99 Solara both doors will not unlock even manually!

[kxmith]

Hi. I haven't been driving my car this school year.. so it sat for about 3 months (I did go out and start it though). Then in Jan we had a terrible bout of cold weather and it must've totally killed my battery because it wouldn't start (there are multiple cars on my street that also wont start up). Well I waited a couple days and went out again to try it (was going to call for a jump) when both doors wouldn't unlock. I am not using the remote... they won't unlock manually by the key. I had no money to even try to do anything about this when it happened a month ago....but now I am trying to get to the bottom of this. The weather has been above freezing for the past 2 weeks.

Any ideas?

Also, I wanted to get in there to replace the battery, but can't unlatch the hood. Does anyone know where the emergency release latch is?

THANK YOU!!

kerri

[toyomoho]

Spray deicer into the key hole in the lock.

Try another key.

There is no emergency latch.

The link below discribes the lock system for Camry which is almost the same car.

http://www.autozone.com/addVehicleId...00c15280092ad7

[JHC]

May I suggest you call a locksmith before you do costly damage to your car. The typical way this scenario develops is that the driver uses their remote to unlock the doors upon entering and to lock the doors when leaving. The manual "key actuated" cylinder never gets used, and becomes corroded. The cylinder is now effectively fused and will not turn (you may even break a key off). The possible solutions involve getting the hood to open (it may be possible) so that jumper cables can be applied and then using the remote to operate the doors electrically. Alternatively, a professional using a "lock-out" tool, may be able to go down beside the window and unlock the mechanism. A locksmith might also be able to use some sort of chemical to try and free up either the driver or passenger door lock cylinder. 2 cylinders = 2 chances to get something to work.

If you have AAA or some other roadside assistance plan, they may be able to provide someone to unlock the door using the special tool and give you a jump.

I have worked as a mechanic for many years, and this is one case where I call on the professionals. You can do a lot of damage if you don't know what you are doing. There are ways to grab the hood-release cable, or trip the release mechanism for the hood and that is the only route I might try myself. Once you are under the hood, the jumper cables should make the locks work just fine.

[kxmith]

I just wanted to say that the locks were frozen. We had a few warm days and that was all it took to get those doors back to normal. The battery is still dead though. Will get a new one tomorrow and hope that all is well!

Thank you!!