Door lock mechanism problem

Yeah I think it's the actuator which is dead- stuck in the locked position.

Is there another way than drilling the rivet to replace it ? Or it's the only way to swap the part ?

Thanks all for your replies Nick

The new actuator will come with a new bracket. This is the part that needs to be riveted on to the door. Often the actuator motor can be removed from the old bracket and just the new actuator part installed onto the bracket. The replacement part may have changed a bit so you'll have to make a judgement whether the new part will be compatible with the old bracket. StuK

I've done the actuator swap a few times now and never needed to drill out the rivet holding on the old bracket. A few drops of oil to make things slippery and a long, thin screwdriver were all it took to pop the old actuator off the mounting bracket... the electrical connector can be removed and reattached while the actuator is still in place too, but it sort of depends upon whether or not you can get your arm in there at the correct angle. Placing the new actuator on the old bracket while it's still riveted in place is a bit trickier, but again a little oil plus some long needlenose pliers seems to do the trick. It's more about patience than anything else.

If your old actuator is stuck in a position such that it's wedging the mechanisms closed to the point that you can't open the door, you might want to consider trying to slip a pair of small bolt cutters in there to snip the rod of the old actuator off if you can... although, when de-energized, you can usually move the rod around by hand assuming it's not TOO stuck. Personally I'd need a lot more room to work than would be afforded by working from the interior with a closed door.. maybe if the seat were removed it'd be alright. Good luck with it, though!

Bryan