Good progress here guys. Subbed for future use. Been putting this off for years for all of the aforementioned reasons.

I'll pull one, probably the driver's side and post up a couple of photos.

Like the teamwork, thanks Jerod.

For two bucks more (about $13) I just ordered this, set to come on Friday. The other one is not Prime, and would be here a week later...

https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/...?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Looks to be same as the other one for the Matrix, Vibe, Corolla, Prius...

This bothers me sometimes also, thought of taking a piece of heat shrink slipping it over the arm shrink it. Rubber on rubber seems better than what it is.
Will be doing it at some point as redneck engineering since I have plenty of heat shrink.

Finally got the photos.

Here's a photo of the door check when "open":



And here's when the door is "closed":



There is no way to remove the rubber grommet from inside the brass housing, it is welded shut. Well, not without getting really creative. The issue seems to be the arm itself, the black plastic seems to wear down over time. I'm not sure any coating would work for long, seems like it would just scrape off. Here's a close up of the wear on the plastic:

Excellent photos Jerod. Thanks. Very kind of you.

From those and what you described, there are no tabs or other easy way to open the "box". Between that and the plastic coating on the arms, the OEM solution sucks for us. And dang expensive too...

Unfortunately, what I have arriving tomorrow, I think also might have a plastic-coated swing arm. The feedback received on Amazon was all over the place...

But, at least with that unit, the box has tabs, so the innards are fair game. And, at 12 or 13 bucks a pop, if it works, that would be a huge price-savings...

Jerod, if not much trouble, can you get a measurement, like the length fully extended?

Thanks again.

EDIT/ADD: Think the two bolts might be holding the box together, as opposed to it being welded shut?

The threads you see in the photo are not a standard bolt, I forget what they are called. Toyota uses them in a few spots like on the sway bar bushing brackets where it's a flat piece of metal that's welded to the housing, so they are basically just studs for the nut to go on the other side. They could be separated and removed, but you'd want to have a dremel or some other tool that can break the bond.

I'll get a measurement this evening.

I follow you. Not worth trying to crack that box... Thanks for the measurement later today. Happy Friday!

Looking at this a bit closer, the 4Runner door check is a bit odd. It seems like they use some kind of a texture on the sliding surface, presumably (?) to increase friction. Here is what my ~2 year old front door check looks like, almost like new:



In contrast, here is the rear one, which is original:



So I'm not sure how/if a more traditional smooth metal arm would work. I'd think that both parts of the door check (the sliding arm and the spring loaded clamp) have to work as a system; you probably can't just mix and match components randomly. But of course if you can find an all metal one that fits our trucks, that would be ideal - I've never before seen door checks that are basically a wear item.

Very detailed photos Leon, thanks.

I imagine you are correct about the rough surface. Once it smooths-out and further wears thinner, they are shot and useless. Pretty hard to add thickness. A thought, for those who want to try though... Clean the worn arm very well. Add a thin layer of JB Weld on the hump/s. Maybe a little on the top and bottom. Not too thick, but enough, possibly add some texture, like by using a toothpick. I actually think that might work, maybe might last quite a while. Just thinking out loud...

That said, I'm really hoping this will work for us. Should arrive in the next couple hours.

Having the same issue so I'm all ears on this thread. The JB Weld idea is what popped into my head too. Could it be that simple?

I actually think it will work. That stuff grabs really well. Nothing to lose once the arm has failed. If too thick, it's sand-able. Needs to dry for a while though, which means the door staying open. Or of course remove it, like Jerod did above...

FWIW; first one is a new OEM Toyota drivers side door check. Next two are used Toyota drivers side door check's. Fourth is the Matrix/Corolla door check. All for comparison.

Attached Images

       

For the price it would be worth a try for sure. Maybe rough up the surface a little with a file cross hatching or very coarse sandpaper.

Also FWIW; this is the cheapest I could find the OEM door check.

Door Check - Toyota (68620-35010) | Toyota Parts