1997 Camry Power Lock Problem

[simply shane]

Hi i'm new here. I just bought a 1997 Camry V6 with 187000 miles. The problem I have is that I press the unlock button on the remote and the doors unlock. The only thing is my driver's side door shows that it is unlocked, however I can't open the door? Is there a simple solution to this or should I take it to a garage?

It also will show it's unlocked when I manually unlock it but the door still won't open.

[simply shane]

I can open the door from the inside

[1996camry]

TRY this...

You push the unlock on your keyless TWICEs. because the first time you push the unlock position on the keyless... it will only open the driver side..

my brother 2002 Toyota does the same way...try this and see it helps.

[Stillrunning]

Sounds like the exterior door handle has become disconnected from the latch. To inspect you'll have to remove the inside door panel. Not too hard if you're careful and have a panel clip tool. There may be trick to determining how the panel is attached other than some bolts/screws and plastic clips. On a Ford I recently did I had to lift first then pull as the clips were u-shaped.

[ASG14]

^ I'd say the same thing. Sounds like the exterior handle is the issue.

[simply shane]

1996Camry - Thanks for the recomendation, I've tried that already and it didn't work.

Stillrunning and ASG14 - I will look into removing the panel this weekend and see if the handle has disconnected from the latch

[cruisn76]

Word of caution, please check and recheck to make sure your interior latch is properly attached or secure. You don't want to close that door and not be able to open from either the outside or inside!!!!!

Seen it happen. Not pretty!

[simply shane]

Well I got the door fixed - for a minute. I think one of the clips or whatever holds the steel bar inside, is broke cause it is disconnected again.

[new echo owner]

If the door handle itself is not broken, you can replace just the lock rod clip, available from the dealer or parts store. Make sure you get the one for the correct side though, some of them do have a difference from side to side.

N.E.O.