I own an '08 Outlander an for the past 3 years my doors lock fine from the fob but they never unlock, I have to do it manually using the metallic emergency key. The tailgate locks and unlocks fine though. This behavior is replicated by the lock/unlock button located on the rivers door. SOMETIMES (rarelly, twice a year maybe) the doors unlock fine, but that's a miracle.
When I press the unlock button on the remote or when I put my hand on the door handle, the blinkers turn on like the doors just unlocked but they don't.

Any ideas what's causing this? Checked all the wires and connections under the dash

 

Well, once I have replaced the driver door locking mechanism, it was unlocking bit not locking! So, "welcome theft" the problem I had. The lock was replaced free of charge because warranty was still valid at that time (car was 2 years old or something).

I do not think that your problem is due to mechanical/electrical fault in all 4 door locks simultaneously, but who knows... maybe a bad luck with manufactured lock batch from 2008.

Most likely you have a problem with ETACS or immobilizer or just wiring/fuses/relay/bad contact. Needs to be checked by electrician. The bad contact is easy to check and clean. To be sure that a locks are OK, one need to disconnect lock wire and check locking/unlocking manually with a battery. If it works then it is not the lock to blame and it is unfortunate because 4 new locks are cheaper to buy then a single ETACS module (even used one) which btw, need to be reprogrammed for your car.

Good luck!

 

Always check your fuses and replace the battery in your key fob try cheap fixes first.

I hope it helps.