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Driver Power Door Lock Actuator Failed at 55k Miles

Discussion in 'Prius c Care, Maintenance and Troubleshooting' started by PriusC_Commuter, Jan 30, 2015.

  1. PriusC_Commuter

    PriusC_Commuter Active Member

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    2012 Prius C Trim 2. Title says it all. Luckily, I had purchased an extended warranty back in 2013 when you could still purchase them from Toyota dealerships online so it didn't cost me anything. Otherwise, they said it would have been about $625.

    The dealer had pre-installed the stupid piece of crap aftermarket alarm system before I purchased it, and I wasn't smart enough to walk away at the time. Not sure if it's related or not, but I wanted to include that information.
     
  2. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    i'm not familiar to how the alarms hook up either. could have just been a bad motor i suppose, glad you were covered!(y)
     
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  3. PriusC_Commuter

    PriusC_Commuter Active Member

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    I'm surprised the motor went out after only 55k miles (2.5 years) though. I would have expected it to last longer than that.
     
  4. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    absolutely, it's pretty unusual, but probably not unheard of. drivers door gets the most use right? i've replaced numerous drivers window motors, but usually close to 100,000 miles or more.
     
  5. PriusC_Commuter

    PriusC_Commuter Active Member

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    Well, I thought everything was fixed and working fine. The wireless functions on the fob work again as they should. However, yesterday I tried to use the physical key to unlock the door. Surprise! It no longer locks nor unlocks nor does anything at all. Looks like it's back to the dealership for me :(
     
  6. PriusC_Commuter

    PriusC_Commuter Active Member

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    Finally fixed. Turns out when the mechanic at the dealership replaced my power door lock actuator, he accidentally disconnected the manual door lock linkage from the lock cylinder. They were helpful and had me out within 45 minutes (no charge obviously). Inconvenient, but at least everything seems to be working.
     
  7. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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  8. taylor5796

    taylor5796 New Member

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    I had the exact same issues with my car. The driver side door lock actuator went out on my 2012 C3. This was a common problem from what the dealer service center told me.

    Glad you got yours fixed.
     
  9. orenji

    orenji Senior Member

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    Interesting, as my power lock sometimes does not sound like it should when unlocking, hope mine is not starting to fail! This should be covered under good will by Toyota.
     
  10. PriusC_Commuter

    PriusC_Commuter Active Member

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    Aaand my passenger side started failing today at just shy of 58k miles :( It gave my passenger quite a scare when the alarm went off as she opened the passenger door before I had a chance to unlock the doors. At least I got a laugh from her impatience ;)
     
  11. jj547

    jj547 Junior Member

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    My driver side door lock actuator also started going bad for my 2012 C3 at about 46k miles. Soon after I had it replaced, I started to notice the front passenger door was beginning to fail as well. Just to be sure my 12v battery wasnt what was causing the issue, I checked it's voltage saw it was a little below the standard range, so I figured I'd just get the 12v battery replaced in hopes that it would fix any door lock issues, but alas my passenger door lock was still failing :\

    And as a side note, I have my car settings set up so that all doors automatically lock/unlock when I shift to/from park. I wonder if that has a significant enough affect on the lifespan of the actuators...
     
  12. orenji

    orenji Senior Member

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    Are not all C's locks set up to lock and unlock as you shift from Park to Drive and from Drive to Park?
     
  13. PriusC_Commuter

    PriusC_Commuter Active Member

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    It seems like this part is failing early on quite a couple C's.
     
  14. jj547

    jj547 Junior Member

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    There's a settings option within the touchscreen equipped C's to enable/disable this feature.
     
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  15. jj547

    jj547 Junior Member

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    So my passenger side door lock actuator finally died completely, and I just finished replacing it myself the other day. It wasn't as difficult to remove and install as I thought it would be, and it feels soooo satisfying to know that I saved money by only paying about $130 for the part vs spending $600 to have the dealership do it. I could have saved even more money by just replacing the motor inside the actuator itself, but I didn't feel comfortable opening it up to mess around with the parts inside and possibly causing more stress/work than what I wanted to deal with.

    It took me about an hour to do, but a vast majority of that time was spent quadruple checking the (generic) installation directions I've gathered from various sources to make sure I wasn't going to end up really messing something up lol. I'm not a very experienced DIY'er, so I just wanted to take my time to make sure I got it right. If I had to do it again after already doing it once, I'd guess it would probally take me about 20 mins or so.
     
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  16. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    well done.(y) sounds like toyota should have a tsb on these.
     
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  17. tarealex

    tarealex Junior Member

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    This has just happened on my 2012 C2 at 29k. :( The dealership ordered the new actuator, should be here on Tuesday. They quoted me $500, but the day after I get it back, I notice the passenger side door lock isn't functioning anymore, either. It seems like the mechanism is bad on this model, and mine failed at the low mileage end.

    Now I'm faced with the $1000 bill to replace it, and the dealership is offering 0% for 60 months on the 2016 Prius... Hmm.
     
  18. jj547

    jj547 Junior Member

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    I was hoping I wouldn't have to come back to this thread, but I just wanted to update you guys and say my rear passenger door lock actuator has now failed at 85k miles. This will be the third actuator I will have had to replace (following both front door lock actuators failing). At this rate it's seems inevitable that the rear driver side actuator will fail lol.
     
  19. DonDNH

    DonDNH Senior Member

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    Still under the extended warranty?
     
  20. jj547

    jj547 Junior Member

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    No, I never had one. I'll just replace it myself like I did for my front passenger actuator, wasn't too bad.
     
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