04 E55 AMG: right rear door won't open from inside

[kevm14]

Oh, here's a bit of a bummer. The right rear door does not open from the inside. I don't think it is a child lock. I think something is broken. Maybe the cable just slipped off the handle. I will have to remove the door panel to find out.
https://youtu.be/A5cffkjMvSk

Maybe I should just order this plastic piece since that may be what broke.

Finally tracked down the part that the video points out is a common problem. It's called a door handle inside grommet. Mine likely disintegrated and the door cable hook simply fell out. 99% that's what it will be. That is part 202-997-12-81. Got it on Amazon for $7.11.

And I ordered a 12 pack of the plastic push fasteners which are always good to have on hand when pulling door panels. That was $17.11 on eBay.

Wow, lots of 7-11s there.

Trying to get this thing sorted out so I can enjoy it without things hanging over my head.

[kevm14]

Got the door panel retainers. The grommet should arrive today, as well as my new trim popper tool (if I choose to use it but it looks handy).

[kevm14]

I should have everything I need.

The tool looks really good.

This will probably take 45-90 mins depending on how tricky the door panel is to remove. And assuming I diagnosed the problem correctly.

Realistically it will take 30 mins to pull the door panel because I am unfamiliar and will go slow, and may need to consult the manual and/or YouTube. Reinstallation will probably be half that so 45 mins there and hopefully only 5-15 mins replacing the grommet and reattaching the cable hook. So...75 mins is my guess.

[kevm14]

Got the door panel off. It's not the grommet. The issue seems to be internal to the door latch/lock assembly. This reminds me a bit of the issue on the SRX where I had to replace the entire latch assembly.

Unfortunately it is not cheap.
https://www.benzparts.com/oem-parts/mer ... s9MQ%3D%3D

I did, however, determine that if you manually lock and then unlock the door with the pin, it will work. If you try a few more times, or even a second time, something seems to "fall off" inside the assembly.

I may try removing the whole thing and see if I can figure out how to repair though it may be a piece of broken plastic or something. Everything seems to work except the door seems locked when you try to open from the inside. Again, if you manually push down the lock and unlock it, the inside pull works. But that only lasts for one or two pulls and then you have to repeat.

Removal requires removing the outer door handle so I am currently at the stage where I am determining if I want to go farther, or put it back together and save this for another time.

In the interim there does seem to be a way to open from the inside but it requires a manual action.

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[kevm14]

Put it all back together. Did not remove the door latch assembly.

Works as before.

The annoying thing is I could have discovered this without taking anything apart though I may still have wanted to disassemble to inspect.

I think the work around is going to be the plan, even though you could make an argument that not being able to get out from the inside is a safety issue - and when panicking you wouldn't remember the door lock trick...

[Adam]

It seems that German cars require door disassembly immediately after purchase, or soon after that.

[kevm14]

The workaround has been working. Fixed forever.

[kevm14]

Also I've had to pull the door panel on:
My truck
Roadmaster
STS
SRX

[kevm14]

For what it's worth, Ian has been successfully exiting the car with no assistance by "double clicking" on the lock plunger. Works for me.

[kevm14]

I found this and got excited.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ge1oyZ38S9M

But I think this is to cure the door lock bouncing issue which I do not have.

Polish source for springs that I'm putting here anyway, even though I don't think this is my issue: http://www.epc.net.pl/tienda/index.php? ... &id_lang=4