When you take it to get fixed, it'll be pretty obvious what happened when you see the condition of the lock. If it was a theft attempt, I feel for you. Had an old car stolen and recovered; the thought of someone breaking into your stuff will turn your stomach, so just for your peace of mind I hope it's mechanical failure.

good luck.

 

I've had the bad luck of having two cars stolen over the past fifteen years and can tell you that feeling you get when looking at that empty parking space(or another car in that spot as was the case the second time)your mouth drops open,you gasp for air and say holy sh..What got me more upset than having the car taken is you don't realize how much personel stuff you carry around until you start taking inventory on what's missing.

 

I'd go with the attempted theft. The lock cyl is held in place by a pieceof spring steel wire. A hard push probably would push it into the door if the thief were trying to use a slide hammer.

Inspection of the lock cyl will show the cause, they just don't fall out.

Woodwork

 

Ok, here's the deal. I still don't really know what happened. Nothing was broken, in fact they used the same lock cylinder when they fixed it, and there are no marks visible anywhere on the cylinder. The dealer (Holtz) covered the repair under warranty. At this point I'm guessing it was just a manufacturing glitch. I would think if it was forced in any way there would be some evidence of it.