Broken rear door lock

I suppose that either you or Friendly Mechanic is going to have to remove the door panel and investigate the electricals and mechanicals inside. Don't remember this being mentioned before so we may not have a history to guide you.

Does the 2007 have that secret switch (visible when the door is open) to child-proof the door functions? Maybe that switch is not set correctly??

 

I just started having the same problem. What was the fix for this?

 

I hope you both will share what you find and how to fix it. I wish I could give you some advise (other then "Buy a Prius").

 

the lock on my back hatch broke, and in fact the whole plastic panel covering the latch broke off, and the dealer replaced it on a make good :thumb:

 

My 2007 Prius had the same problem.

It was a rebuilt salvage title, but the damage was in the front, so this problem seemed unrelated.

The rear driver's side door lock would not lock whether trying via the manual rocker on the door or with the electric lock system.

In fact the manual rocker would NOT rock - it seemed jammed.

So, I carefully removed the door cover skin on the inside. It's been a month or so now, but I believe it had just one or two screws that had to come off first, like on the top edge recess somewhere and near the handle, if I remember correctly. Just poke around and look with a good light.

Then the panel pops off all along the bottom and side edges. It then lifts straight up as it's hooked on the top edge near the window. Don't move it away from the door too far as there is a cable or two that needs unplugged and you don't want to damage it. Set it aside.

The control cables to the rocker and the opener (handle) come off relatively easily. These disappear into the left (rear) side of the door to where the actual lock and latch are.

There's plastic sheeting glued to cover the door recess for insulation purposes. Carefull peel or selectively cut this away only as much as you need to work in the lock recess.

Using the correct sized spline, remove the three screws holding the latch/lock unit. Support it from inside (reach into the recess) so it doesn't drop and get damaged. REMOVING THIS UNIT IS DIFFICULT but not impossible. You may need to snake it around a support bar that gives strength to the door, perhaps even pulling or pushing on it to make it a tad wider space to get the unit out of the recess.

I then too the unit inside in a well lit work area to see if it could be taken apart. Note that you should do this slowly in case things spring out or fall out... you don't want to guess how it goes together.

It turns out that just after I started opening it up and before I took anything out from the inside, I tried to see if the lock freed up by moving the lock cable... and it did! Rather than risking anything further, I closed the cover back up and put the screws in. Tested it again - still moved/worked.

So I brought it back to the car and plugged in the electric lock cable and tested it uninstalled. It worked. It did click and show it actuated, unlike before when it was jammed.

I reinstalled it and tested it again before hooking the control cables up. Electric lock now worked and door latched and locked, unlocked and opened. So, I reconnected the control cables, wire cables and tested one more time everything - electric window, speaker, manual lock, electric lock, door latched properly... before I put the skin cover back on.

I pressed the plastic sheeting to seal up the inside of the door. You may need to tape together at the seam where you cut it away, if you did opt to cut it.

Hooked the cover at the window, pressed the pop-in connectors onto the door metal, replaced any door handle cover and reinstalled the screws.

===

I hope my experience helps others! I'm so glad I didn't have to pay the dealer to do it. Saved a few hundred in labor and parts, I'm sure.

Scott

 

So did you figure out what was causing the jam? Would it be possible to fix the problem without going as far as you did?

 

No, I don't think so. I tried to force the cable to move (gently) but it didn't budge, so I had to take the latch/lock unit out. Tried to get it to free up when it was out, but it only budged when I started undoing it... like something was binding.

I'm guessing someone (maybe a kid) was holding the lock manually while another kid did the electric lock button and boogered it up. Or, could be a product defect and it will return. Hasn't in a month or so now and I use that door every day at work.

Keep on!

 

I have the exact same problem with the exact same door with my 08 Prius. We'll take it to the dealer. I'll be mighty unhappy if they try to charge me for fixing it. I did not have any mods done or damage, seems like this is a design or qc issue. We'll see... Meanwhile we have to hope the car does not get broken into before it gets to the dealership

 

Unfortunately, mine just seized up again. It worked for quite a while. Perhaps I need to oil or grease the moving parts. I'll have to open up the door again to work on it... not too bad a job, but still takes a while. Yes, I wish Toyota would do a recall on this. Maybe they would be more apt to given their recent quality "climate"...

 

There are at least three of us who have the same problem with the same door. It's a pain to take the car in to the dealer, I hope they make good on it.

 

Update

Took the car into the dealer today, they wanted a $99 "diagnostic fee" since the car just went out of warranty It is four months shy of 3 years but has about 40K on it.

