Fixed: Door Lock Actuator in Gen II Prius

This is the actuator I purchased I don't have time unfortunately to tinker with the inside of the actuator Sign in or Register | eBay

I'm just a little anxious about removing the rear door actuator from what I've read. I also want to make the door works before I close it.

 

I wanted to chime in with my experience. My rear back lock was no longer locking with the remote or with the switch in the front. I decided to try the cheap route: I bought two actuator motors for about $8 on ebay; figuring that I would save the second as one of the other doors will probably go at some point. So, I took apart the door, pulled out the actuator assembly, and opened it up. Filing the stem of the new motor was a major pain in the butt, but I got it done, installed the motor, and put the assembly back together. I put the assembly back in the door, and then flipped the lock switch. I heard a sound that indicated to me that the lock was now working, so, I shut the door.

Well, you all know how this goes at this point, right? The door is now stuck shut. Something in the assembly was not put together properly, so I now have a door that will not open. After I said a whole lot of bad words, I read this thread and came across my hero tolladay's post, and after a very long process of trying to get the drill in the right position and trying to make a hole big enough, I got my finger into the actuator assembly and popped open the door.

I then spent a bunch more time trying to figure out how to reassemble the actuator assembly. Mine was laid out a little differently than the one at the bottom of page 1 of this thread, so I could not figure it out. I gave up and bought an actuator assembly off of Ebay for $48. Now I am a master at taking the assembly in and out of the door, so once I got the new one, I got it back in in a flash. This time I tested it probably ten times to make sure it worked before I shut the door. The door is now fully functional, and the lock works as it should.

I wish I had just bought the assembly in the first place. All of the time that I put in on this project was worth way more than the $48 pricetag for the assembly.

 

I would like to share my experience in dealing with my Prius Gen III driver door actuator. First of all, I would like say thank you to all contributors in this thread that warrant the courage to perform such a task. A task that had led to some ups and downs and ups.

WARNING: please do not attempt this unless you familiar with the operation of actuator internal mechanism. Do it at your own risk.

The driver door started with intermittent problem locking/unlocking using remote fob and eventually failed. All other three doors are fine. Ordered two motors and had them filed. Pulled of the door panel and disconnected all cable sockets (including the ‘white’ and ‘green’ actuator cables). After 1x hex nut and 3x torx screws, the door actuator was off. Removing the cover was tedious fiddling with many clips and eventually it was pulled opened, although with some resistance due to the linkage of actuator ‘white’ cable to a spring loaded mechanism. Pulling the cover off led to disconnection of the spring and the mechanism in Gen III actuator is a lot more complicated, with two motors! (photo is attached) I remember telling my wife that we might have to clear the garage (near full) and no car for school run the next day. It took three attempts to make it right.

Attempt 1: put all parts together and failed to put the spring loaded part correctly. When tested, it failed to work. Luckly I didn’t close the door as the actuator stucked, only simulated using screw driver to push the hinge/catch back.

(installing the actuator back, make sure the internal rod is inserted correctly to the actuator lever and the door ‘key’ (‘plus’ shape) mechanism is inserted properly to the actuator)

Attempt 2: this time the spring loading part was inserted as it should be and linked to the ‘white’ cable, for some reason, it wasn’t working either.

Attempt 3: with careful study of the mechanism and carefully put them back together. The most difficult part is to assemble the spring load part that link to the ‘white’ cable (which control the manual door locking from inside the car) due to awkward position of the cover which needs to be as close as to the internal mechanicsm. There are two other parts on the cover itself have to go in the right position. This took considerable effort to understand. It was tested (using step 1,2 and 3 below), it worked. When putting it back to the door, it performed as it should be and it was a relief.

‘white’ actuator cable – for manual locking of the door from inside the car
‘green’ actuator cable – for manual opening of the door from inside the car

Make sure to simulate/test the actuator before putting it back to the door, for examples use the following steps:

1. use screw driver to push the hinge/catch inward to simulate closing the door, push the lever (with a hole where the internal door rod goes into) downward should release the hinge. This is to simulate open the door from outside

2. again, use screw driver to push the hinge/catch inward to simulate closing the door, pull the end ‘green’ cable should release the hinge. This is to simulate opening the door from inside

3. again, use screw driver to push the hinge/catch inward to simulate closing the door, push (not pull) the end ‘white’ cable inward to simulate locking the door. Now the door is locked. It will not be possible to open the door from outside. Try to push down the lever (with a hole), this should have no effect to open the door. Another way to try this is to simulate opening the door from inside, by pulling the ‘green’ cable, this should perform two actions, unlock and then open the door.

