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2003 camry door lock problem

146K views 51 replies 34 participants last post by  Md Imranul Islam 
#1 ·
hey,
2003 camry xle out of warranty. the remote only open the ds door. even the driver's and
pass side unlock buttons do not unlock all the doors. the unlock noise is present but the locks do not unlock. the remote locks all the doors though.
any suggestions or help before i have to take it to the dealer.

tks
 
#3 · (Edited)
hey,
2003 camry xle out of warranty. the remote only open the ds door. even the driver's and
pass side unlock buttons do not unlock all the doors. the unlock noise is present but the locks do not unlock. the remote locks all the doors though.
any suggestions or help before i have to take it to the dealer.

tks
I have same problem in a 2004 camry, however, mine is intermitent. Have been unable to fine the problen because every time a technition has looked for the cause it starts working properly before he can tract it to the source. Can anyone help!
 
#5 ·
I may be able to help...you may not like what I have to say. I have a 2002 camry. The same thing happened to my ps front door. All others would unlock except that one when I hit the button on the key fob. I went to the dealer and low and behold it started to work! No repair. A few months later the rear door acted up for a week. Before I could get in it started to work again. A few months ago my ds started acting up. Well this one was a nuisance! I gave it a while and it was not gettting better so I went to the dealer and they looked at it and ordered some part that goes in the door. While I was waiting for the part to come in, it started to work again!

Anyway, they said since it was still under warranty and they now had the part that they would replace it. They said my bill would have been about $425 had I not had the Platinum 7/75 warranty. Holy Crap! If any of the other doors start misbehaving I am taking the sucker right back. I only have 6 months warranty left and they said each door has one of those things in it.

What caused it? The guy said moisture gets in there and causes issues.

You may want to just wait and or try to figure a way to dry the door out, maybe park in a hot area for a few days.....do not leave the windows down in the rain...who knows!

GOOD LUCK!

I must admit I think Toyota quality is slipping. At 6.5 years and 65K I had a sensor go, the door issue and just head a head gasket job...it was starting to blow a puff of blue smoke in the morning...not too bad but it was covered under warranty so I figured they should fix it. Disapointing since until this point I only ever was at the dealer for oild changes, fluid changes and rattle issues early on. The only other issue I have is a squeeky belt at times..it was changed at 24K under warranty but for the past 10K is squeeks when its humid.
 
#7 ·
My '05 Camry just started having this problem too! All the doors lock just fine, but only the driver door unlocks with the power switches and the keyless entry.

The problem has gone away and come back a couple times, so I don't want to take it into the dealer for fear it might start working again as soon as they look at it. I'd also like to find out what's the cause first so I have an idea of how much I should pay for it. If it's an actuator that's gone bad would it be the drivers door that's the culprit, since I doubt that the other 3 doors went bad at the same time. It seems like an electrical problem to me.

One thing to note, I have been parking the car outside by our sprinkler system so perhaps some moisture is getting inside the doors in the morning. Do you think I should move it so it's not getting wet at all?
 
#8 ·
If you are under warranty, get to the sealer right away. If just out of warranty, maybe call a dealer and see if you can buy a contract, wait a while then go in or see if they will cover it. These are expensive repairs.

You could just get out of the rain/sprinkler and make sure you keep you windows closed and wait for it to dry up and see if it starts working.:ugh3:
 
#9 ·
We just bought the Camry from a used car dealer about 2 weeks ago now, luckily they have a 60-day warranty so this should be covered by that. We dropped it off at the dealer and we are really lucky!! Yesterday they said it started having the problem again so they said they should be able to fix it. But who knows today it could have fixed itself again, I'm hoping for the best!

Just had the car for 2 weeks and already 2 problems, they fixed the intermediate steering shaft issue (TSB for that, knocking sound/feel during low speed steering), and now the doorlock problem. This is our first Toyota, we've heard great things I'm really shocked!! We opted out of getting the extended warranty because well...it's a Toyota! maybe a mistake?
 
#10 ·
Great news! They fixed the doorlock problem under the 60 day warranty (good thing we bought it from the dealer). It took them a while though, they had to order the part from Toyota because they didn't have it in stock. It turned out to be a bad ECU for the doorlock controls. They said it costs about $400 for those of you out of warranty, shouldn't be too bad. Just got it back today, hopefully nothing else goes wrong!!
 
#11 ·
I have an 03 camry and have the same problem. I am however beyond the warranty. the dealer wanted to replace the master switch for a mere $412. I went to a salvage yard to pick up a used part with a 6 month warranty. $50 and about ten minutes to pop the arm rest out and put it back in. Unfortunately this did not solve the problem. It may for some of you though. All you have to do is pop out the soft rubber insert in the arm rest to reveal a screw. Remove the screw and place a slotted screwdriver under the plastic piece of the armrest. Place the screwdriver under the plastic away from the hinge side of the door and push in and pop it up. then remove the old and put the new in. I am still looking for an answer to my problem though. Any other ideas
 
#12 ·
2003 Camry Door Lock Problems

I purchased a 2003 Camry by a private sale. Right after I bought it I had to pay the dealer about $450 to replace the intermediate steering shaft to resolve a 'clunking' problem which I had (and learned about via this forum). Now I'm having door lock problems similar to what others have described. It's very intermittent - some days everything works just fine and then all of a sudden the remote will only open the driver's door and the lock/unlock button on the door won't operate any of the other doors. Then the problem will just go away for awhile. This is a real safety problem in my opinion. If there's a child strapped in a car seat on the passenger side rear, you can't open the door without getting the passenger side front door open first then reaching back and manually operating the door or the lock button. I don't think it's moisture related because I have the problem even on nice days and the car is kept in the garage at night. The dealer was initially no help since I couldn't duplicate the problem. I have contacted Toyota and have been promised a contact by the dealer's Customer Relations Manager. We'll see where it leads.
 
