'96 Camry LE Lock Problems

[brainseatloser]

I have a 4-door 1996 Camry LE. It was recently in an accident (front bumper and driver side front fender were damaged) and when I got it back from the shop, the driver side (front and back) locks no longer respond to either my remote entry lock/unlock button or to the lock/unlock button inside the car (driver and passenger side). However, the passenger side locks (front and back) sometimes still respond to both the remote and internal lock/unlock button. But not always.

Also, sometimes when I try to unlock my car with the key, it won't let me. I think it has something to do with the alarm system possibly? I believe the alarm came with the car. I don't know how to deactivate it.

Because of the key not always working, I always relied on the remote to lock/unlock my car. But that's not always working anymore. So I keep winding up locked out of my own car even though I have the key. Eventually the key will work, but it's very frustrating and a waste of time.

Is there any easy to fix to these problems? How much would a shop charge to fix these things?
I'm not very good at mechanical things so I don't think I could possibly fix it myself but any advice would be great.

I can always unlock the trunk, though. I'm probably just going to have to keep one of the back seats down and crawl in through the trunk if I can't find a solution to this...

I know you are all car people. Sorry if I sound really stupid. I kind of am.

[LynchburgCSI]

Drive down to Richmond and i'll fix it! Kidding. Kind of.

What exactly do you mean when you say that you try to unlock the car with the key, it won't let you? Is the car re-locking the doors the second after you turn the key?

Factory versus after market. What does your remote look like?

Sounds like a wire might be loose somewhere. Or a lock motor could be on it's way out. If you look in the DIY sticky you should be able to find things that tell you how to take the interior door panel off. It's really about as simple as a soldering job orrrr replacing a motor. Maybe about an hour or two of work tops. (Reasonable shop = $60/hour.) I'd do it myself, but electronics are my thing.

[CWH5]

More then likely damage to the wiring near the drivers left footwell or where the harness that runs from there to the inside of the drivers front door to the master window switch ( this happens all the time as this harness is flexxed every time you open the door to get in and out) or a shorted wire from the engine bay fuse box located where your car was hit the the inside of the car. Aftermarket alarms could toss a whole new bag of worms into diaging this problem as you have no idea where Joe hacknslash tied it into.

[brainseatloser]

When I try to unlock it with the key, it just won't turn. I can turn it to the lock position, but for the unlock position it just gets stuck. I just keep trying and trying until it finally unlocks. It did this before the accident too. I just never did anything about it because I always had the remote. I've had problems with it locking up on me before even with the remote and the alarm going off. It would do that if I accidentally pressed the lock button before the all of the doors were closed. The alarm isn't going off at all now, but I feel like it's locking up as some sort of anti-theft feature gone wrong maybe.

The remote is a sort of rounded rectangular shape with two black rectangular buttons next to each other on top about 1/3 down and a red rectangular button centered below them. I think it's factory. There probably used to be lock/unlock symbols printed on it but they've rubbed off. (right button unlocks, left locks).

Also, the car used to chirp when I locked and unlocked it with the remote. But it stopped doing that about a year ago. I have no idea why or if that has anything to do with anything.

I forgot to mention that after the accident I had trouble opening a closing the driver's door. It wasn't super difficult but was getting kind of stuck. When I got it back from the shop the door opened and closed fine again. They didn't mention doing any work to it, so I just figured it must of had to do with the fender. So maybe some wires got ripped from this?

So I just noticed that my key actually says "Hillman" on it. I never noticed that before... I wonder if it's a duplicate and that's why it doesn't always work.... I think I have a spare somewhere I'll have to search and see if it's the original.

I can probably get someone to help me follow the directions to open the panel and see if we can tell what happened and fix it. It's just a little overwhelming to me!

No big deal if I have to actually use the key instead of a remote to lock/unlock the car, but it's rather obnoxious when that doesn't even work! i do have a rather nice bike if i can't get into my car anymore

thanks for the replies!

[CWH5]

The problem with the key lock is either a worn out key or tumblers and weak springs in the cylinder, either way this should be a cheap fix for the manual key problem but may be a slight hassle removing as the lock rod retaining clips tend to be rock hard from age.
If you have the right tools and skill you can replace the cylider without removing the entire outside door handle and skip the lock rod but its alittle tricky.

ps; There is a boot covering the wire harness between the door and the door jam,This is the most common wiring problem area for the front door. Pull this back and inspect for broken-cracked wire insulation. The same problem exists with the trunk harness on the drivers side under the trunk hindge although this affects mainly the lighting system.

[LynchburgCSI]

Originally Posted by brainseatloser

When I try to unlock it with the key, it just won't turn. I can turn it to the lock position, but for the unlock position it just gets stuck. I just keep trying and trying until it finally unlocks. It did this before the accident too. I just never did anything about it because I always had the remote. I've had problems with it locking up on me before even with the remote and the alarm going off. It would do that if I accidentally pressed the lock button before the all of the doors were closed. The alarm isn't going off at all now, but I feel like it's locking up as some sort of anti-theft feature gone wrong maybe.

The remote is a sort of rounded rectangular shape with two black rectangular buttons next to each other on top about 1/3 down and a red rectangular button centered below them. I think it's factory. There probably used to be lock/unlock symbols printed on it but they've rubbed off. (right button unlocks, left locks).

Also, the car used to chirp when I locked and unlocked it with the remote. But it stopped doing that about a year ago. I have no idea why or if that has anything to do with anything.

I forgot to mention that after the accident I had trouble opening a closing the driver's door. It wasn't super difficult but was getting kind of stuck. When I got it back from the shop the door opened and closed fine again. They didn't mention doing any work to it, so I just figured it must of had to do with the fender. So maybe some wires got ripped from this?

So I just noticed that my key actually says "Hillman" on it. I never noticed that before... I wonder if it's a duplicate and that's why it doesn't always work.... I think I have a spare somewhere I'll have to search and see if it's the original.

I can probably get someone to help me follow the directions to open the panel and see if we can tell what happened and fix it. It's just a little overwhelming to me!

No big deal if I have to actually use the key instead of a remote to lock/unlock the car, but it's rather obnoxious when that doesn't even work! i do have a rather nice bike if i can't get into my car anymore

thanks for the replies!

1) Get a new key. Go to the dealership and give them your VIN number. They'll cut you a brand new one for under $10.
2) The factory keyless didn't have a panic button and didn't chirp. This system is probably after market.
3) Check the rubber boot that the wires pass through going into the door. That's probably where the break in the wire is, as other members said. Forgot to mention that that happens.
4) If the alarm system has stopped chirping, you may have accidentally put it in valet mode (lock/unlock would still work, just no alarm functionality). Is there any LED light or buttons for the security system in the car? If not, then we need to find the alarm ECU (which is usually under the dash or one of the seats).