1998 Elantra Manual Door Locked

You may get some ideas here.

There's probably something broken in the door latch. To get the door open, you'll need to get something down into the door and release the latch. This will be difficult and may require destroying the door trim panel.

Manual door locks - look at the subject line.

I did, did you have a look at the site, not just for power door locks.

My bad I guess. I did look at the web site, saw the power lock section and actually scrolled down through it some, but apparently did not look down through it far enough.

Know anyone at a body shop? They seem to know how to get into door panels. May be worth stopping at one and asking.

A co-worker had a similar problem, but since it was an old car near the end of its life, they merely cut the door panel open. Own a Sawzall?

As a last resort Working inside remove the passange seat you should then be able to get the door panel off

Thanks, but I don't think that will help in this situation. On my 1998 Hyundai Elantra Wagon, the door panel screws are hidden by the door moulding and dashboard. Again.. thanks.

Thanks for your suggestions. Unfortunately I don't own a Sawzall, and I really do need a friend at a bodyshop. After two weeks of driving around without any front seat passengers... I'm thinking the Sawzall is the way to go. I even opened up the driver side door to see how it all is supposed to work. And, unfortunatley, it look like there's no way to unlock the door using the slim jim.

I hate to hack into my door panel but here goes...

After reading all the tips below, here's the Update. After removing the driver's side door panel and seing how it all worked, I bought a small saw with a metal sawzall blade and made a hole in my passenger door panel just above the arm rest and large enough to fit my hand and arm. I reached in and flipped a latch on the bottom of the door lock mechanism. I was able to open the door and then remove the panel. I found two halves of a rusty one-inch spring in the bottom of the door. The dealer wanted $250 to replace the whole mechanism. After buying a spring on ebay, I replaced the spring which stretched across the top of the lock mechinism. The door worked. I duct taped the piece of panel back into place and put the door panel back on. It cost me $15 for the saw and springs. The interior panel is not perfect, but... hey... it's working.