Drivers door lock issue

[anothere21323i]

Well this is a bizarre problem and hopefully somebody can help? My drivers door lock on my Touring will not open with the key, nor with the lock pin being pulled up from inside. The only way it will open is by the internal door release handle being pulled hard at the same time as the lock pin being pulled up. I then have to push the door release handle back in as the door won't shut without doing that.

This is the weird bit though - I've followed the wiki article on central locking common faults and removed the actuator, but this has made no difference at all. I removed the central locking relay which looked ok. The passenger door lock works fine and locks/unlocks itself and the 2 dear doors and tailgate, but not the drivers door.

Anybody come across this before? Is it the drivers door lock that is the problem? Can't work out what it is because if it had seized, I wouldn't be able to force it via the internal door release/lock pin?

[daimlerman]

At a guess,the latch mech is sticking and getting difficult to operate.

It's fiddly to get at,but strip the door card off,and with the window glass fully 'up',remove the lower rear glass guide mounting bolt,this will allow the guide to slide down a little and swing forward.This will allow the latch mech to be removed with only mild swearing involved.
Clean the mech and lubricate all the visible piviot points,work by hand until it operates freely,lubricate again,then build it back into the door.

Whilst you have the door in bits,it may be a good to replace the lock barrel with a new one built up from a 'lock repair kit',these are available to order from your local stealer for about £20.You can build a lock to suit your key.

These two jobs will give you a door mech that should work for another twenty years or so...

[anothere21323i]

Brilliant. Thanks very much indeed