Doors locking randomly

Recently the last couple months my doors have been locking themselves sometimes rapidly and have no apparent pattern. Some days they’re fine, others they go crazy. I got a new driver door about a year ago but haven’t gotten problems till now so I’m not sure if it has anything to do with that. What do you guys think?

 

Low battery in the key fob???

 

My truck does this. Never leave the keys in the truck.

 

truck has corona virus!

 

Mine seem to do this randomly too. I used to think it was like an auto lock on either a timer or a distance thing but like you say, sometimes it does it and sometimes it doesnt. I cant figure out the pattern if there is one at all. And I only have one key/key fob so I do have to be careful and never leave my keys in the truck. Subbed to see if theres any explanation to this madness.

 

So do the locks just lock once, or do they repeatedly keep locking without unlocking, or do they lock unlock lock unlock lock etc... if it's a repetitive action how much time passes between the repeating action?

 

For me it's just a single lock and beep.

 

Most likely your truck has an aftermarket or dealer installed keyless entry or alarm.

Passive locking is when a keyless entry/car alarm automatically locks the doors approximately 30-60 seconds after the truck has been parked and the dome light has turned off. It is a programmable feature.

Auto locking is when a keyless entry/car alarm locks the doors after the ignition key is turned on and it usually occurs 5-30 seconds after the key is turned to on and the doors are shut. It is a programmable feature.

A picture of the remote control is worth a thousand words.

 

Programmable is in the dealer has to program it into the coding or programmable as in if I am being crazy and hit the lock button 5 times instead of once, itll turn the feature on/off? Heres my key/fob

 

I'd yank the battery from the fob and see if it stops.

 

my key fob only works if its around 70° outside, and i live in nh so generally im using my actual key...

and before you guys get here, no its not the fob battery... been replaced multiple times with no luck in the year ive owned it. i think its whatever sensor thats actually in the truck.

 

What the service manual says about automatic locking doors.

Automatic lock function:
If no doors are opened within 30 seconds of being unlocked by wireless door lock remote control, all doors lock again automatically.

Repeat function:
If a door is not locked in response to locking operation of transmitter, multiplex network body ECU outputs lock signal after 1 second.
( My Note Here: Each door lock assembly has a switch that signals that the door is locked or unlocked. If the motor is actuated and the switch doesn't indicate properly the commanded position it will repeat the command.)

 

That's the same one my truck has. I went through my old comments to find the model number but couldn't find the post I wrote that had the model. Give me a couple hours (shower, get dressed, etc) and I'll pull mine to get the model number and programming instructions for you.

It is definitely not the remotes battery.

Most alarms are programmed using a programming switch, the ignition key, and the dome light switch in the door jam.

It usually is a new occurrence after the vehicles battery has been disconnected.

 

Most likely cracked solder joints within the car alarm/keyless entry control module. They'll be difficult to see without a magnifying glass. The cracked solder joints could be in the remote control but I doubt it. Usually when it's in the remote control it's the solder joints on the pc board for the battery contacts.

 

Unhook the car battery, wait, reconnect and see if this resets something

 

FOB Programming:

There are four different programming commands when setting up or verifying your remote transmitter, they are:

1. Add mode, used to add a remote to your car that is not currently registered.
2. Rewrite mode, used to erase all previously registered remotes and allow you to begin again the programming process.
3. Confirmation mode, used to verify the number of remotes that are already programmed in your car.
4. Prohibit mode, to prohibit all remotes from operating the door locks.

https://www.carandtruckremotes.com/...eplacement-keyless-entry-control-remotes.html

Procedure To Program Toyota Wireless Remote Transmitters:

Begin with: The driver's door open and unlocked. Key out of the ignition.

1. Insert and remove the key from the ignition switch 2 times within 5 seconds.

NOTE: Steps 2 and 3 should be performed within 40 seconds.

2. Close and open driver's door TWICE.

3. Insert the key into the ignition and remove it.

NOTE: Steps 4 - 6 should be performed within 40 seconds.

4. Close and open the driver's door twice.

5. Insert the key into the ignition.

6. Close the door.

NOTE: Steps 5 and 6 should be reversed for the following models ONLY (close door first, then insert key into ignition):

2000 - 2005 Celica

2001 - 2003 Prius

2001 - 2005 ECHO

2001 - 2005 RAV4

2003 - 2004 Avalon

7. Turn the ignition switch from "Lock" to "On" and back to "Lock" at about 1 second intervals to select the desired mode:

1 time for ADD mode.

2 times for REWRITE mode.

3 times for CONFIRMATION mode.

5 times for PROHIBITION mode.

8. Remove the key from the ignition.

9. To confirm your mode selection, the power locks will now cycle "lock" to "unlock" a number of times corresponding to your key cycles in step 7.

NOTE: If Confirmation or Prohibition modes have been selected, opening the door will complete the procedure.

10. For Add or Rewrite modes do the following within 40 seconds of Door

Procedure Lock confirmation:

A. Press both car transmitter Lock and Unlock buttons simultaneously between 1 and 1.5 seconds and release.

B. Within 3 seconds of step A, press the transmitter Lock button for more than 1 second and release.

If the keyless entry remote transmitter has been successfully programmed, the power locks will cycle "lock" to "unlock" once at this time.

If there are problems with the remote transmitter or the procedure up to this point, the locks will cycle twice. If this occurs, verify that you have received the correct transmitter, and then repeat the above procedure.

C. If multiple remotes are to be reprogrammed, repeat steps A and B.

11. Open the driver's door to conclude programming mode.

 

I'm suspicious of the fob itself since its easily the most abused part of the whole system, and its the easiest thing to check.

 

I personally would examine the solder joints within the remote specifically where the contacts for the battery are soldered to the board. It is also possible that the connection of the battery is poor because the spring loaded contacts have weakened. I have had good success at making that contact point reliable by putting a small piece of wire insulation between the case of the remote and the battery contacts (don't have copper wire within the insulation, just the insulation is all that i would use).

 

The alarm owners manual in pdf form:

http://mikehmayer.com/stuff/xB/KARR 4040a.pdf

If the alarm is locking the doors and chirping the horn after the vehicle has been turned off it is called passive arming and it can be programmed to not do it. Refer to the owners manual.

If the alarm is locking the doors when the truck is started its called key on locking I believe, either way it's also in the owners manual.

The programming switch on my truck is on the back of the housing that houses the blue LED.


If your truck has a red LED the switch can either be separate or the LED itself can be a dual function piece. To determine if your trucks red LED is a programming switch lightly push on the LED, if it is spring loaded it is a dual function LED, if it does not move by lightly pushing on it then the alarm has a separate programming switch.

These are on the cheaper side of car alarms. In the past 6 months mine has passively armed twice even though it is not programmed to do it. If your alarm is a lot more intermittent I would look for Scotch locks in the installation and remove and replace them all with T taps or butt connectors.

Programming the remote will have no affect on the locks, the alarm must be programmed and not the remote being programmed.

 

There is a specific occurrence of events that are required for some alarms to passively lock/arm.

Most, but not all, require the vehicle to be shut off, the door opened, the door closed, and then not reopening the door until it has passively armed. If the door is reopened most will not passively arm.