Lock Actuator Fail

Here is a pretty good parts site and they have door lock assemblies for the gen III Prius. You can search using your VIN to be sure you get the right stuff.

Toyota Parts - Genuine OEM Toyota Auto Parts and Accessories

 

You sure it isn't your 12 volt battery? Can you measure the voltage at the terminals after the car's parked overnight?

 

That's a first. Never seen them go out on a Prius. Your fob unlocks the other doors? The front doors won't unlock with the power lock button either? Are there any non-OEM accessories installed, i.e. dealer installed remote start?

SPH-D710 ? 2

 

If both went out at the same time I'm betting that it isn't the actuators. I don't recall seeing a single actuator failure in this forum--you won't see two at one time.

 

Did you check all the fuses?
Does the door lock button work, open and close?
Does the car lock the door when you start driving?
Maybe change the programming as to when the car doors lock?

Both doors failing is very strange.

Just some thoughts.

 

Yes, the driver's side actuators on my 2010 (both front and rear) failed at 41,000 miles, about 30 months after purchase. Dealer asked Toyota corporate, and they picked up parts cost, and dealer labor was discounted. My out-of-pocket: $200 for diagnosis and labor.

Nine months and 10,000 miles later (19March13), passenger side actuators front and rear failed. My out-of-pocket: $630 for diagnosis and labor - Toyota corp. picked up 50% of parts cost. And yes, the voltage was fine, as was fob battery. In fact, the original fob batteries are still going strong.

When I posted about the locks/actuators nine months ago, I found a couple of others on Priuschat who'd had actuator problems. I like the Prius drivetrain. I'm not happy w/ the locks (and CD player) failing barely out of warranty.

 

According to alldata, the actuator parts list for $323 a piece from Toyota.

If you feel adventurous, try this: Fixed: Door Lock Actuator in Gen II Prius | PriusChat

 

...or see if there are junkyard actuators available.
One advantage of having a relatively rare failure is that used parts should be plentiful and less expensive.

 

xamnosidda,

I just purchased a 2010 Prius II 3 days ago with the same exact problem. Both front doors do not lock. I have a warranty though. I'll take it to the dealer and let you know what becomes of it.

*Update: Dealer replaced both front actuators. Every door lock works now. Parts and labor covered by warranty no out of pocket cost.

 

Here is a parts site I have had good luck with, see if your door lock is listed here.


Part Detail


I thought it might be the Receiver, Door Control on the bottom of the list for $98.85 each.

 

My LR lock failed too. Basically the motor is failing, it doesn't have enough torque to lock or unlock the door. I assume this will fail on all the other doors in the future The whole assembly needs to be replaced together. I am debating if I should buy a used one for about $70 or new one @ $ 240. It seems to come out pretty easy though after unbolting the unit from the door

 

Rare? Well, now I feel pretty bad. My driver's side front door actuator motor was starting to fail about 6 months ago when my car was still under warranty. The dealership fixed it up. I'm currently at 40k and out of warranty and now the passenger side front door lock is doing the same thing. I thought I'd get it fixed until I was quoted $593! Are they kidding? No way I'm paying that. The dumb thing about it is that I almost always drive alone and have no need for the door locks to open and close every time I enter the car. Maybe if it wasn't doing that I'd still have a workable lock!

 

I'm having the same problem with the driver door on my 2011. I have 55,000+ miles, and it started acting up again about a month ago. My car first had this locking problem while still under warranty, maybe a year ago, and the dealer replaced the computer. Now I'm having the same problem, but I'm pretty certain that it's the actuator in the driver door. Temperature / humidity seem to be a factor. Most mornings, the locking system works fine, but as the temperature goes up, the only way I can lock the drive door is by flipping the switch manually before closing the door. I can still lock the other 3 door with the remote. Up until yesterday, the unlock was still working (all 4 doors) with the remote, but a couple times I've had to break out the emergency key to unlock the driver door.

Last weekend I tried using some WD40. I thought there was a chance that there was something binding inside the door. This seemed to help for a couple days, but it might have been a fluke.

When I hit the power door lock, while inside the car (with all doors closed), the other 3 door would lock, and the driver door would try to lock. It seemed like the lock was trying to work, but just didn't have enough power to move the switch all the way. I also would hear a quiet squeal, like there was strain on the motor. This same thing would happen while trying to lock the door with the remote.

I stopped at the dealer. They quoted me a price on the lock assembly, $326.26 + labor. I inquired about the possibility about Toyota covering this, since it was the same problem that was initially addressed last year, while under warranty. No luck. Do you think I would have any luck contacting Toyota on this? Sounds like they might have installed a batch of bad actuators on these cars.