Possible lock actuator failure - how to open door when child lock is on.

Let me get this straight the child lock is set and the door will not unlock?

I just went out and checked on my 2007 and with the child lock set I could unlock the door from the inside, but the handle was disabled, so it could not be opened even though it was unlocked. That is, the child lock does not do anything to the lock mechanism, it just disables the (inside) handle mechanism.

I would try rolling the window down and trying the manual unlock at the same time as the unlock button on the fob is pressed. Possibly the combination can put enough torque on the lock innards to unlock the door. If that fails find a car thief, lock smith, or mechanic who has the knowledge and tools to jimmy a Prius door open. Something like this:

How to Use a Slim Jim: 9 Steps (with Pictures) - wikiHow

If it were me I would outsource this task since in untrained hands, and never having seen the inside of the door mechanism, doing it oneself might be a recipe for breaking things.

 

Yes, it sounds like a classic actuator failure. I've replaced several of them on my previous Prius and the Wife's Camry. They both use the same basic design. If the grease gets old and stiff the motor spins but does not have the torque to rotate the mechanism all the way. I think that there is feedback to let the car know if the door is locked or not. There are contacts inside the actuator that run all the way up to the connector.

If memory serves, I was able to slide a sheet of plastic (the thickness of a credit card) between door and body of my 2002 model. Using that I could unset the child lock. My 2017 model has a different design and I don't see an easy way to wedge it.

As Pasadena_commut pointed out, once the window is down you might have access to the actuator using a dowel rod to nudge it into place.

Dan

 

...mine was stuck because the child lock accidentally ended up in between open/close and the rubber protector somehow was preventing the child lock from sliding all the way to open (up) position. This disabled the interior and exterior door handles somehow, preventing me to release the door latch to open the door.

Problem: Rear door stuck closed and both interior and exterior door handles won’t release the latch to open door.

What I tried: went to the junkyard and examined how to release door latch while door is closed (same year make and model car).

Turns out you can remove the inside
door panel while the door is closed.

How:
1. Unclip bottom part of the rear seats by pulling the seat upward.
2 . remove the bolt at the bottom of seat panel (see pic)
3. Gently pull out the weather rubber seal (prevents water from getting in the car when it rains). This will give you access to the child lock to move it with your finger to up (unlock) position.
4. Remove the screw at the interior door handle and also the one close to the power window switch.
5. Gently unclip bottom plastic door frame panel.
6. Unclip the snap ons from the bottom of the door panel. Note that the door panel clips at the base of the window. you can gently unhook the panel from the base of the window while the window is rolled down. Viola! The door panel can be removed enough to expose the cords that you can unclip from the interior door handle and manually pull to release the latch. Door opens

Hope that helps. Everything can be put back if you are careful on how you removed it.