Center Compartment Latch Repair

!!!!!! Thank you !!!!!! This is what make the forum great

 

I don't know why it took me 4 months to do this 15 min fix...but I'm glad I did. I'm still not used to the latch not flying off every time I open the console. Thank u to all!

 

this guy has a good question. apparently his flew off before he bought his and no longer has a button. anyone know where he could get one without gettin a whole new console?

 

I just used 2 little tiny screws from my 1/10 scale model car tool kit.

 

Thanks for the post. Took about 10 minutes total (about 5 min for the fix itself. No screws or nails to mess with. Pretty clean install. Once the paper clip cools, it sits snug with no play

My Easy fix

1. take latch off
2. cut a pen spring and widen one side to slip over the retainer
3. place the 2 pieces together and tape in the closed position
4. locate where the 2 original pins broke off
5. heat up a paper clip and melt it into the original pin pisition
6. allow to cool and snip off excess with side cutter
7. repeat #5 for the other side
8. reinstall

 

Haha good memories with these trucks.

When I had the center console latch on my '05 fail, I ended up using a spring from a clicky pen and packing tape to patch it up.

Worked for several years.

 

thanks so much for yet another easy fix!!! i tried calling about 30 different junk yards when mine broke yesterday and got no results! i really didnt wana spend close to $400 at the dealer for an entire new center console when its just a lil plastic button. this works great and will last longer than then factory set up, thats for damn sure! and buy the way i went to an ace hardware with the exact parts list and everything was easy peeezzzzyyyy!!! Thanks again!!!

 

Just did this and couldn't be happier, true value hardware was the ONLY place in town that had this size tap and set screws. Lowes and Home Depot weren't even close..

Thanks again! And I know I am going to baby this latch still haha

 

This poor dude bought the truck with the button missing.
Is there a place to purchase just the button and make this work?

 

This little issue has been my biggest PITA. Bought the truck used and the last sole lost the spring and then put some rubber gunk in the hole where the spring should go. I always wondered why the latch worked so poorly and just thought it was just one of the compromises Toyota made to keep our truck marketable.

When I fixed this issue it was WOW, that's what it should be like. Thanks to all the input.

What I did was to remove the gunk from the hole, file down the remaining catch that wasn't broken off, drill a 5/64 hole where each catch use to be, go to OSH and buy a package of #3 x 3/8" round head wood screws (PN 41441), get a skinny spring from a cheap pen, cut aprox 1/4" off the spring, and assemble like the directions.

I can see most of these methods to work just fine. I chose this way so it would be easy to repair if I ever had to do so.

Isn't it amazing how the little things can bug you the most and how happy they can make you when working correctly.

 

No, aside from a junk yard, you can buy just the lid without the whole center console, but not just the button.

 

The same thing happened to me from the original posting by proformance
I ended up using the same size screw but with a pointed tip and used a drill press for a tap then the screw.

Anything >3/8" won't fit and the width of the screw has zero room for error (clearance in the track on either side of the screw). I ended up filing on either side to give more room due to the screw not set exactly right. Took about 10 min since I'm trying to get this perfect the first time!

When the plastic part wore off, the spring was lost. The perfect solution was nearby in the form of a "Bic clic stic" pen. However, one word of caution, I had to cut off a segment as the entire spring was too tall to allow for opening the latch once in place. One of the pictures shows I installed a ~0.75" piece. It works perfectly, albeit a snug fit (full compression needed to open). You can cut towards a little less if you go this route.

Thanks to all on this thread! It made life a lot easier. TacomaWorld!!.....!!!

 

thank you so much! Mine broke today but i didn't loose the spring. After reading this, I decided to use the paper clip method and it worked like a charm! it took me about 10 min to take it apart fix it and reassemble.

 

Awesome...mine broke and I couldn't believe it was not as simple as just buying the broken latch that is easily removed.
So after reading some good ideas here, a little time, and with some screws I already had, my center console is fixed!
Thanks all!

 

Thanks to this forum and thanks to the original write up and thanks to the photos.
My 05 just popped the latch and lost the spring. I started looking for parts and found out pretty much what everyone else was saying...too mush dollas!

Anyway, thanks for the quick, cheap and effective fix!!! Whoo hoo!! Happy New Year!!! Or...August or whatever.

 

ooh ooh ah ah

 

this method is basically no cost if you have a few supplies and bits of junk laying around the garage

Required Items:

JB Weld (or some other very hard epoxy)
a rusty nail (rust optional)
1 lid from a Hillshire Farm, deli select, ultra thin, roast beef container
1 sacrificial ball point pen (uniball vision worked for me)
1 +3 hammerfist of jerryrigging

Solution:

dismember your ball point pen and remove the wee spring. It needs to be big enough to fit over the nipple (huh huh) in the latch that fell out. Test fit - put it and the latch back into the console top and ensure that it functions properly. Trim spring if needed and retest. Repeat and retest until you are satisfied with the tension of the spring. NOTE it is far easier to cut some more off than to put it back on so cut just a little at a time.

on the lid (and not on the kitchen table, cuz your wife/mother will kill you) mix equal parts of the two JB Weld components with a nail (or sumpin with a fine point)

carefully dab a tiny bit of the mixed JB weld onto the 2 spots where the little plastic tabs that broke off used to be. I matched the width of the tabs. Don't fuss with it, it will lay down and flatten out as it dries so you should have a couple little warts when it is cured.

Learn some patience (it's a virtue) and wait the the full 24 hours that it takes the JB Weld to cure. Admittedly I could not wait this long.

Lightly lube the innards of the latch, put the spring that you probably lost by the time it had fully cured, into the latch, align, and pop them back in with your hammerfist (gently). Mine took very little pressure, but if you make the tabs too big you may have to file them down to prevent breaking any little plastic bits(or you could disassemble it as the other guys on the forum have done).


Buena Suerte

 

Similar experience. Broke the latch. Went to Toyota Parts Counter, and found out I'd have to buy the whole center compartment for $300+. Same at local wreckers, who had the console ($150) but wouldn't sell me just the latch.

Found this thread, and did a modified repair using an old household wire hanger.
-- Used a pin awl to mark the drill spot at the center of the broken catch tangs. Use the awl to create a small spot on the center of the remnants of the tangs. Redo if necessary. Once you're satisfied, move the awl around to enlarge the spot into a detent that the drill bit will stay in.
-- Used a 5/64 drill bit in a Dremel tool with a mini bit chuck installed.
-- Cut two 1/4" pieces off the hanger.
-- Used a lineman's pliers to work the hanger pieces into the drilled holes.
-- Removed the hanger pieces, and reassembled the latch into the housing (remember to reinstall the spring).
-- Pushed the hanger pieces into place, and pushed them down with a small flat blade screwdriver until they are flush with the slot.
-- Reinstalled in the truck, and it's good as new. No!! Better!!

Thanks for the posts. I wasn't about to spend hundreds of dollars on this.

Coolcat Daddyo and his 2005 Salsa Red Tacoma Access Cab

 

This thread was such a tremendous help folks. I had the lid off, two tiny screws installed where the tiny plastic tabs were broken off, & had it re-installed in about 30 mins total. Thanks again!

 

Awesome - thanks for writing this up OP.

Thanks to everyone for input on their mods to a solution as well.

Ended up going the nail route. Works like a charm!!