Door latch won't fully release

On my 2001 Prerunner both passenger doors have a problem with the door latch not fully releasing after opening the door. This results in the door not closing smoothly or not at all until you push the latch up with your finger.

Any suggestions?

 

Get a remote control finger.

 

take the door panel off, clean it and - hit it with WD40

 

there may be a worn out retension spring inside, causing it to not spring back and making you manually apply force.
only one way to find out....start wrenching!

 

looks pretty dirty in there, these things need grease so they can move easy and try some oil and work it a lot with your hands. if it doesn't start working better replace them before the door stops opening on you. springs rarely if ever go bad so if it quits working its worn and is trash and not something you can take apart clean up and fix. they aren't hard to change.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RpesvWO_-98

 

I have the same problem.

 

So I'd like to replace the two rear latches and I want to make sure I have the correct part number when I order them. I assume it's #6 on the following diagram:

http://tps.toyotaofdallas.com/parts...siteid=214074&vehicleid=69996&diagram=8510476

Why would one side be so much more expensive?

 

they rarely fail so why not go to the salvage yard and get them?

both can be had for around $5 each

there are 2 main places that cover most areas of the country:

pull-a-part or pick-a-part


google both and see which one is in your area. you go there and take the parts off yourself so bring your own tools and they don't allow kids so leave kids younger then 16 at home. the parts need to be for your generation truck so 96-04 should fit yours and they will give you a map showing how many they have on the lot and where they are at. also check to see if your part number matches other trucks like 4runner rav4 or highlanders so you have those as options as well. im sure door latches are pretty generic and the same for most truck or suv like vehicles of that year.

its a good idea to bring your old ones with you to be certain you have an exact match with the linkages and all that so it fits.

there is no way in hell I would buy new ones at $80 each

 

I normally wouldn't pay that much either but I'm not in the US so I can't easily find a salvage yard.

 

ah ok, have you checked the for sale section? lots of people sell off truck parts from wrecked trucks.

what year and model is yours? maybe someone here has the parts you need, also check ebay for used parts

 

Derp for bringing up an old thread BUT I have the same issue and after searching a fair amount I still have a question on the issue.

Is it the actual spring inside that causes this issue of the little latch not retracting all the way or is it the actual actuator itself?

 

I was in my door panel today replacing my door handle because it wouldn't lift up anymore, while is in their I sprayed all the mechanisms with WD40. Now everything works great. I seem to remember a spring in there, and if it is grimed up it might not be rebounding. Accessing that area may be difficult though, I didn't really look.

 

Sorry to bump an old thread but has anyone figured it out exactly? My back right door latch doesn't return to the normal position and now my back left is starting to do the same :/

 

some people have had good luck lubing it inside and out with WD-40. I prefer to take it all the way apart and clean all the old grease and dirt that has accumulated over the last 18 years. At the same time you can clean and lube the glass rubber and clean and lube the window lift/sissor mechanism, kind of a "door maintenance". Dont be surprised if your door closes better and your power windows work quieter after. You should be able to use your little finger to lift the door external latch to open the door when done.

 

Needs cleaned and lubed.wd40 is garbage

 

Lube won't do a thing :-(
It's destroyed! All the plastic case around the latch came out!
But thanks anyway
Just really need to find out if the right front is the same as the right back???
Still awaiting a reply! 1998 to 2004 same parts. But I cannot find the rear door latches, is it due to the fact that the back and front are the same?

 

Used to have this issue, some WD 40 and working it into some consistent opening and closing did the trick. Every once and a while it'll catch but it is essentially a non-issue now!

 

Thanks but any kind of lube will not work as all the plastic case around the hing is destroyed and came out.
Spent hours,,,like 4 hours and called a few places. No one has the back door hinges!!!
Only OEM at $198.00!!!!! Crazy as the front ones are only 50 bucks
And I did find out that in fact the front ones will NOT fit the rear :-(