My rear door won't open.

The lock/unlock with fob works fine.

I tried using the inner door handle - no luck.

I removed rear door liner. All linkages are in place and (AFAICT) still work.

I tried manually moving the lever that is normally moved by exterior door handle. Still won't open.

I can't remove the actuator, b/c the GD door is stuck shut.

Any ideas?

Oh, and Happy New Year!

 

A quick search on here would provide the answer, just look below (this thread) for related topics. Pop out the land rover emblem on rear exterior latch.There is a hole behind it giving access to latch mechanism. Spray a lubricant like wd-40 in there to free things up. That should do it.

 

Already BTDT. No luck.

 

Oversized tire on back? Maybe bent hinges? Tried lifting up to open?

 

When mine did that, I had to replace the whole actuator. Broke apart the old one carefully until I could manually open it up.

 

Same thing happened to me.

Standing outside my Disco behind the rear hatch, I shoved a screwdriver rearward of the release handle and pried it forward toward Driver's seat direction. Pulled out the screwdriver and the rear hatch then opened when I squeezed the release handle with my hand as if normal.

Sprayed penetrating oil fore and aft of that release handle.

Never popped the Land Rover plastic badge off.

Problem fixed (for me).

Happy New Year!

Maybe this fix will work for you, too.

 

Normal sized spare. Door wasn't ever sagging or out of line before. Tried all sorts of lifting, jiggling, etc. Doesn't budge.

I'll look into the screwdriver trick- then see about taking it apart.

I've been binge watching "La Reina del Sur" in Spanish. Learning all sorts of new ways to swear...

 

Well, I crawled in the back and got the door open.

It was not the linkage or the exterior handle. The actuator assembly itself was stuck. I started disassembling it w/ a screwdriver, a fist, and some words of "encouragement". Before I reduced it to rubble it decided to let go.

Here is what I found:


Not hard to imagine why it wasn't in top form.

Here's where all that dirt came from:


That's the "seal" for the exterior door handle. Think I'm gonna have to do something about that....

 

Good work!