This seems to have happened to at least a few people based on search results, and what I found when trying to solve this dilemma myself was not exactly the most helpful...

If you have the misfortune of having your door get stuck closed, you have a few possible options. First, a handle is broken. Go inside/outside and use the other. Replace the broken handle.

Next, the linkage is broken. In this case you should still have at least one functioning handle, and you can open the door to easily access and mess with the linkage.

The third and by far most damning scenario, is that the door latch mechanism itself is what's broken. This is what just happened to me. The actual way your door latch mechanism is broken may vary, but in order to fix it, here's what you do:

-Roll down the window.

-Remove the exterior window scraper. Pry up (vertically in the same plane as the door) at the rearmost corner, and it just pulls off and out from under the side view mirror trim.

-Roll up the window.

-Remove the door panel as much as you can. First, unscrew the four screws holding in the arm rest. Then unscrew the door handle bezel screw, pull open the door handle, and slide it off. Then push the door panel back from the window crank, and pop off the clip that is holding it to the regulator (obviously this is for a manual door, not sure what things look like on an electric door). Move the seat in such a way that you can get to the screw in the lower rear corner of the panel and remove that screw. Then go around the perimeter of the door panel, and just pull it away from the door and the thingies will pop out. Lift it on a pivot away from the remaining inaccessible screw (look at your other door for reference). Pull it out of the way as much as you can without causing any damage.

-Remove the water seal (plastic sheet with black goo) as much as necessary.

Now comes the tricky part... Actuate the handles and locks to make sure you see what's doing what. If you are lucky, you might just have some linkage issues after all. Fix it and be glad. If you are less lucky, you'll have to actuate this:



It's super difficult to see without your head being the size of a cell phone or having the flexibility of a gymnast to really get down in there with the door closed. It's toward the outside of the door on the far side of the window track. There is the linkage rod with the pin in it more or less dead center in the photo. Look below it, and there is a tab parallel to the ground just at the tip of my finger there. Push that down, and the door should open. Pull that !@#% piece of crap out and get a new one!

Now for our favorite phrase: Assembly is the reverse of disassembly.

 

Hey you think you can get a pic of your door lock linkage for the drivers side?

I figured out the door opening linkage issue but i'm stuck on the door lock!!

 

Inner or outer? It won't be today, but maybe tomorrow.

 

Inner. The picture you have is perfect except it looks like you disconnected the locking rod.

I need to see the whole locking rod assembly. Im stumped!

 

I broke myself a bit today out skiing... I'll see what I can do. I need to try to get the weather strip back on so I can leave it parked while I gather some parts. It'll pretty much depend on whether or not I can reach in there with my good hand or if I can get to it with my other hand to open the door.

 

No worries man, I'm not working on my drivers door at the moment yet anyways.

 

https://www.rx7club.com/2nd-generati.../#post11884689

 

Thanks a bunch dude. I knew I was missing some hardware!

 

So Door is working fine but I re-key'd the lock closed the door after and wont open. Everything seems to move fine except the door handle wont move.

You're trick to get the door open worked great but handle still wont move. Any ideas? Do you guys and gals need pictures?

 

You caught me in a good mood and with good timing. Obviously I don't have your door mechanism in my hand, but it's not a super complicated device.

I think you'll find what's happened is that the lock is sort of jammed. The lock works by rotating a plate actuated by the door handles out of the way of the little tab that opens the door (the one I showed above). It can get jammed.

Unlocked:

I'm pointing at the same tab as above for reference. Note the black plastic part and its relationship with the tab.

Locked:

Note how the black plastic part has swung well away from the tab (still pointing at it for reference). By moving it away, the door handles just swing the black part down into nothing and the door can not be opened.

JAMMED!:

This is how mine broke, and I think what broke the mechanism was someone attempting to force it. In fact, if you go up and look at that first photo, you'll just be able to see the black plastic part jammed as shown here, only worse from our attempting to force things. Note how the black plastic part has moved just to the side of the tab, and is jammed up on the side of it. It can't really move past it, and it's held in place where it is. Forcing it will break things.

You'll need to remove the mechanism from the door, unjam it, and make sure nothing is irreparably broken. It MAY be possible to unjam it inside the door, but the window track covers what you need to see, and by the time you're that deep you might as well just pull it apart the rest of the way and sleep soundly.

 

I need to start off by saying thanks for taking the time with all those photos, it help me get the door open.

I disconnect the rod that goes up and down to the lock and the rod moves fine. It's the handle that's jammed. I put the key in and turn it around and still nothing. Is there something that could be blocking it in the handle area that I should look for?

 

I suggest taking the handle out and looking. If you're deep enough to see the rod, etc., it's hardly any further effort to take the handle out and look at it to see what's up. It will likely be pretty obvious.

 

When my car was involved in a hit & run, it actually bent the latch inside the door. Since the door was trashed anyway, we cut a hole in it to pull on the handle/lock rods directly. Soon as we got it open and thought all was fine, I shut the door and it wouldn't open again... So after much effort and yanking on the rods again, we got it open once more and I removed the striker plate so it couldn't get jammed up again.