vertigogo

So, the other day my battery died. (I had left the car in 5th instead of reverse.) I used my metal key to open the trunk and pull the manual door release, so I could open the hood and take out the battery. The driver's door popped open a bit, but was still latched, so I couldn't open it.

Fortunately, the top and windows were down, so I just reached in and pulled the hood release. But I'm wondering why the door didn't open properly, since I may have to use this release some day when the top and windows are up, or when I need to get inside the car.

Has anyone else had this problem? I tried it twice (shutting the door all the way again after the first try), and the same thing happened both times. Is my door release not adjusted properly? I tried pulling on the release (in the trunk) several times, and pulling harder. No luck.

HOXXOH

I had the same problem once when the car was parked with the left side higher than the right. I simply pulled the door release cable with one hand and managed to reach the door to open it that last little bit with the other hand.

vertigogo

Ah, I hadn't thought of trying that (my car was on level ground). That might work, and I'll give it a test soon. I still wonder why the release doesn't fully open the door, though.

Thanks!

John Harry

I imagine that since the window doesn't index down (because the battery is dead), the weatherstrip holds the door tight against the frame. Not much you can do except have a helper open the door or have very long arms.

vertigogo

That sounds like a good guess. I'll test your theory this evening, now that the battery is good again. I didn't know the wire-pull release also lowered the window, but now that you mention it, I guess it would have to, at least on a convertible.

Does the same apply to the manual door releases located on the floor? I didn't think to try those when my battery was dead.

Knob Jockey

Neither manual release will lower the window.

You just have to exert a little extra effort to get the door open.

There's also a pull for the fuel filler door and if you have a convertible, there's a t-shaped, glow-in-the-dark handle near the latch that you can use next time you're locked in the trunk.

Johnathon59

Leaving the car in 5th gear instead of reverse ran the battery down ? in one day ??..

Gearhead Jim

IIRC, the manual release will try to index the windows, and so they will index if the battery is still good enough. But if the battery is dead, then no indexing.

vertigogo

Yes and no, respectively.

I wasn't thinking clearly yesterday. The window had nothing to do with it, because it was already down, as I mentioned in my first post. I still haven't tested whether the manual release indexes the window, but that's irrelevant here.

I tried the release again, and the same problem occurred. The door popped loose, but couldn't be opened. I then tried the method suggested by HOXXOH, which worked (and it was an easy reach). Strangely, once I had opened the door in this way, the manual release started working properly. I closed the door, pressed lock on my fob, pulled the release, and the door opened fully. I repeated this test four times, and it worked every time. So I have no idea why the release works in some situations but not others.

Anyway, I now know how to open the door in an emergency, so I'm grateful to all who responded.

Happy motoring!