Pete 389 Safety door latch

The latch is frozen and is common on the latch design. Give her some lube from the outside and work it in. If it doesn't free up you will have to remove the latch to free it up. Very doable without replacing parts.

 

Welcome to the rust belt. Replace it or remove the latch and free it up. The pivot/ lock mechanism is siezed. If you replace it lube the new one or it will do the same thing.

That thing looks dryer than a popcorn fart.......

Like everything else in life it will work much better with a little lube.......

 

I have the same problem both doors 2020. My 2018 had the same problem . I was told by the local dealer that its a Peterbilt thing.

 

Mine open fine but I have to push the tab up to get the door to latch when closing them. One mechanic told me to drill a hole in the bottom of the door to get the moisture out. Last time to fix the problem they replaced the mechanism inside the door where the door handle attaches to the rod that goes to the latch and packed it with grease.

 

I don’t have any tips to open in an emergency but closing it a large screwdriver and or small pry bar works to trip the latch back in place, lube helped me briefly. I routinely lubed both door latches since new. My 2016 I replaced the drivers side about 2 months ago and literally one week later the passenger side needed replacement. My mechanic told me when he did the first side that Pete door latches were junk. It seems that parts the truck has multiple like parts of wear out nearly at the same times. If it is within reason when something wears out I try to replace them all. It saves me downtime in the future.

 

When mine acted up the door latch worked inside the cab, but not outside. If you are anywhere near Princeton Indiana I have an excellent independent shop for you that specializes in carhaulers.