Door won't latch - now fixed but why?

[GammaFlat]

2013 Caprice - rear driver's side latch won't hold door shut. I took it all apart and played with it for a while and it mysteriously started working again. Someone here mentioned that they had the same problem and a piece of plastic was jammed inside somehow. Maybe this is what happened to me but mine is operating correctly now after I played with it "on the bench" for a while. I couldn't find info here on how to remove the rear door panel so my day started great. I'd like to note some of my challenges for others to learn from and to document for me . For now, I'll discuss the latch.

I took the latch off of the door (another thread maybe) and removed the cover (5 torx screws). Some prying to release tabs was required.
Red marks are torx screws. Arrow is clip that needs to come off (squeeze retention latches with long nose pliers).

Caprice Latch Rear Driver Side.jpg (2.38 MiB) Viewed 16956 times

After cover is removed:

Caprice Latch Rear Driver Side cover off.jpg (1.37 MiB) Viewed 16956 times

https://youtu.be/VMpfuUllUVw?si=C-lGtyygnnLRPru0

Video notes:

• I mention "hasp" at about 2:00 - shoulda' said pawl.

• I have removed some linkage after the cover was off. If you compare the 2nd picture with what you see in the video, you can see the part I'm talking about.

• My latch was very easily opened with my finger tip before the video. It is solidly holding now...and I don't know why

The above linked video unravels some of the mysteries of the door latch (at least for me). I think drilling out the rivets is likely a one way street. You are very unlikely to get it operating again for a few reasons (very strong springs need to be put back in place that will go "boing" when you take it apart and rivet shoulder is extremely thin - difficult to duplicate its function). Having said that, it might be instructive to figure why these things have such a high failure rate. My car has 67K miles. I rarely use the rear doors. I don't think the issue is just about wear and inside my door showed no sign of moisture or grime. I'm betting there's an odd failure mode that we haven't quite figured out yet. If someone wants to donate a broken one (won't latch), I'd be happy to hunt for the problem but likely destroy it in the process.

[LampShady]

I'm pretty much having the same issue with my passenger front latch. I took it off and disassembled it. The latch seems to function fine. But it won't close when it's attached to the door. The striker doesn't really seem like it's adjustable to get it to engage the latch when it's mounted to door. I guess I'll just need to order a new latch?

unnamed.jpg (1.14 MiB) Viewed 15539 times

[Mooseman]

Problem is, with anything with these cars produced by now defunct Holden, may be discontinued. The frt. passenger is showing as discontinued.

https://www.gmpartsdirect.com/oem-parts ... LWZsZXg%3D

Frt. driver shows as still available:

https://www.gmpartsdirect.com/oem-parts ... LWZsZXg%3D

As well as pass. rear:

https://www.gmpartsdirect.com/oem-parts ... LWZsZXg%3D

However driver rear is discontinued:

https://www.gmpartsdirect.com/oem-parts ... 12OC1mbGV4

If you can't fix it, you're probably going to have to hunt down a good used one. The plight of owning one of these cars

[LampShady]

Rock Auto has a front passenger. I ordered it last night. I'm hoping they actually have it.

[LampShady]

Well I ended up going to the junk yard to pull a door latch from a G8. 1.5 hours round trip and $20 later, issue fixed. A little annoyed that I spend $130 to get a new one that won't be here until tomorrow. But I guess I've got a back up in case it happens again.

I'm a bit surprised that the G8 is the only other car that uses the same door latch.

[Mooseman]

I'm a bit surprised that the G8 is the only other car that uses the same door latch.

Welcome to the world of Holden built cars

[Hurricane2]

I just got finished replacing the drivers front because it suddenly wouldn't stay shut and wold fly open while driving. I took the actuator apart and tried to grease everything but it didn't solve the problem. The main thing I'm heading between here and G8 is that there is a problem with the mechanical part of the latch and the riviots . I'm not in the position to test this right now so I'm asking for some else to do this. Drill out the riviots and replace them with a binding post screw or Chicago screw of the same diameter shaft. These screws have a low profile and might just work.