Driver door will not unlock/cannot open.

[ben550]

You have to replace the entire cable, we don't sell the sheath separate, but they aren't that hard to do.

Ok thats what i figured. The white sheath snapped in half where the threaded part starts. It looks straight forward just hope connecting to the locking mechanism is not too hard due to access. I'll give it a go. Thanks.

 

[mnichoasr]

Hey all,

I've been a member on this forum for a while and although I have not posted I have found it to be a great resource for my 4runner. For most issues I've had with my 4runner I've been able to find a thread on the topic until now. I've tried the search function for my problem and apologize in advance if I've overlooked a solution. Now on to my issue.

Last week my driver door lock started acting up, it did not unlock with the other doors when put into park but worked with the rocker switch, key fob (sometimes after 2 tries), the electrical power lock rocker, and the key. I found a thread on here that stated that it was likely a programming/electrical problem related to the actuator. Since I was still able to unlock the door by other means I decided I would take a look in the door over the weekend and troubleshoot the problem as indicated in other threads.

Here's the big problem, last Friday the door stopped unlocking entirely. The power lock rocker switch and key fob do not work, the key will not turn to unlock, the manual rocker will not move to the unlock position and all unlock features both manual and automatic work just fine. This leads me to believe that this is the result of a mechanical problem of some sort as I can hear the driver actuator initiating (I know this may still indicate a damaged actuator).

I am mechanically capable, and would very much like to avoid the cost of the dealership inspection to tell me I'll need to shell out an arm and a leg to fix the problem. I am pretty sure i can at least unlock the door manually if i can just get the door panel off which is currently what is holding me back. What I would like to know is if anyone has any suggestions as to how to tackle this problem. Is there a way to open this door, or remove the door panel in its current state?

I had a tow truck driver try to unlock it the old school way with a slim Jim with no success. He said that it rarely is possible with newer vehicles, and that he would normally separate the door from frame and use a rod to press the auto unlock button which in this case is useless. Has anyone had luck with a Jim being used to manually unlock their door? If so I may try another unlock service.

Thanks in advance for any guidance, and if any more information on my end is needed please let me know.

I am having a similar issue. only mine is the reverse. my locks work. I can lock my doors and i can unlock them as well but i cant open the door. I did the steps that rnacion has done but only to realize that it was only close to my problem. Any suggestions on what to do? I have both the green and white cables exposed. I havent had an opportunity to open the passenger side panel to see how everything works yet. was wanting to wait until last resort. HELP!

 

[BlackWorksInc]

So you made sure the Driver's Door is unlocked and tried to pull the cable for the door handle?

 

[mnicholasr]

So you made sure the Driver's Door is unlocked and tried to pull the cable for the door handle?

Yes. I have. and when i pulled the while cable loose it seemed to work fine. it wasnt hard to pull the edge of the cable to make it unlock. and you can hear that it has. but my problem is still that the door wont open. I think that the green cable is messed up but i need to know how to get the door open so i can look at it. I pulled the green cable as well but it didnt seem to do anything. I even pulled it while i had my dad pull on the door but nothing seemed to work

 

[BlackWorksInc]

[MENTION=135347]mnicholasr[/MENTION]

Did you try unlocking the door via the outside key cylinder on the door and then either using the cable and/or the outside handle at the same time? It sounds like the lock mechanism is not unlocking correctly. The problem is I am having a hard time figuring how you'd get to the lock actuator to physically move it without cutting a hole in the door panel if it's stuck closed.

 

[mnicholasr]

[MENTION=135347]mnicholasr[/MENTION]

Did you try unlocking the door via the outside key cylinder on the door and then either using the cable and/or the outside handle at the same time? It sounds like the lock mechanism is not unlocking correctly. The problem is I am having a hard time figuring how you'd get to the lock actuator to physically move it without cutting a hole in the door panel if it's stuck closed.

Yea the key cylinder didnt do anything. I am about to go out there and open the other panel to see if it gives me any ideas. And yea i really dont want to cut a hole in my panel as it is my daily driver and I am proud of the fact of how good it looks haha. Never had to replace anything other than bulbs and a relay on it either.

 

[mnicholasr]

I was able to get the door open. I went out there and tried what I was doing yesterday one last time. THis time i could hear the cable pulling on something so i tried pulling a little slower, when I did, the door opened right up!

If the door will lock but just wont open you have to get to the green cable instead of the white one. I noticed that if you tried to pull it too quickly nothing would happen but if you took your time to pull it nice and evenly it would open up the door. Now I have to see if it is just the cable or if it is the actual actuator. Im not sure which one it is yet because it seemed to be working once i got the door open but when it was closed nothing worked at all. I think that the location that the green cable goes to is actually what is messed up and not the cable.

 

[AndroT100]

rnacion....

Just want to confirm that your Runner is an 03.....

I have the same problem right now with my 03 and prior to jumping-in to fix I want to be sure I am working on the same thing...I've already visited a dealership and they said they would need to remove the driver's seat, cut the door panel down the middle, determine the problem, repair/replace as necessary.....expensive!

Thanks to you in advance to anyone else with helpful input!

 

[AndroT100]

I got my door open! A good thing. And the actuator is functioning.

Now with the cable out, I can unlock and lock the door with the FOB and see the cable moving.

Now I have to take the panel off to figure-out what is broken.

Any suggestions?

 

[AndroT100]

Well...I took the door panel off. Removed the door/lock handle assembly and tested all. I then reassembled all as I found nothing broken. The one thing that doesn't function is that the doors will not unlock when using the key. Once I unlock the driver's door with one click of the FOB, then the key will function to unlock the other doors.

Any suggestions?

 

[dld-4runner]

EZ fix for opening the door to remove actuator unit

...some stuff deleted

Here's the big problem, last Friday the door stopped unlocking entirely. The power lock rocker switch and key fob do not work, the key will not turn to unlock, the manual rocker will not move to the unlock position and all unlock features both manual and automatic work just fine. This leads me to believe that this is the result of a mechanical problem of some sort as I can hear the driver actuator initiating (I know this may still indicate a damaged actuator).

I am mechanically capable, and would very much like to avoid the cost of the dealership inspection to tell me I'll need to shell out an arm and a leg to fix the problem. I am pretty sure i can at least unlock the door manually if i can just get the door panel off which is currently what is holding me back. What I would like to know is if anyone has any suggestions as to how to tackle this problem. Is there a way to open this door, or remove the door panel in its current state?

Actually, getting the interior door panel out of the way is the easy part. It's getting the latch to release that's the problem...
I recently had the driver's door actuator go out on my 2004 4runner. Of course, it failed with the door closed and NONE of the yanking cables type attempts would allow me to open the door latch.

So....

1. Removed the lower back seat (optional but makes it easier to take out the front seat and sit on the floor) and then the driver seat.

2. Removed the screws from the interior door panel, pried and propped it open as far as I could.

3. Unhooked the cables from the handle unit.

4. Drilled a 1/2" access hole centered 7/8" below the lower edge of the latch opening bracket (you can see it between the door and the door post) and as close as I could to the door post moulding. This hole goes through the sheet metal and into the plastic case ~1/4". See attached pictures.

5. Stuck a flat tip screw-driver in the access hole and pushed/pried up the release lever while pushing on the door.

QED (a mathematician's version of "got 'er dun")

BTW-I deviated from the typical replacement procedures by:
1. I left the rod that is connected to the exterior handle attached at top and just slid it back into the new actuator.

2. I did not remove the window track. Instead I just unbolted it then held it in position while a wiggled the old unit out and the new unit back in.