lock actuator fails for 6th time

[SPENK05]

Bought my '14 Trail in December of '13. Within a year I had 3 bad motors/actuators. One rear door, front passenger and front driver. All fixed under warranty. Soon after my warranty ran out my front driver failed again. I've been manually locking and unlocking it with the door ever since because of the $~200 price tag for a temporary or non existent fix.

What I don't understand is that if I can lock/unlock it with the interior sill switch as well as the auto lock/unlock when in park or drive is it really the actuator or motor? The only time it doesn't work is with the fob. Is this the case with everyone else having problems? Seems like it's an electrical issue rather than mechanical. But I'm no Ace when it comes to this part of the truck.

Ryan

 

[TK-422]

Bought my '14 Trail in December of '13. Within a year I had 3 bad motors/actuators. One rear door, front passenger and front driver. All fixed under warranty. Soon after my warranty ran out my front driver failed again. I've been manually locking and unlocking it with the door ever since because of the $~200 price tag for a temporary or non existent fix.

What I don't understand is that if I can lock/unlock it with the interior sill switch as well as the auto lock/unlock when in park or drive is it really the actuator or motor? The only time it doesn't work is with the fob. Is this the case with everyone else having problems? Seems like it's an electrical issue rather than mechanical. But I'm no Ace when it comes to this part of the truck.

Ryan

It sounds like you are correct. If it didn't work on the switch I would take the actuator out and plug it in on the opposite side to test it. Since it is working with the door switch it could be in the ECU.

My wife's 2006 Camry had the same issue and it ended up being the ECU. After replacing keyfobs and switching the actuator over with it testing positive I found a small post on a Camry forum where it pointed out the alarm controls were in the main ECU. They only way to fix it was to replace the ECU.

We traded the car in shortly after that.

 

[ECUDrummer]

Got mine replaced today (both front doors).

 

[Helix26404]

I have a 2010. Have replaced every...single...door...actuator...so far 3 times.

What's weird is that when one starts acting up, another happens very shortly after. Makes me wonder if it's just one of them that fails, and something about the failure causes the electric current to stop going to the other one that begins to not work. I can always tell when one of them is broken or on the blink when I press the lock button on my remote, and I don't hear a beep to confirm all doors have locked. :redbrick:

The reason I found this thread is because the rear door ones just failed again. I can't keep replacing these at what Toyota is charging to do the work, so I was hoping to see if others have found a solution.

 

[JRain67]

2010 SR5 here. The front passenger door started failing a couple of weeks ago, intermittent at first but now its completely useless. Yesterday the drivers door lock started failing Has anyone figured out the actuator motor PN for the 5th Gens?

 

[jcd148]

I have a 14 TE and have had both rear door lock actuators replaced under warranty and now the front passenger door lock has failed.


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[MSinDC]

What's weird is that when one starts acting up, another happens very shortly after. Makes me wonder if it's just one of them that fails, and something about the failure causes the electric current to stop going to the other one that begins to not work. I can always tell when one of them is broken or on the blink when I press the lock button on my remote, and I don't hear a beep to confirm all doors have locked. :redbrick:

I have a '14 and all four of mine went out within about 5 months of each other. Bullshit. Currently deciding whether to fix myself or fight Toyota.

 

[e60ral]

I have a 2010. Have replaced every...single...door...actuator...so far 3 times.

What's weird is that when one starts acting up, another happens very shortly after. Makes me wonder if it's just one of them that fails, and something about the failure causes the electric current to stop going to the other one that begins to not work. I can always tell when one of them is broken or on the blink when I press the lock button on my remote, and I don't hear a beep to confirm all doors have locked. :redbrick:

The reason I found this thread is because the rear door ones just failed again. I can't keep replacing these at what Toyota is charging to do the work, so I was hoping to see if others have found a solution.

they are all interlocked, right? so if one was fast cycling or something and it kills it the others would follow?

is the dealership troubleshooting this for anyone or just replacing the actuators?

 

[5GT4RLENAV]

Just to add my experience into the statistics: Actuators on both rear doors of my 2012 T4R Ltd. failed May this year, not covered by basic warranty. Replaced with Mabuchi motors from eBay at C$6 each and perhaps an hour of my time. I also emailed Toyota Canada advising that their sub-contractor (AISIN) supplying these door lock assemblies might be unduly tarnishing their otherwise good reputation by using sub-par components. Annoying to say the least.

 

[JPF1]

2014 SR5 with 73,000. Drivers door failed intermentantly. Then it completely failed in July. Fixed at dealership for $600. Now the front passenger door is starting to act up. Fails to lock/unlock every few days. I expect that total failure is coming. Anyone had luck getting Toyota to eat some of this. $1200 to keep locks working on a three year old truck is bs.

I had the same issue someone referenced earlier after the first repair that door could not be unlocked with key placed in door. Additionally puddle light wires were unplugged and left exposed. Both corrected but demonstrates that tech does not check his work.

 

[Dalko43]

2011 Trail model. First lock failed in 2012. Four more failures over next 2.5 years. All covered under warranty. When the last of these were replaced, the service tech told me that Toyota was still trying to figure out why so many (not just mine) were failing. The theory at the time was Armor All was causing the failures. I knew that wasn't my problem since I don't use it.

Now I'm out of warranty and have 2 more failed actuators. Drivers front for the 3rd time and passenger front for the 2nd time. Toyota wants $800 to fix them. I am pretty steamed. At a minimum, I'm not willing to pay Toyota to put more defective parts in my car. I've owned 6 Toys over the last 30 years. This will be the last one.

Are there a lot of others out there with the same problem? If so, has someone already started a class action lawsuit? Any lawyers in this forum?

Dude, wrong place to ask for legal advice. Go talk to a real lawyer if you have concerns.

