My driver side door is locked and closed. The lock/unlock mechanism on the inside of the door (For the driver door only) doesn't unlock it. It only goes about 3/4 of the way to unlock position but won't go all the way to the unlock position. The master lock/unlock switch on the driver door will lock/unlock all the other doors. It will also put the driver door lock into the full lock position and when I switch it to the unlock it will flip the driver door switch to the 3/4 unlocked position but just won't go the full unlocked position. So, my driver door is closed, locked and I can't unlock it. Any suggestions on how a somewhat handy DIY guy can get his driver door open under the conditions outlined above???
I got the trim off and can now see that there is nothing physically blocking the lock from unlocking. It just appears that the lock is frozen in the locked position and, unfortunately, with the door closed. Now, there wasn't a period of time prior to this where the lock was sticking. It simply was working one day and then stuck.
I have a 92 Previa and had the EXACT same problem, just got it fixed today for $160 CDN. Inside the door below the door handle there is a small spring in the door mechanism, which was broken. I took it in to the dealer and they replaced the spring and all is well.
I noticed the broken spring when I took off the door panel from the inside at home. The mechanic had no idea what was wrong until I told him to look for the broken spring. He found it and then somehow worked the latch to open the door. He then examined the passenger side door to see how the spring was supposed to be attached and hooked up the new one. Given my assistance I think I should have got a discount but didn't get one!
Yep, since my last post I was able to get the door unlocked and open and found that as long as I don't try to open the door while it's locked the door lock works fine. There is something that happens when the door is opened, when it's locked, that pushes a widget on the door latch that needs a spring to push the widget back into place to allow the door to be unlocked. Thanks for the info about looking for the spring (or replacing) and using the passenger door as a guide for the spring placement Brad! Will try that. I just had figured the spring was internal in the latch assembly.
The door lock is fixed thanks to bradstep! I found the broken spring in the bottom of the door. I couldn't find a replacement at any of the hardware or auto stores I went to so I went to an auto dismantler and found a 91 Previa! Unfortunately, both doors had broken springs or they were already snagged by other Previa owners! I did find an 80 something Previa there and got the spring off of it. It was similar to the 91 just thinner gauge steel coil. Had to do a little modification in order to put the spring on my door lock but it worked.
I used a throttle return spring cut it to length bent the ends around were needed and installed with looong needle nose pliers.
Springs----> $2.99 (pack of two will do Previa spring three times thicker gauge)
Needle nose pliers ----> you need a good long set anyway
Time -----> about a half an hour.
Not having to walk around to the passenger side and enter vehicle and shimmy behind over to drivers seat -------> PRICELESS
-Joel
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1985 Toyota Supra 7mgte swap with SP61
1991 Toyota Previa
I have a 92 previa that has the same problem. The dealer charged me $85 US for "analysis" and then gave me a quote for $500 US to fix the problem. They said the door needs a new actuator. Based upon these posts, I have to believe it's merely the spring. Any ideas as to how I can get a new actuator without going to this particular dealer?
Technically he's right. Toyota doesn't sell the spring by itself so you need to buy the whole actuator to get the spring you need. Or you can go get a spring yourself and put it in. I found my spring on an older Toy van in a Pick n' Pull salvage yard. First you need to retrieve the broken spring in the bottom of your door to get an idea of how big the spring is so you can replace it. I had my 15 year old daughter fish it out because my arm was to big to get it to the bottom of the door. The next thing is to determine where the spring goes on the actuator. You can look at the other door for that. Now my 91 had a metal flange covering most of the actuator probably as an anti lock picking device so I had to drill a bunch of wholes in it in to weaken it so I could bend it out of the way in order to get the new spring on. Taking the actuator off seemed to be such a pain due to the small space you have to work in. So with that metal flange out of the way, putting the new spring on was a breeze using needle nose pliers. If you still have locking hemostats from your teenage years, they would work fine too. On the driver side, the spring attaches on the upper left side of the actuator. Good luck!
Or you can make your own spring like suprasman01 did. You just need to find the broken spring in the bottom of your door to get an idea of how big it is.
Glad to help. Forgot to mention, when you fish out the broken spring out of your car door you'll see how thick gauge of steel they used to make it. Don't know why they made it soo thick. I can assume with the amount of people that seem to be having the same problem with the springs Toyota used for this application that they used some sort of brittle steel springs. The spring I got off an older (87?) model Previa door was much smaller gauge steel and more flexible. It seems to be working just fine.
I got the door panel off and even found a 1/2" piece of the spring. I can't seem to figure out where it was attached or even how long it was. Any guidance available, or should I just take the panel off of the passenger door for reference as mentioned in previous posts?
The spring is about 3/4 inch long. The piece that broke of was the hook on the other side of the spring. I would imagine you're holding a spring with a hook at one end, about 5 or 6 coils then it ends with a jagged edge. At least with mine it was. And yes, look at the other door to see where it goes. As you're looking at the actuator in the driver door, the spring will go on the upper left side holding two levers together. It'll probably be on the upper right side on your passenger door. You won't be able to miss it!!
finding a replacement spring was difficult. For me at least. I was stuck on finding one the same size and gauge steel. You don't need it to be the same gauge steel. The length is important. You can try Orchard and Home Depot. They carry springs. I went with a spring that was smaller gauge thickness of steel but was about the same length and it works fine. It's pretty cramped in there so you may have to remove or adjust the anti-lock picker flange thingy that Toyota put right in the way of you being able to put the spring on. Like I said, I had to drill mine with 5 or 6 holes in order to bend it out of the way so I could put the spring on. I tried to grind it off with a dremel but couldn't get the right angle on it. Also thought of my Makita Sawsall but felt I might damage the actuator behind the flange. I mostly bent the flange thing out of the way because it looked like such a large pain in the a$$ to remove the actuator from the door. There just isn't much room to move around in there as you've probably already noticed!!!
I can't believe it! It worked. I bought a 1/2" spring with two looped ends at my local hardware store for $1.50 and opened up the two ends a bit with my needlenose pliers. I did have to look at the passenger side for reference as to where to attach the spring. I hooked it up in about 15 seconds once I knew where to connect it. One hint for others, it was much easier to get at the whole mechanism with the window down. Thanks again to Scooter for the elaboration on the spring and to the others who posted with their various insights. I feel like stopping by the dealer now and showing them my $1.50 spring vs. their $500 actuator replacement recommendation. But... I won't. I'll simply offer to help other Previa owners in need as you guys did for me. Thanks again. Dave
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