Lock issues

For the past few days, whenever I unlock my truck and go and open the door, the lock triggers. Could it be that it needs lubrication?
Or maybe she doesnt want to be driven on certain days

 

I've had similar issues on my 2013. For me it doesn't happen though when I go to open the door. I'll unlock the truck and walk away and I'll hear it lock on it's own. At first I thought maybe the fob was being bumped by some other keys in my pocket but then when I was installing my sliders with nothing in my pockets and my keys laying on a table several feet away, it seemed like the truck would lock whenever I was near it or touching the rocker panel......

 

Damn a 2013. Is it still under warranty. I doubt my issue is electrical related. I think it's the mechanism for the lock or something

 

I had a similar issue on the passenger side door. I would pull up on the door handle and it would pull the lock downward.

 

That's exactly what is happening

 

Yours doesn't sound like a problem at all. At least not the first issue you mentioned, where it locks as you walk away. My 2004 will relock if I do not open a door after like 30 seconds after unlocking it with the fob. It appears to be a security feature. But the second issue you mentioned, where it would lock randomly when you were putting the sliders on, that sounds like an issue. Unless you unlocked it via keyfob, put it down and went to work and that same security feature activated. If it was minutes later then yeah sounds like an issue.

 

I have the other issue too that you're talking about. If you unlock it with s key fob and don't open the door. After about 30 seconds it beeps and locks the doors again. And I have a quad cab!

 

That's not an issue. It's a design feature.

 

It's very common on these Tacomas. It's a lack of lube on the mechanicals in the door. All of my Tacomas have had the problem from time to time.

 

Thanks for the clarification Bill!

 

That's news to me....didn't realize the truck locks automatically. Thanks

 

They don't. They re-lock. The description was unlock with fob, but don't open a door in 30 seconds. It then re-locks.

I think the idea is if you lock it, walk away and bump the unlock, it's a protection, 'cause you actually didn't open the vehicle.

Another feature is the one press opens the driver door only, two presses to open all. This is a safety factor to prevent someone else in a parking lot from jumping in your vehicle from the other side. There is a way to alter that to open all doors with one press, but I'm not that lazy.

What I'm describing is on my '04 Highlander and my '13 Tacoma both. (the '13 is a base with no funky whizz bang features. Thankfully)

 

Yeah sorry - meant re-lock.

 

Just to throw in more proof, my wife's RAV4 re locks if you don't get to it fast enough. Makes for a fun little game if you unlock it inside and don't take the keys out with you.

 

Isnt that a super wft moment when you lift the handle just to watch the friggin lock go down? Lol. Ive fought that before, its definitely just a lack of lube in there. The first time i took the door panel off to fix it. The last time (different truck) i was able to spray some penetrating lube in there and after a couple hours it leached to that area and lubed it up for me. I sprayed down next to the lock tab on the door and then i lifted the exterior handle and was able to stick the extension tube from the aresol can in there at various angles and was able to git er dun without panel removal.

 

So is it safe to say wd 40 would cure this problem

 

For a while it would work. A true lubricant would have a much longer period of keeping things working smoothly. On my first try at that issue i applied a smidgen of grease to the affected spot via my finger after fighting the door panel. Then as i mentioned earlier i sprayed penetrating lube down the interior door lock and inside the exterior handle(just enough room to slip the lil red straw into the door with the handle slightly opened). That was much easier and worked like a charm...

 

Sounds easy enough. Will tackle this on the weekend. The passenger door doesn't want to lock with the key. so i suspect lubrication issues as well

 

Its hard to remember where exactly the affected spot was but it seems like it was just a couple inches straight down from the opening you will have from the right side of the exterior handle opening. Also of you are able to get enough juice to go down the linkage from the interior lock tab it should also leech down to the dry spot and fix the issue. Hit both spots though of course.

 

WD 40 is not a lubricant. Use a spray lubricant. Like others have said, it may need to wick into the specific area.