I didn't open all the way the sliding cover door to my camera and the lens got stuck. I was able to unstick it but now I am having trouble with the camera stating low batteries and shuts off. I bought new rechargeable batteries but it still does not work. I thought it might be the card that fits in the slot so I took it out and put it back in and the camera worked for a couple minutes but then stopped working again.

A stuck lens cover is a fairly common problem, but it is normally easy to fix. A single grain of sand jamming the cover mechanism is normally the culprit, and you want to try to dislodge it: 1) Try blowing lots of compressed air around the lens cover to clean the mechanism. Or use a hair dryer for a few seconds (don't want to heat up the camera). Use no heat mode if possible. 2) Slide a thin strip of paper between the lens cover shutters and the outer support ring. Work it around 360 degres to clear out any debris that may be in there. 3) With the lens barrel extended and pointed downward, tap the lens barrel with a pencil while you extend and retract the lens by powering the camera on and off. Repeat the above three steps several times. If repeated tries don't work (keeping in mind that it usually does), it then may be necessary to open the lens barrel to access the lens cover mechanism.

You can open the lens barrel up to fiix the covers, but only as a very last resort. The above procedures normally work if you try them enough. But for those particularly nasty stuck mechanisms, here's an example repair on a Canon Powershot A400 (do this at your own risk, and it will void your warranty):

http://camerarepair.blogspot.com/2007/11/repair-of-stuck-lens-covers.html

I have a solution posted in doc "nikon s5 s6 lens cover error repair.doc"  uploaded on site http://www.esnips.com/web/papputatiyasStuff    It will be helpfull for you. Its is a step by step solution with images.
Regards Mukesh

may need to replace the screws in the door or even tighten them up

I fixed this problem on my Fuji FinePix A303 (though it took some hard work).

The problem:
Camera Lens Cover stuck open or stuck closed.
Power on, and get !LENS COVER error.
Lens fails to extend.

The solution:
Short answer: The motor driving the lens cover is weak and eventually breaks down. I manually open the cover now. This took a manual modification to the camera (and some work).

1. Take the camera apart. See here for details, and be careful around the flash, as you'll get a nasty shock otherwise! http://www.mathematik.uni-marburg.de/~haim/focuserr.htm
2. Once you can see this, you're just about there:

3. Take off the battery cover (in the picture above).
4. Wrap a wire around the sliding pin for the lens cover, and drill 2 small holes through the black structure underneath the battery case, and then to the outside. The wire goes from the pin to the outside via the two holes. You should be able to manually open and close the camera cover COMPLETELY now with the wire.
5. Reassemble the camera (actually, you can test that it's working when it's all apart, if you're careful).
6. To operate the camera now, close the shutter first while off. Power on the camera, and very soon after open the shutter all the way by pulling on the wire (from step 4). This basically mimics the action of the little lens cover motor. If you timed it right (you have about a second margin), the lens should extend and everything functions perfectly.

It would have been nice to have been able to simply buy a new motor, but that would probably be a pain and cost some money.

Hope this helps!

Matt Van Dyken.
http://mattvd.googlepages.com

I have been having the same problem. Once opened, the sliding door will not close and the lens won't retract. But I have found that if you plug the camera into a computer via a USB, the lens then retracts enabling you to close the lens cover.
I'm still trying to find a way to fix this problem, since this is a great camers and still takes fantastic pictures.

Take a butter knife and slide it where the crease is. move the close/open button till it open it could just be stuck due to moisture. Hope this helps.

tuen on camera then press display a few times. it sounds like the display is just turned off. the lens system should be open.

In my case, there was dust in the switches that sense the cover movement.

1. Close the sliding door and wait until the lens is drown inside (timeout).
2. Open the screws that secure the front cover.
3. Remove the sliding door covering the lens. There is no trick (hidden screws etc) so just use the force. The door is mounted by two-sided tape and adhesive.
4. Remove the front cover. This is also mounted by two-sided tape / adhesive in the center, so you have to be a bit brave.
5. The sliding door rails and the movement sensors are now visible. Clean all dirt.
6. Try the door functionality.
7. Mount the front cover after the lens works as it should. Close the screws.
   
8. Mount the sliding door.
   

Contact this site as theres as well a toll free Tele # Good Luck http://www.nikoncamerarepair.com/

Dang, what a weird design. The lens needs to go threw a cycle before it can reach the idle position where it waits for a comand from the user. If its in the closed position and you turn it on it extends to its full range then stops at the idle position. It sounds like it is stuck in some spot between close and idle. Since it cant reach the closed position or idle its shutting down. The only way to get it to work is to try and free the lens so it can cycle threw. There must be a lip on the slider and the lens is stuck on this lip so you cant slide it. Remove the batteries then try and slide the door open try and slide somthing between the lens and the door to free it up. This is the only way to get it threw the cycle. It may need to be serviced It sounds like the switch for the slider door is warn or has broken. It may work again if you can free the lens.