Door Won’t Open

[Mudflat]

Greetings, friends!
Well, today the latch on the driver’s door on my TJ quit working & it won’t open from the inside. I have to zip open the window on my half door & open the door from the outside. Before I just start tearing into it, has this ever happened to anyone & what’s the fix?
Thanks in advance for the help.

 

[nk24]

It's likely a linkage problem. I wouldn't say it's common but it does happen.

After you take off the interior panel you'll find some openings in the sheet metal. Pull on the interior handle to see which parts move. It should be fairly simple to see where the linkage is either disconnected or a connector is broken. It could just need an adjustment as well.

 

[Jamesval035]

Linkage problem is most likely. I am currently messing with my full doors as the latch mechanism is beat up. And it doesn’t help that I ordered the wrong side and just had to order again. Another 2 weeks..fml.
Mine wouldnt open from the inside, and as the lock mechanism was all jacked up. I’d def open it up as stated above and check the linkage. Maybe it just came disconnected... good luck.

 

[Johnfromphilly]

I am considering replacing my exterior handles. I did some research on the project and found quite a few YouTube videos on how to get to the door handle mechanism. Do a quick Google search and you should find how to take the panel apart and get at the parts. It is not super easy, at least on full doors, small parts inside small spaces.

 

[03coloradowrangler]

when I acquired mine my doors would randomly lock me inside.

I was frustrated with the reaching out the window to open the door situation so I carefully disassembled the interior door skins and lubed all the moving parts for the door handles and pivot points with liquid graphite and have not had a issue with the being locked inside since.

not sure if liquid graphite is the correct solvent for the application, but it has since solved my issue your describing.