I've searched door lock and i know to look for a vacumm leak etc, however my problem seems to be different then the ones i've encountered.


I can't lock any of the doors! I try to push down on the knob and it doesn't budge. can there be too much vacuum pressure????

Can you lock the drivers door from the inside with the door closed, or from the outside with a key?

just tried that, only the drivers side works both by hand and by key. the others still don't lock though

To prevent you from locking your keys in the car, all German cars have a lock that prevents pushing the lock button down with the door open, at least on the driver's side. You must have the door shut and latched.

If you still cannot push the lock button down, likely the mechanism is worn out so the lock preventer is not freeing up the lock button.

A very stiff linkage will do this too. Pull the door panel and check the linkage for stiffness. You may also have a sticky vacuum switch on the W123/W116 cars. On later models, check to make sure the vac pump is off by unplugging it (in the spare tire well on W126s, under the rear seat on W124s, who knows where on later models that that) -- if it is running continuously in unlock mode, it can make the lock buttons stiff, although usually you can manually override them with some effort.

Peter

__________________
1972 220D ?? miles
1988 300E 200,012
1987 300D Turbo killed 9/25/07, 275,000 miles
1985 Volvo 740 GLE Turobodiesel 218,000
1972 280 SE 4.5 165, 000 - It runs!

Try getting in the car and locking the driver's door. Then see if you can push down the other door locks from the inside. When the driver's door is unlocked the vacuum system may be trying to hold the others unlocked.

no, the others still won't lock strange huh? should i pull out the back seat and look for the pump?

i tried it again, my passagner wasn't shut all the way. now the others will lock if the drivers side is locked

What model car are we talking about? The W123s don't have an electric vacuum pump in the back.

Good, it sounds like it's working as expected. Basically, your choice is to live with it like that or to fix the vacuum system so they work automatically.

thanks