So I have a 2000 F-150 and the door locks don't work. Well, they kinda work, if i press the lock button like 3-4 times my passenger door will lock. However, none of the doors will unlock when I use my key fob or press the button on the door. The door locks do attempt to move after every press of the button, they just dont seem to have enough power to make the full transition from locked to unlocked or vice versa. I haven't checked the fuses so Im not sure if this is problem. The locks did work when I got the truck 2 years ago, they have just gradually gotten weaker. Also, my Dad has a 2001 Excursion and this same issue also happened, now we have have to manually lock all the doors when we lock it. Any sugestions on how to fix this issue?

 

Sounds like you door lock motors (called actuators) are bad and need to be replaced on each door.

 

Darn. How much would that cost from a shop? Or would it be easier for me to replace?

 

They run about $75 a door and from what I hear the techs say, they are a bugger to install on the latch. Don't know how much on labor price.

 

Darn, oh well I guess Ill just deal with them then. Its not too bad having to manually lock the doors

 

I just had the same problem on my 2001 F150 and fixed it by replacing both actuators. They are Dormans, they have a lifetime warranty and were less than $30 a piece from Rockauto.com.

If you do replace them there is a trick that makes it MUCH easier than most people know. Look at the outside of the door latch where the striker goes into. There is a very narrow slot at the bottom. Stick a small screwdriver in the middle of it and angle it so that it is pointing slightly towards the outside of the door. Now smack the screwdriver a few times with your hand. What you are trying to do it push in a tab on the actuator and get it to slide sideways off the latch mechanism at the same time. (remove the door panel before doing any of this)

Once the actuator is slid off the latch, just disconnect the wire connector. Do not try to remove the whole latch/actuator assembly. You will go insane trying.

 

My nephew just bought a '99 Ranger with the same issue.

The actuators have plastic gears that strip over time. I ordered 2 actuators ($30/pr shipped) and helped him install them. Yes, they're a beotch to install. I found it easier to remove the whole door latch assembly to remove the actuators. It took about an hour for the first one (driver's side) and about 10 mins for the other side after I knew what to do.

 

Thanks, Put the new actuator in the passenger side of my 2001 f-150. Took me a little time to get it lined up, had to loosen the window channel. Now the drivers side won't work. Going on Amazon to order a new one for that side