2005 V70 - door locks not working

[IslandV70]

Help! My remote has been erratic for some time, but now key won't unlock the door either. I didn't even realize the key was not mechanically unlocking the car until now.
Any ideas? This is obviously a large PITA.
This also begs the question, with a dead battery there would be absolutely no way into the car. Right now I can't lock it because if the erratic remote just quits for good, I'll have a big immobile decoration.

[93SCMax]

It could be that the lock rod got disconnected from the key/door lock mechanism. The plastic attachment point may have broken or come loose.
Once the door is opened, remove the door panel and see if the rod is attached.

Put a brand new, high quality battery in your keyfob. Check the battery date 1st.

[firstv70volvo]

Help! My remote has been erratic for some time, but now key won't unlock the door either. I didn't even realize the key was not mechanically unlocking the car until now.
Any ideas? This is obviously a large PITA.
This also begs the question, with a dead battery there would be absolutely no way into the car. Right now I can't lock it because if the erratic remote just quits for good, I'll have a big immobile decoration.

There is a direct mechanical connection from the door key lock to the door latch assembly but there's also a lock/unlock switch within the driver's door latch assembly that detects movement of the lock/unlock lever when using the key and during the movement of the lever the switch changes state and I believe signals the central locking system to unlock (or lock) the door using the motor in the door latch assembly. You may have a problem with the door lock/unlock switch in the door latch assembly that is causing both problems, an erratic remote and when using just the key.
I've never confirmed this but you would think the mechanical connection between the key lock and door latch assembly would mechanically unlock the door and maybe it does if the rod is adjusted correctly. The rod from the key lock cylinder to the lock/unlock lever has multiple grooves in it to adjust the rod length when pressing into the blue/gray clip on the lever (see photo, clip shown but no rod). The lock/unlock lever only locks or unlocks the door latch when the lever is near the end of it's travel, fully left in the photo for locked and fully right for unlock. If the lever doesn't move to the fully unlocked position using the key there is no mechanical unlock but maybe it's designed this way and it relies on the central locking command to finish the lever movement using the motor, This doesn't make sense though as a loss of battery power would lever without the ability to unlock the door.
In any case I think you may have a problem with the switch in the driver's door lock/latch assembly or possibly damage to the wiring in the door hinge area.

Lowest bottom lever is the lock/unlock lever, in this photo the lever is in the unlock position, fully to the right in photo, fully up when installed in car.

Unlocked position.jpg (242.79 KiB) Viewed 1739 times

Lever position in the locked position, fully to the left in photo

Locked position.jpg (213.3 KiB) Viewed 1739 times

Lever position without the key in the door lock. Lever in the midway position.

midway position.jpg (236.83 KiB) Viewed 1739 times

[IslandV70]

Thanks! I'll take a look

[firstv70volvo]

Thanks! I'll take a look

I'm still thinking, even with a possible switch problem the key should still unlock the driver's door mechanically and what you'll need to check is the position of the lock/unlock lever when the key is fully rotated to the unlock position, the lever should be fully up and against the hard stop in the plastic slot where the level travels (see previous photo). You're going to need to remove the inner door panel and might need to use an inspection mirror to look between the door lock/latch assembly and the door (where the two rods are) to check the position of the lock/unlock lever. If the lever is not full up when the key is rotated to the unlock position an adjustment can be made by pulling the rod out of the blue/gray metal clip and then push the rod back into the clip in a different position. If you can, note which rod groove is in the clip in the original position and move the lever and clip up to the next groove in the rod, which will move the lever up with the key position in the same position. If the lock/unlock lever doesn't travel up high enough with the key rotated to unlock there will not be a mechanical unlock in the door latch, it happens at the end of the lever travel so this adjustment may be needed.
Even with this adjustment and potentially getting the key to unlock the door I think you still an internal switch problem in the door lock/latch assembly and it may need to be replaced.

Here's a photo from Ebay showing the two rods and the adjustment grooves I'm talking about. The shorter rod is the door handle open/close rod and the longer one is the key lock/unlock rod. These rods with grooves are a press fit in the metal clips.

outer door handle and open-close, lock-unlock rods.jpg (445.88 KiB) Viewed 1693 times

[chris11211]

It's possible that it's simply the rod bushings that got rotted away. I had to solve this buy either buying online and pay for shipping, or just have the dealership order it for you.

Here's my post and pic of what might be going on inside the door.

viewtopic.php?p=509096#p509096