able to study that to see where the problem might be. Honestly, I think it's internal to the latch. Since it will not unlatch but pulling the rods does move the release I'm thinking internally a spring is broken that pulls up the latch.

I've done quite a bit of work on this car over the years and miles and have to say this is the most frusturating thing that's ever happened and really has me questioning if I want another Accord. I like to drive cars into the dirt, but what good is a rock solid drive train if you can't open the drivers side door?

 

Yeah I've seen that a few times. It isn't common but it does happen.

 

I got the door open and fixed now. What a major PITA. Ended up taking a 1/2" drill bit, finding the sweet spot and drilling the hell out of the old latch. Eventually I tore it up enough so I could stick a screwdriver in there and lift up the latch and release the door. A tech at my local dealer said they usually burn through a couple bits doing a job like this. Only one for me. I should post a picture of the old latch assembly. It's messed up.

New part went in like a snap after that. Tight spot to work with all those rods but all is working now. Unfortunately I've got a gaping hole in the pillar that I'll need to fill with some Bondo. Still, should have the total repair done for under $100 vs. the $600+ the dealer estimated.

Everyone please note, on this model Accord you CAN NOT poke a rod through and hit a simple metal release, as there are many instructions posted online. If the latch is not releasing internally, i.e. all external rods are working yet the latch isn't swinging up, your only option is to drill out the latch.

Not sure if this design has changed for the newer model Accords but it is certainly something I will look at before buying a new car.

 

thank you for posting aquapura, i also have this ridiculous problem (rods in place, lock/unlock responding, latch not responding, door won't open) on my '00 ex coupe.

i was able to pull the panel enough to feel the rods in place and came to the same conclusion, the latch mechanism croaked and i must drill. i saw the videos posted online but they are for accords from early 90s. you'd think honda would introduce a release feature after all that.

anyway it got late so i decided not to drill today but i took off the passenger side panel just to try to take out the mechanism and with all 3 screws off it wouldn't budge. what am i missing? how did you get the latch mechanism out of the door?

also, any way you could post the picture of your pillar section where you drilled? because it looks like the latch is in line with the edge of leather trim so if i don't have to shread the leather in addition to demolishing the plastic that would be neat!

 

I don't remember there being anything unique about getting the latch assembly out of the door once it was open. Just the three screws. Did have everything disassembled from the door...all rods, etc.

As for the location to drill, you have to go through the pillar. In the sedan I just removed the plastic cover between the front and rear door. Not sure what the setup is in the coupe. What I did was take a small drill bit and went through the passenger side so identify a location. Still had to use a monster bit on the drivers side and destroy the old latch assembly...striker included.

Aside from the PITA labor, it was only $50 for the latch assembly and another $25 for a new striker. And well, a hole in the pillar which I have yet to fill with bondo.

You're right about the online help. Those are all for older, pre-1998 model year Accords and won't help you. Only hope of getting the door open is drill out the whole latch. Honda's absolute failure to address sloppy design like this took a very nice Acura TL-S off our shopping list and persuaded us into buying a Lexus GS instead. (Hopefully someone at Honda reads this forum.)

Good luck.

 

hi, thanks for getting back.
re: screws, yeah, i didn't remove the rods so i'll try that.
re: pillar, not visible in the coupe so i'll do my best to mirror the location measuring up the passenger side. also, no way to hide the damage. it will be very visible in addition to the already messed up panel.

i'm just a little nervous about the drilling, my husband has all the tools but this car is my baby. and i am PISSED OFF at Honda to say the least!

thanks again!

 

I can't believe that there is exposed metal on the inside right where the door striker is on the Accord coupe. You probably have to remove the whole interior panel going into the back seat. When everything is done you should be able to put the interior panels back in place and cover the hole.

If anything was easy about this job it was removing the cover over the pillar. Imagine in the coupe you can do similar. Getting the door panel off was another thing.

Did you talk to a local dealer? Maybe they have a trick. My dealer was a bit less than helpful other than saying they'd fix it for a small fortune.

One thing to note is that when I drilled out my latch it did rough up the finish on the door in the jamb....around where the three screws are. Nothing huge but did mess up the paint. Given the age of the car and since it's hidden in the jamb I didn't really care.

If you aren't really careful you could mess up the door pretty bad. You have to hit that sweet spot right where the latch is. Not easy to see when you're lying over the top of the center console with a big drill in hand.

I feel your frustration.

 

Good Morning!
The driver side door latch broke inside the mechanisum, to make things easier to get to, this on the 4 door, remove the drivers seat, careful with the seat belt electrical wire under the seat, it has a plug, not hard to get at with seat hold down bolts removed. Put window down, remove any screws on the door panel you can find and lift panel away from door,NOW,put window up, you will NOT be able to take panel completely off, one tab is behind the front console, and you need access to the back of the latch. There is 3 screws that hold the latch is place 2 top, 1 bottom, you can see the thredded ends from the back, there is a white plastic device looking cover attached to the latch assembly with 1 small philip screw, get that out of the way. The area for the sweet spot to release the door latch is located to the right side, 2/3rds the way down between the screws that hold the latch assembly in place. The release is a round disk, about 1 inch in diameter with a pin you may be able to see, it must turn clockwise from its 3 o-clock to about 5 o-clock and the latch should release. I was not so clean about the taking apart of the latch to release the door, had to learn were the release was, BUT I did NOT make any drill holes in the doors to get the latch to release,did break way some plastic, learning how it was designed.