a few months back, the power lock on the front driver's side door stopped working. This prompted me to do a little research on finding DIY solutions to this problem. It happens that there are some very affordable solutions out there for various other makes and models of cars but saw nothing about a Gen I Prius. Sites such as this, this, and this have given me hope about simply replacing a mabuchi motor with my presumably defective power lock actuator. I've successfully removed my actuator and am finding it difficulty to take apart. There seems to be a seam of some sort that suggest that it can be easily pried apart, but doing so with a flathead screwdriver only led to chipping. I'm now thinking that perhaps I may have to carve through it to gain access to the motor. Getting to the actuator itself was quite different from what I had expected and a tad more difficult. I would be more than happy to do a write up on how to get to the actuator should there be interest in such a report. Anyhow, I come to you in hopes of finding a way to open this actuator having come this far. Please let me know if any more information is needed and I thank you in advance for any information leading to a working power lock in my Prius.
There must be many of these (2001-2003 model) in the salvage dismantlers' world - have you checked? It would be a shame to have to buy the entire door though. Not trying to discourage you from popping in a new motor. Some people would find pleasure in that work.
I would like to know how you removed the actuator. I have the same problem with the driver side lock actuator. I've removed the door panel and removed the bolts connecting to the actuator, but I am having a hard time removing the links to the key lock and the handle. Also, let us know what your fix action is, thanks!
My actuator in the driver's door on mine is weak. It seems to always work, but I've noticed it doesn't move the little knob the entire distance like the other doors.. So I suspect I'll be travelling this road eventually.
Were you ever able to find a replacement motor or actuator? 3 of my 4 doors in my 2001 have gone out. Did you use the Mabuchi motor?
Just did both front doors in mine ~ 45 minutes per door. About 15 minutes was spent opening the actuator and removing/replacing the tip from the old motors. The links listed by the OP helped, and to find replacement motors, simply search for "Mabuchi" on motors.ebay.com. A couple of tips (no, not the ones I removed, and sorry, no pictures): When you order a motor, get the plain shaft, it costs $1 less per motor, and you'll be removing the brass sleeve anyways. We have it easier then the Lexus crowd, as the removal of the door handle bolts is much simpler. We have a port covered by a clear sticker at the top/outermost corner that allows easy access to their most troublesome bolt. You do NOT have to remove the window - remove the two nuts holding the bottom of the weatherstrip guide to allow you to pull it out of the way saves a lot of frustration getting the actuator out. You'll see them just below the bolt that holds the actuator to the door panel. DON'T Dremel the case open, using a single-edge razor, tapping it in along the seam to break what appears to be a super-glue bond. Some the the links mentioned above use hot-glue to seal it, or leave it unsealed after replacement as it's screwed down. I sparingly used plastic epoxy - it's on my workbench shelf and I didn't want water getting into it down the road. To remove our graphite sleeve, don't heat it up - either use a mini-press or shade-tree it with a pair of needle nose pliers, a vise and a very thin punch. As my chain breaker was not small enough, I used the shade-tree method and it was very easy, but needs a third hand to swing the hammer. Seat the punch inside the sleeve and drive the motor shaft down and out of the sleeve. Putting it on the new motor was even easier. With the sleeve step facing the motor, guide the shaft into the sleeve and drive it down into the sleeve gently with taps from a hammer on the exposed shaft on the back of the motor. I don't know why I put it off so long, but now I can unlock all the doors with the remote again (saves me from the glare having to reach over to let the wife in when we come out of a store into the rain). BBCB
I am also having a hard time removing the actuator from my driver door. I have read about many people who report that this is easy...but I don't get it for some reason. I have even tried to remove the door lock and door handle as one assembly with no luck. It seems the trick is to remove the rods that connect to the door handle and key lock but this doesn't appear to be easy for me. I have flipped up the plastic fasteners and expected the rods to pull out from their place, but it's not happening. It appears that the plastic fasteners are pushing against the tip of the rod and preventing it from releasing. I have tried to slide the tip past the plastic fastener with no luck. Once I figure out how to remove those two rods, I believe I can remove the actuator and door lock assembly, but my next challenge is the replacement actuator part I purchased (~$100USD) appears to somehow "plug-in" to the rest of the assembly. If anyone has completed this step, I'd appreciate some advice. Here are some pics (sorry for the poor lighting). Click on each for a larger view: My 2001 Toyota Prius driver door The rod that connects to the door handle. See the yellow plastic fastener that I flipped up. See how it is blocking the ball tip of the connector rod. The replacement actuator assembly ($100USD). I read about people purchasing the motors for much less but I didn't want to hassle with opening the casing. I figured I'm already saving a bunch of $$ instead of having the dealer replace this. The existing actuator mounted on the inside of the door. The actuator is connected to the interior panel and the lock mechanism. The same as pic #2 but before I lifted up the plastic fastener. A pic of the door handle. See the control rod on the top left with the yellow fastener that connects to the door handle and the rod on the lower left that connects to the keylock. I think I need to remove both of these. I appreciate any advice. Once I figure out how to remove those 2 rods and replace the actuator from the rest of the assembly, I should be all set. (yes, I have a ways to go still )
Hi, you need to remove the window rail in order to remove the actuator. I think you also do need to remove the lock mechanism since the actuator is held together with the lock mechanism by a bolt.
Since I just did this today, I thought I'd post a link to my blog where I documented the procedure with lots of pictures. Russ
