I drive a 98 xj limited with power locks. I recently have been having issues with my passenger door not working properly. First it wouldn't open, so I got it open. Now the issue I am having is that my door will not close because the latch is stuck down and will not allow it to latch. I have sprayed lots of liquid wrench on it, tried to pry on it, and have also tried prying and pressing the door handle button, but nothing has worked. Does anyone have any ideas as to how I can get this thing working properly again?

 

Ah i have that problem sometimes. Only way I've found that works is jam a screwdriver in the latch as if it was the body-side and yank on it while pressing the button.

 

Just like me, they get gunked up with age...
It's most likely to occur on the less frequently used doors.
I had the take the latch assemblies out of my 96 and soak them in mineral spirits for a few hours. It's not hard to do.