Be honest, how about the door lock/unlock

I do not recall seeing but two or three reports on here of door lock failure on the Gen 3 Prius.

I have a 2010 with 118,000 miles and no problem to date, electrical or otherwise.

 

agree, there have been a few, and there's a cheap diy. but the dealer is 'expensive. not really a toyota issue overall, your camry was unfortunate.

 

In my Gen 1, the driver's door actuator (which gets the most use) wore out around year 13, 200,000+ miles, if I remember right. Just when I parted with the car at 15 years, 238,000, I think I was just beginning to see signs of the passenger side getting worn out, as in, once in a rare while it wouldn't completely unlock on the first try.

In this Gen 3 I've had since May, I made sure to change the car settings so there are no automatic lock actuations when I shift in and out of park, turn off the car, etc., and the single fob press only actuates the driver's door. No need to have features turned on that put multiple unnecessary wear cycles on all four actuators on every trip, even when you have no intention of using the other doors ....

Shifting is a whole lot quieter too, without all the doors going KERCHUNK.

-Chap

 

i have to have all doors unlock with the driver, or my wife gives me the hairy eyeball when i get in, and forget to hit unlock.

 

Ah, "She Who Must Be Obeyed". I have one of those.

I don't suppose there is a chicken dance to turn off those other doors? Probably Techstream and $130 ...

 

yep. when mama's happy, everyone is happy.

 

My 2010 owner's manual only shows the first two choices (default, or global). What year did individual unlock become a thing?

-Chap

 

Exactly! However, the "chicken dance" described in the manual to turn off the stupid automatic locking and unlocking does not work, as far as I can tell. Aside from the unnecessary wear, the noise is annoying too.

 

I did the same in my Gen4 Three model. I try to deactivate all unnecessary (or rarely used) electronic features, locks, lights, "auto" settings, etc. I guess I'm old school. Technology is nice, but I like things as simple as possible and less prone to breaking. (another reason I didn't buy the expensive ATP-TCP packages.)

I don't even need remote door locks, or a magic Fob, or even push-button start.
I should've bought the Two model. Does it have a simple, old-fashioned ignition key?

 

Sounds like the Camry actuators failed. Must have been a bad batch. If it takes two or more presses to get a door to unlock it's usually a binding mechanism. It can often be fixed with a little grease on the coupling joints and perhaps on the actuator piston.

Pearl S has so far had no problems. But of course, now that we've talked about it something will fail.

 

Besides the Prius, I also have a VW Beetle. For years the key hasn't locked the door of the Beetle on the first try. So what I do is push the open door button, then the lock door button. That works for me every time. Maybe that will work for your Prius.

 

It's a cheap part with low failure rates across all makes at least anecdotally for me. My Gen 3 is going on four years with 110k miles.

In my family, for Toyotas specifically
1998 Corolla > 250k miles
2006 Corolla
2005 Prius
2012 Prius
2012 Prius v

The only car that failed was on the 1998 Corolla and it failed early on at around 4 years and 100k miles. I didn't care to replace it and used the key. Power windows also failed on it so I got a real lemon in that Corolla at least in terms of power features.

The only other car that failed for my family was a 2003 Civic. The actuator was a $35 part on eBay and was a fussy 2 hour job to install following YouTube DIYs. So some 40+ cars over the past 2 decades and only 2 with power lock failures. Pretty low statistic to me for a cheap part to replace. I'd rather car manufacturers spend the money elsewhere like a real horn.

 

21 years with 2 Camrys, and the door locks never failed. They were probably the two most reliable cars I ever owned. (the moonroof got "stuck" a couple times, but that was minor.)

But what I find disturbing, is all the hundreds of threads related to parts failures, electrical problems, leaks, etc, with the Gen2 and Gen3 Prius models. How soon before we see those kinds of threads for the Gen4??
If I had saw this forum before I bought my Prius, and read all those negative threads, I may have not got one.

 

Don't get hung up on all the negative post on this forum. Compared to all the Prius's on the road the complaints are a small percentage of problems. If I had read this forum I probably would not have Bought a Prius.
According to post's on this forum _

Seats are not comfortable.
Car is not safe to drive on the interstate at highway speeds.
You have to buy a batt charger for your 12 volt battery.
Suspension is not good for highway driving and must be modified.
You have to buy a Tech system to monitor all functions because they must fail often.
You must use Pulse and Glide and drive 20MPH under speed limit to get good mileage.
People really hate Prius drivers because they hold up traffic flow.
Not enough ground clearance .
You have to be more concerned with MPG than Safety.
Must run enough air in your tires to loosen your dentures.

Being a old fart (74 years old) and a retired truck driver (18 Wheelers) I bought the Prius because of the reliability ratings, safety ratings, and all around comfort. Good fuel mileage was a bonus but I don't get obsessed with it like most people on here. I find that
most of these things are not necessary at all or just not true. We take about 3 3000 mile round trips around the country every year and find it is a excellent road car. And yes I drive it at 80 to 90 MPH when I can get away with it.

 

Outstanding! Thanks, lar.