2008 Yukon XL. I usually know better but the allure of an $80/4 pack of door lock solenoids vs. $180/each was too good not to at least try. Of course I didn't count on Murphy's Law.
I managed to replace the driver's side solenoid before it failed to open the door completely, instead of just intermittently. The front passenger door was not so fortunate. Pulling the inside or outside door handle does nothing.
I'm looking for a way to get the door open without a large amount of damage to the outside of the door or the inside panel. My current working theory is drilling a small hole through the inside panel, and running something like a wire hanger to the solenoid in an attempt to reset the latch so it can open with a handle.
Update
The interior door panel cannot be removed with the door closed. I am unsure if a slim jim would help since the cable from the inside handle is connected fine, but I can explain more about what's going on with the solenoid in more detail.
Here's some pics of the solenoid:
Stock pic
These show how the cable routes from the inside handle through so the metal connector lifts up when the handle is pulled and releases the latch:
What happens is, when the door is locked, and someone attempts to pull the handle to unlock it, the metal connector lifts up and the door correctly doesn't open, but the lip does not reset to it's normal position. So, when the door is unlocked, pulling the handle does nothing because the lip is in the wrong position.
I've had success with repeated un/locking with the key fob and "gently" tapping the outside of the door with a cloth-covered rubber mallet, but lately that hasn't yielded any success.
