Door lock

[Ray]

I have a problem with the passenger door lock. When i use the remote control to unlock the car the drivers side door lock plunger pops up and then pops back down again. The passenger side stays down permanently. The only way i can get into the car is to then open the drivers lock with the key. However the passenger lock still stays down. The key is unable to open the passenger door as it wont turn. Therefore i cannot open the passenger door at all.
I therefore cannot put any petrol in the car either.
Any ideas?

[theelanman]

what happens when you lift the plunger on the passenger door???

[Mark Crossley]

I had exactly the same issue - turned out that the central locking part of the door latch mechanism was faulty (and would not release even with the battery disconnected). This part is no longer available, but if you remove the whole mechanism then the central locking part can be disconnected (just a few screws holding it on I think). Might be worth just spraying some WD40 in to the mechanism first to see if that works. Hardest part I suspect will be getting the door open in the first place. Steve Williams Lotus sorted the problem for me and worked out the solution.

In terms of filling the car up, it is easy to open the fuel flap by just pushing a small screwdriver or a piece of wire in to the catch.

[Ray]

Thanks for the tip on opening the fuel cap. At least i can still use the car, albeit on my own.
The passenger plunger wont lift up even by pulling it up so i can't get the door open at all. I haven't tried disconnecting the battery yet. That may be worth a go.

[Mark Crossley]

Sounds like exactly the same problem as I had. I don't know how SWL got my door open in the end. If you live anywhere near Maidenhead it is probably worth you taking it in to Steve. These cars are not that easy to work on at the best of times and given he now knows what to do it should probably not take him all that long to sort out.

Good luck!