I explained the problem probably existed before my warranty ran out, I never noticed the issue because when I press the lock buttons or fob, i assume all the doors will lock as they should (because it is a Toyota), I do not run around the car checking each door. I only discovered the problem by accident when I was able to open the door.

The service rep said he would talk to Toyota about the fee. About 45 min later he said the door actuator was frozen, that I would have to pay labor but Toyota would pay for the replacement part. I asked them if they could help me out since it is not yet three years old even though I'm over 30K miles. He replied I don't have the car serviced my them and they always lube the doors (i.e. spray lube on the latches?) suggesting the problem arose because of that. I told him it is only 40K and I change the oil myself and buy the filters through their parts department. I told the rep I cannot even secure my vehicle, he said "you can manually lock it from the inside". I told him the door could NOT be manually loked and further stated that others on Prius Chat have the same problem with the same door. The service rep referred me to the service manager and I plead my case to him.

About 15 min later the rep said Toyota would pay for everything, the part will be in next week. I'm very pleased with how the dealer and Toyota handled it, but I am a bit disappointed this problem would arise in a fairly new Prius. My family has owned Toyotas and Subarus for over 25 years and never had a major problem like this with a newish car.

Word to The Wise: If you are getting close to your warranty, check to make sure all your doors lock when they should!

 

Got the car back today. Lock actuator was replaced and appears to work as it should. Also had the "04-09 Prius/07-10 Tundra accelerator pedal modification" done (recall 90L) I don't remember receiving any notification about this recall but I'm happy with how the lock problem and recall were handled (no charge)

 

Re: Update

I'm glad that this situation turned out well for you. However if you characterize a failed door lock solenoid as a major problem, what would you say if your cars experienced:

1) a failed traction battery (I've had two)
2) a failed MFD (put me down for one)
3) a driveability issue where the car refuses to accelerate (twice)
4) an electric steering gear failure (once)
5) a brake failure where the skid control ECU and brake pedal stroke sensor were replaced (once)

From a cost and safety perspective, the impact of those failures is potentially much greater than a door lock solenoid failure.

Looks to me like you and your family have been very lucky regarding vehicle reliability.

 

Re: Update

Hey Patrick, how are you? Wow, were all those problems with new Priuses? I guess we are fortunate but maybe Toyota is not the gold standard of reliability I thought. We had an 85 Camry which we used for 23 years, can't recall any problems until it reached about 80K, then it was expected issues for its age. Our 95 Camry is still going strong with no major problems that were not normal age/mileage related. Our 98 Subaru Legacy has 140K and it only had one recall for a CV boot and had a bad wheel bearing at around 120K.

Admittedly our door actuator problem cannot compare to your experiences. Perhaps we're spoiled by our Camrys but for us a faulty door actuator in a Toyota less than three years old is a major issue in relative terms. Still love our Prius and hope to get a solid 10+ years of reliable use just like our other cars.

 

Re: Update

The problems were with Toyota vehicles (mostly Prius) and covered under warranty. More details follow:

1) a failed traction battery: 2001 Prius, 2006 HiHy
2) a failed MFD: 2004 Prius
3) a driveability issue where the car refuses to accelerate: 2001 Prius - replaced engine ECU. 2004 Prius - reprogrammed engine/hybrid vehicle ECUs
4) an electric steering gear failure: 2001 Prius
5) a brake failure where the skid control ECU and brake pedal stroke sensor were replaced: 2007 Prius

It's OK though, because the problems were repaired on Toyota's dime. If these problems didn't happen to my cars, then I would not have had motivation to learn about the Toyota hybrid system over the past few years.

 

Re: Update

Do you remember how much it was going to cost in all before they gave it to you free? (parts and labor)

I am well over the warranty so im screwed. Mine is the driver side front door.

 

Re: Update

AND, you have learned VERY well and given the rest of us great information and motivation! I thank you. Andy

 

A note on door lock repair: if you are going to go to the trouble of partially disassembling the inside of the door, then lubricate any moving parts, with: WD40 ( a cleaner ) and silicone spray. I also find that white grease works well on the hatch dampers. I had to use it three times to finally get the hatch to go all the way up by itself. There is a tendency to hit your head on the hatch otherwise. Don't forget the door hinges. It's not unusual for mechanical rubbing parts to dry out, after all they are continually rubbing the grease off! This includes that spring loaded mechanism that actuates the butterfly valve in the air horn.

 

Hi Surevalla:

Sorry, I have not visited this site in a while. As I recall the part was to be around $300, labor was four hours or so, but don't quote me on that. They also performed the accelerator pedal "mod" (shortening the pedal) for free as part of a recall.

The part number is 69060-47041, Lock Assy, RR Door