Today: The Saab that Locked Itself

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Dear Tom and Ray:

My 80-year-old father owns an '03 Saab. About two months ago, the electric locking mechanism on the driver's door stopped working. Now the door cannot be opened from the inside or the outside. The Saab dealer has had the car for six weeks, with no hopes of getting that part in the near or distant future. So my father can't open the door, and at his age, he's not going to be hopping over the passenger seat to get to the driver's seat. Saab has told him that no other vehicle uses the same part, and there is no solution. Any ideas? He can't afford to buy a new car.

-- John

RAY: Well, my first idea is that he should go collect his car from the Saab dealership before the bank takes Dad's car as part of a foreclosure settlement and auctions it off.

TOM: It probably would get auctioned as parts to someone else who needs a door lock for an '03 Saab!

RAY: It's tricky business, now that Saab is in bankruptcy. GM, which owned Saab until a couple of years ago, says it will honor warranties on the Saabs it sold. And Saab says it's putting some kind of program in place to help other customers with parts, but who knows if that will work out or not? It's not a good situation.

TOM: So in the meantime, here's what I would do if it were MY father's car. I'd rescue the car from the dealership and have it towed to a body shop.

RAY: Then I'd ask the body shop to "get inside the driver's door" and disable the locking mechanism permanently, so that the door never can be locked again.

TOM: There are three ways they can get in there: They can use a "slim jim" or similar device, like tow-truck drivers use. They can pry off the interior door panel. Or they can take a saw and cut through the door skin on the outside.

RAY: The skin -- the sheet metal that goes over the door's frame -- is replaceable. Once they've disabled the locking mechanism so you can always open the door, they can repair the sheet metal and paint it to be just like new. Or, if you want a conversation starter, you can leave the hole there, and Dad can unlock the car every day that way.

TOM: If you go for "permanently unlocked status" (which is what I'd do), your dad will just have to forget about locking the car. And he'll have to stop leaving anything valuable in it. That's an inconvenience. But not as much of an inconvenience as having no car, right?

RAY : And it's unlikely to be stolen. First of all, the car's going on a decade old. And second, even car thieves know it's almost impossible to get parts for Saabs now!

TOM: Your other option is to look for a used part for the door lock. Call a good junkyard and ask them if they can find one for you. After all, you don't need a new one; you just need one that still works.

RAY: And if they find one, tell them you'll take the rest of the car, too. You never know what parts you're going to need next. Good luck, John.

Comments

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Billjet

Tue, 2012-02-07 18:32

I suggest you check E-Bay for a replacement actuator. I did a quick search and found many hits for Saab door actuators.

bobj

Tue, 2012-02-07 18:58

As you get older (Cartalk, not the Saab Owner) you get less inventive? He could take the electric part of the locking mechanism off the passenger side and put it on the drivers side? Yes I understand the whole mechanism is a mirror image, but, the electric solenoid? gotta be the same ....

dvdlgh

Tue, 2012-02-07 19:41

I can't help thinking that these Saabs might be stolen more often. Parts will be needed and some people don't care where they come from.

kb

Wed, 2012-02-08 12:45

It would seem to me that removing the front or rear window would be easier adn cleaner than cutting through the door. If you do cut through the door - cover the hole with a padlock hasp. That was sarcasm.

rickyb

Wed, 2012-02-08 12:52

I don't know if I can post a link but here goes: http://www.car-part.com/ Big data base of used parts from across the country.

guidis

Wed, 2012-02-08 19:25

Kubis auto parts has a website . I checked real quick . It looks like they might be able to help.

profrobyn

Fri, 2012-02-10 01:06

This happened to my Saab! One of my friends took apart the door and sprayed the locking mechanism with some graphite. It worked for 2 years. Worth a shot!

DrBjerkebek

Fri, 2012-02-10 01:46

I had the same Ebay results. actuator for about $50.

senseless

Sat, 2012-02-11 14:24

Can't believe you are that ignorant. Most likely, the problem was the solenoid switch and most Mfgs use parts from someone else, and even so, there are many makers of solenoid switches and even a shadetree mechanic knows how to replace one, even of another make. Even the mechanism is probably made by someone else. Checking the problem is simple enough. WAKE UP.

TIMK

Sun, 2012-02-12 15:34

Try eeuroparts.com They have the OEM front right door lock for an 03'. I didn't have the model but they're probably all the same for 2003.

engineer623

Tue, 2012-02-14 22:30

Your comments to the writer (John) are funny and entertaining, however, a failed electric locking mechanism should not prevent the door from being opened from the inside of the vehicle. There is always a mechanical backup system (physical button/lever/tab, etc) that can be used to unlock the door from the inside so it can be opened. Also, on most vehicles, the locked front doors can simply be opened using the door opening lever (latch) without having to physically unlock the door. If the writer was actually talking about the un-LATCHING lever (or opening lever), that is a different story. But typically, the un-latching levers are not electrically operated. Perhaps the writer (John) should search any available salvage yards for used electric unlock modules, he might be surprised what he would find. Edit Reply Read more here: http://www.kansas.com/2012/02/11/2211769/a-door-trumps.html#storylink=cpy

ertem

Fri, 2012-02-17 10:09

engineer623 - "on most vehicles, the locked front doors can simply be opened using the door opening lever (latch) without having to physically unlock the door." Not on the Saab. At least not on our two 9-5's. This always bugged me. Maybe we should write Trollhattan and ... Oh, wait...

mgtd

Sat, 2012-03-03 11:51

@ertem, I've got one of these products of the Bizzarro world of automotive engineering. Any car where you're locked in if there's an electrical failure is technically called a death trap. Didn't know my Saab had this wonderful characteristic, but you can bet I'll test it next time by pulling the appropriate fuse. Then I'll buy one of those cute little window-breaking hammers. Reminds me of Bricklin's electric gull wing doors -- windows quit, and door raiser quits, and the door is more or less too heavy to lift even if unlatched. A neighbor of mine who was offered a ride in another neighbor's Bricklin looked the car over and refused - example of excellent and quick engineering analysis.

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