I have a 2011 and haven't had any issues with the locks failing. Nor have I heard of any other 4runners having this problem, so I don't think the issue is as widespread as you're making it out to be.

The 5th gen's in general have had good reliability, so while your situation sucks, I wouldn't necessarily jump the Toyota ship because of it.

Also, not to be the naysayer, but you can still unlock/lock your car manually with the key, right?

 

[MBG LA]

I have a 2012 Toyota 4Runner - single owner, great shape, not a lot of miles, no armor all, etc. I am now on my 2nd Actuator replacement. Dealer will cover part but not labor. I'm going to call around as there are other Toyota Dealers to see if someone else will help as it seems like this is an issue. Thanks!

 

[jcd148]

I have a 14 TE and have had both rear door lock actuators replaced under warranty and now the front passenger door lock has failed.


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Just to update, had front passenger and drivers side replaced under extended warranty, so I have now replaced all 4.


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[Hockey Hauler]

First post ever here... and I love the site.

I have a '12 Limited and both front locks went before 60k. I could manually lock and unlock the truck but the fob and interior switch did nothing for those locks. Dealer replaced both under warranty and they still work after 6 months. Passenger rear is now showing signs that it won't last much longer... just like the fronts did.

 

[user name:]

2012 TE here never an issue with these.... knock on wood...

 

[Donkey]

Update from my earlier post in this thread. I visited the dealer for my 50k mile service and had the required "inspection" performed per Toyota customer service.

On a side note, my dealership experience at my local dealer is always great. The service bays are windowed, and I watch them work on my truck from three feet away. Never any issues with my dealer or the quality of the work they perform, I use them for service and highly recommend Toyota of Murfreesboro.

They confirmed the locks were inoperable and quoted $1125 + tax for the repair. No other issues were found. I contacted Toyota customer service, and they are reviewing the case before they follow up with me. The dorman parts available on Amazon (go to the dorman website to get the part numbers here: Dorman Products - Search Results) carry a lifetime warranty, cost $125, and are a relatively easy install.

Door locks are a minor issue in the grand scheme of life, but it is a safety concern. I am unable to lock or unlock my rear doors. I have two young children, carrying them around is the primary purpose of my vehicle. I can't reach the locks from the front seat while belted and cannot operate them without being able to roll the windows down. The alarm never sets. I can't store anything in the vehicle.

I requested Toyota goodwill the repair as my door locks all failed well within the three-year warranty period and less than 1500 miles from the mileage limit. This actuator is used in many (possibly all) Toyota and Lexus models. If they failed with this regularity people would not buy Toyota products, the actuators in my 4Runner were apparently made on a Sake Saturday production run and needed to be replaced with good parts. A single run of these actuators could be in the hundreds of thousands.

Toyota called me back before I was able to finish writing this post. They are covering the repair 100%. Perhaps they will help you out as well. I am a happy Toyota customer. I will be investigating third-party warranty coverage "just in case."

 

[casamarco]

Lock Actuator Failure on 2014 4 runner

Passenger front lock actuator failure. Out of warrantee dealer wants close to $800 to repair. Called Toyota Corporate and started a case number. If EVERYONE calls Toyota we may get this addressed.

CALL TOYOTA AND REPORT LOCK ACTUATOR FAILURE!

1-800-331-4331

 

[casamarco]

Did you write toyota? OR call? I'd love for them to fix mine!

 

[casamarco]

Help! Lock failure

Update from my earlier post in this thread. I visited the dealer for my 50k mile service and had the required "inspection" performed per Toyota customer service.

On a side note, my dealership experience at my local dealer is always great. The service bays are windowed, and I watch them work on my truck from three feet away. Never any issues with my dealer or the quality of the work they perform, I use them for service and highly recommend Toyota of Murfreesboro.

They confirmed the locks were inoperable and quoted $1125 + tax for the repair. No other issues were found. I contacted Toyota customer service, and they are reviewing the case before they follow up with me. The dorman parts available on Amazon (go to the dorman website to get the part numbers here: Dorman Products - Search Results) carry a lifetime warranty, cost $125, and are a relatively easy install.

Door locks are a minor issue in the grand scheme of life, but it is a safety concern. I am unable to lock or unlock my rear doors. I have two young children, carrying them around is the primary purpose of my vehicle. I can't reach the locks from the front seat while belted and cannot operate them without being able to roll the windows down. The alarm never sets. I can't store anything in the vehicle.

I requested Toyota goodwill the repair as my door locks all failed well within the three-year warranty period and less than 1500 miles from the mileage limit. This actuator is used in many (possibly all) Toyota and Lexus models. If they failed with this regularity people would not buy Toyota products, the actuators in my 4Runner were apparently made on a Sake Saturday production run and needed to be replaced with good parts. A single run of these actuators could be in the hundreds of thousands.

Toyota called me back before I was able to finish writing this post. They are covering the repair 100%. Perhaps they will help you out as well. I am a happy Toyota customer. I will be investigating third-party warranty coverage "just in case."

How did you contact Toyota? I would love to have them address my situation as well. I have a 2014 with lock failure on the front passenger and I'm just out of warrantee. I called corporate and all they did was open a case.

 

[Donkey]

How did you contact Toyota? I would love to have them address my situation as well. I have a 2014 with lock failure on the front passenger and I'm just out of warrantee. I called corporate and all they did was open a case.

I called 1-800-331-4331 and politely told them my story, first toyota product, safety concern, and in my case multiple failures. They opened a case and had me go to the dealership for an inspection. Toyota then worked with the dealer and my repair was completed at no cost. They did have to order one actuator due to a faulty replacement.

Third party replacements are $125 via Amazon and are easy to install...as long as you consider removing a door panel easy.

Hopefully Toyota and your dealership will find a way to resolve this to your satisfaction. Good luck!