Step 1, 2 and 3 above are important to make sure the actuator works as it should mechanically, before installing it back to the door.

I haven’t had a chance to change the motor and was concentrating to put the actuator back to work as before. I will attempt to diagnose and change the motor/s when weather is getting better.

And that was my few cents of contribution. I hope this will help to understand the Gen III door actuator and happy to receive any thought, comment or advice. I love my Prius as much as my wife and boy. It is not fair isn’t it?

 

welcome and thank you for a great write up!

 

Has anybody tried the remanufactured actuators being sold by "Actuators Plus" on EBay? I tried a search here and didn't turn up that name.

I'm new here (just bought an '08 w/94k) and can't link, but search for Actuators-Plus at EBay for the relevant parts.

At $40-$60 for a reman part with warranty, they seem like a nice middle ground between the $6 hobby motor and the $300 dealer part... if they deliver what they claim, of course.

 

I just finished replacing the door lock mechanism on my 2011 Prius driver's door. I purchased a new lock from a local Toyota dealer because I was not sure what was wrong with the old one. Before I installed the new one, I disassembled the old one to try to figure out what was wrong with it. The above photos document the internal parts very well. After getting it apart, I pried apart the little tabs that hold the end of the motor on the body. Having worked on auto generators and alternators, I recognized that the commutator on the rotor was black with deposits of some sort where it should be copper colored. The brushes were no longer in contact with the commutator to provide electric connection to the electro magnets on the rotor. I used a small piece of wet/dry sand paper to clean the commutator and put the motor back together. After reassembling and connecting the lock mechanism to the wiring, it worked great. I installed the new one anyway since I had it but I will keep the old one as a spare. In a nutshell, the fix was simple and cost nothing if I decided to use the old one again.

 

I am having no luck whatsoever. I unplug the driver's door actuator, cycle the locks, plug it back in and it still does the reverse of the other three doors!

 

Working on both front doors on our 2012 this week. The tutorial is excellent, but the pictures don't show up anymore. Any idea on where else I could find the picture tutorial?

 

I am so thankful that I ran across this great post about Toyota Prius Door Actuator replacements. Please let me confirm that I am not car savvy, but intelligent enough to do the research. I purchased an amazing 2008 Prius after I lost my car to Hurricane Florence last September. I had been wanting one for years. I had it completely checked out at the dealership 4 months after I purchased. I knew that 3 of the door locks did not work with the FOB. I was so pleased to hear that this car was considered a Cream Puff. Enough about me and my venture.

I have read several of these informative posts. I have a long time mechanic friend is going to do this for me. I just want to get the correct parts. I would love assistance in knowing what to order. I attempted to post the website link based on the parts information - Mabuchi model #FC-280PC-22125, but learned that I am not an established member and can not post a link.

I do have one question. Does the shaft need to be round or flat. The more I read, the more confused I become. Time for HELP. I would love to have the specific link to what I need to order.

FYI I need to replace both front door locks and the driver's back door.

Much appreciation.

 

I have replaced my 2010 Prius's driver side actuator motor using this tutorial (thank you!), and the door works well now. I have one problem, though: the smart handle unlocking system now causes the car to beep 10 times in a row like it did when the door was malfunctioning. It is functioning exactly as it should, except for the excess beeping. The keyfob unlock does not have this problem. I used the same model number and manufacturer of door actuator as described here. Has anyone else encountered this problem?

Thank you very much!

 

I have never heard of this problem. Maybe start a thread in the Gen 3 forums and ask the question there.

 

I just found this post but the pictures are loaded. I have to do the repair on a 2005 Prius and could really use the visuals. Anyway to get them returned to the post?

 

Scott Guth

Any chance you still have those pictures? They are not showing up in here any longer.

Thanks,
Greg Bergman

 

I know this is many years old but the photo links are broken. You don't happen to have them still do you?

 

Any chance anyone has the pictures for this??