[alwood]

When I unlock the car via the keyfob, the indicator lights flash twice as usual, but the right rear door doesn't unlock and can't be opened even by pulling the handle inside. This car doesn't have any lock buttons visible so the door is just stuck closed.

The tailgate also doesn't respond when the button is pressed. Yet if I long-press the middle button on the remote (the boot unlock button), the indicator lights flash twice and then the tailgate button operates as intended. The only way I can get the tailgate open is by long-pressing the remote button.

Inside the car, the blue central locking button light either flashes (doors unlocked) or is solid (doors locked).

I have picked up from a Google search that this may be an actuator problem but can't find a sure fix.

[BrendanP]

Search through this site, I did a post here back around June when I had to replace the rear door actuator on an FD i30. I just got lucky in that one time it did actually unlock. If the door can be opened it's not too hard to replace the actuator, but if you can't open the door, I don't how it can be done without cutting the door open. You can't even get the inner door card off. In my case, the door wouldn't open for weeks, and then one day, it just decided to unlock, so that could have been my one and only opportunity to fix it.

If you put your ear to the door whilst locking and unlocking using the remote, does it sound like the actuator is trying to open, or is it just silent? If you can hear something, then banging on the door with a rubber mallet whilst trying to open it might jar it loose enough to unlock. Once it's unlocked you can take the door card off and unplug the electrical connection to the lock to prevent it locking again until you can sort out replacing the actuator. Unfortunately, unlike the FD, there's no button inside to let you lock the door manually, so the door will be unlockable until you fix it.

In the UK it is an MoT fail if the tester can't open the door, which they will do to check the seat belts.

[eye30]

I'm no car electrical person but have you tried disconecting the battery leads.

Would doing this take power from the actuator motor and hopefully unlock.

[BrendanP]

I'm no car electrical person but have you tried disconecting the battery leads.

Would doing this take power from the actuator motor and hopefully unlock.

It doesn't work like that. the deadlocking mechanism drives an electric motor in the lock which decouples the mechanical cables from the locking latch to stop the door being opened even if someone broke a window and reached inside. The motor has to be driven in the opposite direction to release the deadlock. If the motor brushes wear down or lose their springiness the motor won't run, or it tries but can't develop enough torque to travel as far as it has to. Besides, to unplug the wiring you have to take the door card off which can only be done after opening the door.

I don't know if it's possible, but if the rear wheel is taken off and the wheel arch linings removed, does this expose the screws which hold the door striker in place. If they could be drilled out from the back and the door opened. The screws would have to be replaced with nuts on the back, but that should be easier than having to get another door. If you removed the striker on the door that can be opened and poked some thick wire through the holes, it should be possible to tell if the wire is knocking against plastic trim that could be removed, or sheet steel that suggests there's an inner wing that would block access to the screws from the back.

[I30 GD]

I've seen numerous videos on YouTube for gaining access, one is to use your hand to bang around the door lock while pressing the keyfob another is a problem with the cables going slack, if you pull the interior door handle open, you may be able to see the cable and press on it with a screwdriver to release the door

[Greyhound]

We dont know where @alwood is located. If it is feezing cold where he is, the right rear of the car door/tailgate may be frozeen shut, assuming car parked outdoors.
Maybe if weather warms up or gently knocking the door/tailgate may free the mechanism.
Agree it would be good to listen when using fob to unlock to detect any sound from the mechanism, as others have suggested.
Also check car battery voltage is adequate for extra work if cold temperature outside.

[BrendanP]

I've seen numerous videos on YouTube for gaining access, one is to use your hand to bang around the door lock while pressing the keyfob another is a problem with the cables going slack, if you pull the interior door handle open, you may be able to see the cable and press on it with a screwdriver to release the door

I watched those when my door lock was playing up, but the deadlock disconnects those cables within the lock so tugging on them does nothing. I still have the faulty door lock I took off, when I get time I'll try opening it up to see how the internal mechanism works. That's from an FD which has the extra lever on the door handle to manually lock the door. When mine was playing up you could hear some noise from the lock, but it wasn't as definite a clunk like the other locks, as though the motor was just too weak to move the mechanism far enough. It was in June when the door decided to unlock, so maybe weather was warmer and that affected it.

[eye30]

We dont know where @alwood is located. If it is feezing cold where he is, the right rear of the car door/tailgate may be frozeen shut, assuming car parked outdoors.
Maybe if weather warms up or gently knocking the door/tailgate may free the mechanism.

Good observe.

Last winter my rear door would not open with fob at 7am.
Drivers ok as used key.

By 9am the temp had risen slightly and door opened with fob.

[alwood]

We dont know where @alwood is located. If it is feezing cold where he is, the right rear of the car door/tailgate may be frozeen shut, assuming car parked outdoors.

I'm in the UK, which is pretty cold at the moment

Sadly the rear right door has not unlocked once since I posted this thread even when temps rose above 10C last week. I have tried striking the door outside of the door (at the general area where the lock is) with my palm as I pressed the unlock button on the key fob.

As BrendanP says, this will be a MOT fail if the door doesn't open and I found the thread you posted (Replacing rear door lock on 2011 FD hatch). Mine is the GD rather than FD, but presumably it's a similar mechanism? Did you ever figure out what the root cause was?

[BrendanP]

No, not yet. I've seen some youtube videos where people have taken the lock apart and found the brushes on the deadlock motor are worn or lost their springiness. but splitting the lock case isn't easy because it's not screwed together, it snaps together. In any case, it's getting the door to open in the 1st place that is the problem.