I was just inside the drivers door panel working on fixing the latch. Got that fixed, closed the door, locked it from outside with key.

Now I can't turn the key in the drivers door. I have the passenger side open so I can still access the car. If I hit the unlock button it tries to unlock and then locks itself again.

When I first put the door panel back on I could lock with the button but only manually unlock the driver door. After a few mins I was able to lock and unlock the door with the switch so I thought it was good to go.

How can I pull the panel to see if anything is jacked when I cant unlock the driver door to open it up?

 

When trying to use the manual door lock pin it feels jammed down in there.

I'm trying to figure a way to remove door panel with door closed but seems impossible

 

I got the door open, had to really crank on the key in the outside lock and pull handle

I had pulled the power door lock fuse and seemed to make it easier to open

Right now if the door closes and locks it goes back to the unlockable state...

 

Another update...

See this image:
https://i.imgur.com/iyXU1lI.jpg

When the rod that connects from latch to exterior handle is connected, that is when the door lock issue appears.

On the rod the pin at the top is adjustable. When at the "green line" height, there is some pre-"tension" on the latch open mechanism and that seems to be causing the problem with the lock.

I moved the pin down to the "red line" height and it fits a bit better, problem with this position is the pin will pop out of the exterior handle sometimes.

Not sure where to go from here.

The "blue arrow" spot on the diagram is very loose, not sure if that is how it is by design. I was thinking of buying a new latch assembly, not sure if that is the solution either (tho it would give me all new rods/etc).

The last thing is the black questionmark part of the diagram. I don't see that piece in there at all. Not sure why, and not sure if needed.

I found a bunch of threads talking about the lock actuator causing problems with the lock mechanism so I replaced that, it wasn't the actuator. At least I know my actuator shouldn't be going out anytime soon... :/

Anyone wanna chime in? Any idea about if I should replace the latch assembly?

 

Anyone dealt with this before? Any ideas?