#13 ·
Same issue with me. Mine is heat related.

When hot inside car after sitting in sun during hot day:

One push of remote, driver door unlocks, second push only a quiet click without anything else opening. Same with door buttons (driver or passenger). Push to unlock, only driver opens. Push again, just a quiet click.

Once I get home after A/C running or if not real hot, everything works fine.

I am thinking the quiet click is the relay on fuse panel in cab. I am thinking I need to get my head in there while someone else operates. Also, thinking tests with hairdryer, circuit cooler spray, etc.

I have enough data now to talk to the dealer, but not encouraged they will readily know what they will want to do without large $$$.

/Dan
 
#52 ·
Same issue with me. Mine is heat related.

When hot inside car after sitting in sun during hot day:

One push of remote, driver door unlocks, second push only a quiet click without anything else opening. Same with door buttons (driver or passenger). Push to unlock, only driver opens. Push again, just a quiet click.

Once I get home after A/C running or if not real hot, everything works fine.

I am thinking the quiet click is the relay on fuse panel in cab. I am thinking I need to get my head in there while someone else operates. Also, thinking tests with hairdryer, circuit cooler spray, etc.

I have enough data now to talk to the dealer, but not encouraged they will readily know what they will want to do without large $$$.

/Dan
I have the extactly the same problem for my 2003 Camry.
 
#16 ·
One works everytime (the driver) and the other 3 stop/start together usually. Sometimes one might open but rare. Seems to be low current to the 3 doors when the inside of the car is hot (some noise, but not strong enough to unlock but doors will lock if manually unlocked). The electrical charts seems to narrow down to one pin on the ECU. Don't have the chart with me right now to list the point. Does not even seem to be narrowed to one connector since the back doors and passenger door share on different cables for some funtions. /Dan
 
#17 ·
Here's something I just discovered: I had an ignition mute installed ages ago where, if the car was locked with the remote and entered by any other way (including key in the door) the ignition doesn't get any juice unless you also press a button under the dash. This has always worked flawlessly. Now, at the same time this "remote can lock/can't unlock" started, the car will start without using the button.

Sound like a dirty solenoid? Or wire issue?

Thanks! : )
 
#18 ·
This problem usually requires replacement of the entire fuse panel under the dash $$$$600.00++
There is a relay board inside the fuse panel and one of the tiny relays goes bad causing the 3 door fault (R/F, R/R & L/R) on a 4-door Camry. The driver door is not affected because this circuit board is where the two-click feature for the remote control is separated from the all-lock/all-unlock that is normal with the lock buttons. You can tap on the fuse panel while pushing the unlock button and the locks will begin working for a short time. The circuit board can be removed separately but Toyota only sells the whole fuse panel.
 
#20 · (Edited)
about ten minutes to pop the arm rest out and put it back in. Unfortunately this did not solve the problem. It may for some of you though. All you have to do is pop out the soft rubber insert in the arm rest to reveal a screw. Remove the screw and place a slotted screwdriver under the plastic piece of the armrest. Place the screwdriver under the plastic away from the hinge side of the door and push in and pop it up.
Your post was exactly what I needed. I popped the arm rest off and found that the electrical harnness had simply jiggled apart. easy fix. woo hoo! Now I can go cancel the extended warranty that I just got scared into buying.
 
#21 ·
unlocking problem

I have a variation on this problem on my 2003 camry LE 4 cylinder. When the interior gets very hot, like on a mid-90s day, sitting in the sun, even w/ the windows cracked. The remote unlocks all of the doors EXCEPT the driver's door and sets off the alarm. I can open the ds door with the key, turn on the power, but the engine will not turn over. And when I try to do this, the alarm goes off again. It will work again when the interior cools down. I don't have this problem when the car is in the garage or sitting in full shade, or if the outside temp is in the 80s. Both Toyota and a reputable expert speculated that it is the ds door actuator. ANy thoughts of suggestions? Thanks.
 
#22 ·
I'm in Florida and have to give up using my automatic locks during the summer months unless it's below 85 during the morning or evening. I spoke to a friend at Toyota and he just shook his head when he heard about how MANY others are having the same trouble. He offered me the opportunity to have a technician check it out. I couldn't turn him down and the technician told me it was a faulty solenoid in the driver side power lock/window switch. He said just go buy one on ebay and see if that fixes the problem. Guess I'll let you all know how it goes.
 
#25 ·
My 2003 camry, when you pull the key out, you have to put a little pressure down, because the car will think that the key is still in the ignition, and will beep when the doors open even if i have the key. Therefore not being able to unlock/lock right.

It may not be what your talking about, but its still worth knowing... :) hope things get better with your car m8

Seven
 
#28 ·
Did it work for you guys? I live in Bay Area California, and I have been looking for a fix for this for a while. The door locks don't work on extremely hot days (80 degrees plus) is it an easy fix?
 
#29 ·
Door Locks

My wife's 2002 camry just started having door lock problems. Some doors won't unlock and today she said the divers door lock (she thinks it's the only one) started locking and unlocking continuously. I just checked ebay on the circuit module listed in the previous replies and all the reviews were very positive. I might have to get one.
 
#30 ·
I'm highly considering getting Fran's ebay item, but even though $75 is reasonable for some, it's still a bit pricey for me. Although right now is the best time to get it with all the extreme heat. I might have to get one soon. Just wish it was $35 instead of $75
 
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