In addition (this happened to me just a few days ago), the spring that holds the door’s latch-hooks in place could be loose, the peg(s) that the spring hooks to could be broken, something along those lines. I studied this YouTube clip and SHAZAM!
Unplug the microwave first!
This one is on the lower edge of the u-shaped metal top shell–definitely holding the cover on. But it was just the first one I tried–the others are all stuck too. But I’ve put off the project for now and am just going to continue to kludge it.
FWIW, the latch looks pretty similar to this. There is no button to open the door, you just pull it open.
:: reads thread title, comes in to take a look; sees it’s *really *not what I thought it was, leaves ::
Screws/bolts/fasteners, really bug me. I think every April Fools Day, they introduce another type.
Try filing down the point of a Phillips driver that seems to fit best. I find some screws are shallow in the center and the point of the driver leaves it too high up for the blades to fully engage.
What you quoted also clearly says that ** using a Phillips screwdriver can damage a Pozidriv screw. **
The first time, I thought perhaps you had missed that.
In fact, you don’t even have to parse it too closely to realize that a Phillips screwdriver is more likely to damage a Pozidriv screw than visa-versa – which is true.
I have no idea what your point is. Yes, it says that too. So what?
Why did you think I missed it?
No, it says the opposite. Read it again. Here, I’ll quote it again:
Your question I found confusing:
“You shouldn’t try pozidriv drivers because using a phillips head driver could damage your screw heads?”
What did I write or quote that would get you to ask me that?
You shouldn’t use Pozidriv screwdrivers on Phillips head screws because they “do not fit Phillips heads. If you try, you’ll probably fail, and you’ll probably damage your screw”.
You’ll “probably damage the screw” sounds worse to me than “can damage the screw”, but it’s irrelevant. I wasn’t making the point that one is better or worse than the other. My point was that using a Pozidriv screwdriver on Phillips head screw isn’t a good idea.
Did you try tightening it before loosening? Sometimes I’ve had luck that way. Some loctite can be hand released put it’s hard. Some needs to be heated to release.
Coincidentally I was just watching a YouTube video on taking apart a Panasonic (?) microwave, since I need to replace the light bulb in mine, though I don’t consider it an urgent problem. The guy ran into the immediate problem that it had either torx screws or Phillips screws of the “security” variety with the pin that you describe. I actually have a little kit of those security screw bits that I bought because, hey, it sounded like a neat hard-to-find thing to have, and I had been frustrated by those security torx screws before. The bits for both the security torx and Phillips screws have holes in them to accommodate the pins.
Anyway, if that is indeed the problem – or if the screw is stripped or whatever – the YouTube guy’s solution (not exactly elegant, but it worked) was to use a Dremel cutting tool to cut a notch in the screw, and then just use a flat-head screwdriver. As with Phillips, the key is to use the largest screwdriver that will fit.
If you are still struggling with this, I recommend trying a Vermont American ICE Phillips head bit. It is grooved and grips the screw better than anything I’ve tried.
Be forewarned, I did have one of these bits shatter on a particularly tough screw. Wear gloves and don’t apply torque in a manner that will cause injury if the bit snaps.
You might also try tighten-loosen-tighten-loosen…for a few times.
I see my comment about trying a Posidrive driver caused quite a stir. My thought was that the OP might have a Posidrive screw, which he was misidentifying as a Phillips.
I might be imagining this, but I seem to recall something about a left thread being used in an application like this, presumably as a weird partial deterrent to casual unscrewing by curious people.