hey guys..

today i had an issue where the power door lock go about half way and not locking the door.. I though it was the battery going down the drain but i swapped it with an new one and the problem still happens.

the problem is, when i push the door lock to lock it. it goes half way down, it does this with the key fob and inside.. do i have to replace all the lock actuators? or is there one that controls it?

thanks.

Do ALL the locks fail, or just the driver's door?

It is very easy to test the actuators, a lot harder to test the system in it's entirety. Both the power and ground for the actuators is supplied by the Body ECU, also called the driver's side junction block. The switch on the door and the key cylinder send a ground signal to the Body ECU, and the Body ECU does the rest.
The wireless controller also signals the Body ECU.

You aren't the first to experience this, in fact my 2000 does it intermittently, usually the driver's window will also fail at the same time, but not always. One day it's going to fail long enough for me to test it, so I can post some good info. Until then, let's look at yours, give me some details!

All. Sometimes it locks all the way, sometimes it goes half way.

Could it be the heat that's doing it?

I read this article about it.

Drivers side power door won't lock/unlock

It could be heat related, the last time mine failed was a hot day, but it worked again and the temp hadn't really changed.

If your failure is consistent, we can test it, if you are game. Do you own a test light or a multi-meter? Would be good if you had a 12V power source like a jump starter or something so we can test the actuator independently.

I went to check on it just now.. and is not all the door.. is just the driver door now.. I kept playing with it and is only the driver side that doesn't lock all the way while the others lock with no problems..

how much would it be to replace just the lock actuator? is it pretty simple?

Mine started with the driver's door. After a few years it was both the driver's and the right passenger side. Could hear it work. Could see the lock jump a little, or half way up, or actually lock (or unlock). The key always worked the driver's lock. Sometimes hitting the button a few times ooched it up (or down) enough. It was working, but there was sometimes not oomph to complete the action. Success changed with the temps- seemed it got weaker with the heat. My particular problem was the door lock modules for the drivers and rt passenger doors.

Not saying this is your problem...there are other possible causes....

Cheap fix that solved MY problem. Starts at post 1460, stops around 1478.
Posts 1467, 1474-1476 are prolly the most useful
habanero's 1996 4Runner Build-Up Thread - Page 73 - YotaTech Forums

I don't know how much it would be. If you want to throw parts at it, go right ahead. If you want to troubleshoot it and KNOW the solution, I'll help you.

I just purchased a 2000 4runner two weeks ago with 87k miles and i never had this problem until yesterday. All of my locks were doing it. It's like they wanted to lock/unlock but they just didnt have enough power to complete the action. It has to be related to heat as mine has yet to do this and yesterday was the hottest day we've had here in a week or so.

I do have a test light but no on the jump starter, I might just go to harbor freight and pick one up..

As long as you can get good 12V and a good ground with some jumpers, you don't need to visit horrible freight. But those things are handy, so why not.

I ended up buying a used actuator off of an yard today for $40..

I will attack it tomorrow when the light comes up..

Well I hope that works for you!

well, I attacked it and I got all the way to removal of the 2 metal rods but I couldn't remove it.

I couldn't figure how to remove those damn 2 rods for the life of me..

I spend 3 hours trying to figure out how to remove those darn rods.. It was those 2 things holding the actuator and I would have been golden but it didn't want to budge..

can someone give me a suggestion or an way to it cause is driving me mad..

Well I could be wrong, but if it's like many other vehicles, the rods DON'T come off of the actuator, they come off of whatever they actuate.

sorry. I meant the exterior door handle.. the 2 rods that are connector to the handle.. I got the one off of the interior door handle but couldn't get the ones that are connected to the door handle + lock