Need help to troubleshoot sliding door please

[jjules]

My sliding door does not open, no matter what I try. Press the remote - hear 'unlock' sound okay. Interior push-down lock button pops up okay. When I pull outside or inside handle, it feels as if something is blocked part way through normal action.

Door does not open but rear edge of the door lifts very slightly. Rear gap is not visibly different from closed, door still appears flush with rear body panel, but graphic display on dashboard indicates sliding door is open. I have to press inwards on the rear edge of the door to clear this false 'open' status.

Another post suggested pushing hard from inside, at rear and centre of door, while second person pulls outside handle - tried that, door did not open.

I'm a newbie, have no idea how the door latching mechanism actually works! On the inside (photo) it looks clean and dry, nothing obviously broken. Through small hole (arrow) I see vertical shaft that rotates slightly when door handle is pulled. I'm guessing more rotation is needed to release the latch?

What more can I check, potentially fix?

[PJD]

Just a thought!
The handle on my passenger side was reluctant to pull all the way. Probably from less use than the driver's side (not an issue on a sliding door I acknowledge). A bit of WD40 did the trick and meant it opened fully releasing the door easier.

I don't think this is your issue here but for the sake of a bit of WD40 might be worth a try, if as you suggest the latch needs to move just a bit more.

[jjules]

Thank you @PJD I will try that again. I forgot to mention I started by spraying WD40 in several places. Not necessarily in the 'right' spot. I cannot see the moving parts of the latch while the door is shut. Where's the best place to apply WD40?

[PJD]

It was actually the handle I sprayed. The plastic had become dry.

[PJD]

The other thing to try is to pull on the cable outer to see if that releases the catch. The mechanism to the right of photo ultimately pulls the cable through the outer onto the lock latch

[JoeTriesAgain]

Had same issue with one door - both outside and inside handles struggled to unlock the sliding door.
Sometimes it's the simplest things as in this case - quick squirt of gt85 on the locking catch at rear of the door (in both open and locked positions) and works fine now

[jjules]

Thanks for your suggestion and sorry I don't understand - I'm a total newbie. I appreciate your help and patience. Can you explain exactly where I can "pull on the cable outer " please?

[PJD]

Where the cable goes to the latch on the left of your photo is where I would try. See if the cable has any play whilst you use the inner handle (top right of door)

The cables that go across the door from the large mechanism on the right to the left side is connected to a latch of some type. I suspect it's to release the sliding door mechanism at the bottom of the door, but where it's located there might be an additional latch higher up.

[JoeTriesAgain]

If you're getting "door open" on dash it could be that the door isn't quite closing properly - I found this hinders the operation of the door handles also.
Check the trims, seals and buffers to make sure they're all where they should be, and maybe give every moving part a good clean and grease.
Spraying the latch with gt85 (or wd40) has solved all these issues on mine.

[jjules]

Thanks @JoeTriesAgain, but actually my door is firmly closed, impossible to open, therefore impossible to spray or even see the latches. For this situation "Door open" is a false indication and the false indication goes away if I press on rear edge, explained in earlier posts above.

Where the cable goes to the latch on the left of your photo is where I would try. See if the cable has any play whilst you use the inner handle (top right of door)

The cables that go across the door from the large mechanism on the right to the left side is connected to a latch of some type. I suspect it's to release the sliding door mechanism at the bottom of the door, but where it's located there might be an additional latch higher up.

Thanks again @PJD. But it does not help to pull on the cable that runs right across the inside of the door (visible in my photo). That cable has a fixed outer cover, some sort of black plastic. Presumably it has a moveable inner metal cable but I cannot access the (presumed) moveable ends of the cable.

Does anyone have a workshop manual and possibly able to post diagrams(s) that show how Caddy sliding door latches work?

[Ropey 07]

You can buy a digital version of a Haynes manual online for about 26 pound.
But I'm not sure if it will troubleshoot a door that won't open.

Hear me out...
If the door is open on the computer,
And the locks could be hindered by the door open signal,
Then maybe get someone to lean on the door to hold it shut whilst operating the lock open or closed.
It might just trick it into operation.
Anything is worth a go.

Just don't put the keys down in the van when playing with the locks,
Some of them have a tendency to lock the doors after 30 seconds if the door isn't opened!

Hope this helps!