I am in the process of trying to repair my door locks and have run into an issue with my rear hatch.

I can unlock/lock it manually, but the actuator slip linkage thing gives before it is able to unlock or lock the door. I have since lubed up the metal with white lithium grease to allow it to move a little easier, but it still doesn't seem to be enough.

Does anyone have any experience with this failure mode or perhaps have better idea of what might be causing it?

...and the solution was to throw my hands up and come inside to have dinner. By the time I returned, the lube seems to have seeped in and it was all working quite nicely. Well okay then.

GYARR! It got all bound up again.

After reading a large amount of threads on this and working with it, I realized that the 'relatively cosmetic' damage to the hatch slightly pushed in the exterior push button at an angle towards the damage. This causes just enough friction to gum up the works, the unit apparently that sensitive.

I will be speaking with a body in the next day or three to get an estimate on dent pulls. Ah well.

The *exact* symptoms are:
* Locks/unlocks fine when open.
* Locks fine with closed.
* Will not unlock when closed, requires manually prying appropriate bit with screwdriver.