Volvo: Door lock latch stuck, child saftey, metal swing

Question
Hi Jason,

My boy flipped the door lock latch while the door was open. The latch will not release and door can't be closed anymore. The lock and unlock operations can't release the latch either. Any advice?

Thanks,
Michael

Answer
I'm going to assume you are talking about the rear gate to a 240 wagon.  What can happen sometimes is that the latch will be actuated while the door is open, then the door comes down to close, but the jaws that normally catch the metal ring at the bottom aren't open, so they just bang into the ring, not allowing the door to close and latch properly.  Another thing that might have happened was the child saftey lock might have been actuated.  At the bottom side of the gate, there is a little metal swing arm that activates the inner handle.  When it is engaged, you can't open the gate from the inside.  That also might affect your ability to lock and unlock the rear gate, because the child saftey lock overrides everything else.  Check those two things.  Good luck!