Problem with my door lock/latch

I have an '01 Tacoma SR5 with power windows & locks. The driver door handle has stopped opening the door. The problem has progressed from bad to worse. At first it would open it part way (just a crack), but the lock button would go down and then it would be stuck. I could still open it if I pulled while simultaneously turning the key to get the button up. Now that doesn't work either.

[ Apologies if you read the first version of this post. I learned more a few minutes after posting, so now I'm re-editing. ]

I've verified that there's nothing wrong with the handle itself. (I bought a cheap one, pulled out the old one, and compared the two. I also observed the handle's operation from the inside of the door.) The problem appears to be at the other end of the linkage between the handle and latch.

The handle drives a simple lever that pushes down on a rod to release the latch. In this picture you can see the bottom of the rod has a long slot in it (just left of the lock cylinder). There's a pin (what else to all it?) riding in this slot with what looks to be a nylon bushing. When you lift the handle, it drives a lever that pushes the rod and it's slot down until the pin hits the top of the slot and gets pushed down.



Given that all the handle does is push down on the rod, I would think that I could grab it from the inside (with the handle removed), push down on it, and the latch would release. No such luck. FYI, the interior door handle releases the latch just fine, but it attaches to the latch in a completely different place. You can see that orange attachment point in the upper left corner of the picture.

Operating the interior door handle pulls up on the opposite end of the lever that the pin is part of, so the pin goes down when you pull on (open) the interior door handle. For some reason, pushing down on that lever from the pin end doesn't work. (Maybe I should also mention that the power locks work correctly.)

My real dilemma is that, although I've located the area where there's a problem, I don't truly understand the problem. And even if I did, if the problem is deep in the latch, I don't know how in hell to get those parts out to attempt a repair. There are some star drive bolts in the end of the door, but the whole thing is hidden behind sheet metal that makes it hard to imagine how you'd remove it, much less get it back in with all its linkages.

So, I come begging for wisdom. Any suggestions?

Thanks,
Dan

 

My 04 can be hard to open sometimes but I found it to be the latch on the door jamb had lost a bolt and was crooked. Might check and see how the door closes on that or if maybe your door is tweaked a little from use and sagging.

 

Thanks BossFoss, I'll check that out. However, I think the catch on the jamb is not the problem (or not the whole problem), because I'm able to reproduce the problem (failure to release the catch in the door itself) with the door open. In particular, the inside door handle works perfectly and the outside one does nothing useful. No sign of sagging either that I can see.

 

Yeah mine does the same sometimes. Inside is fine but from the outside I have to push in on the door as I pull the handle up to get it to open. I bought it with the door smashed a little so I've never attempted a fix because I figure it's cause the door is tweaked.

 

I have the Haynes repair manual and it spends all of 3 sentences describing how to remove the door latch. That's entirely inadequate for a newbie like me. I guess I'm at least encouraged to believe that it CAN be removed, but I have no idea how to reach some of the bits they tell you to disconnect. Google and youtube have been no help either. I'm reasonably brave (foolhardy?) but given the risk of windup with a door that won't latch at all, I'm not going to dig into this without some more explicit instructions.

Anybody?

 

Lol yeah Haynes is a disappointing book with a lot of things. "Seek professional help for further instructions." Thanks Haynes.

 

I don't know how helpful this will be for you, but, here goes. I had the exact same problem a few years ago, (outside handle didn't work, inside did) and for the life of me couldn't find a write-up on removing the latch. Also, this happened ~2 years ago so I can't remember specifics, but the latch mechanism unbolts at the outside end of the door, you should have 3? clips that release the linkages, then it should pull right out. I hope you have the hands of an 8 year old girl cause it's not gonna be easy.

You say there's a nylon washer on the linkage, which now finally explains what my problem was. Mine did not have the washer so the slot was effectively too long to fully engage the latch. Therefore my door would not open. It may be that you just need a new nylon thingy, but I wound up putting a tack weld on the upper end of the slot, effectively shortening it and have had zero problems since.

In any event, the latch can be tricky to put back together because of the tight confines and plethora of linkage, but it's very doable.

I'd also recommend cleaning and re-lubing the latch mechanism while it's out.

Hope this helps!

 

Thanks for your reply. I don't know whether to feel stupid or clever, but definitely lucky. After reading your reply I took another look to verify whether my problem is like yours (and whether your fix might work for me). After poking around a little I decided to just hose it all down with some WD40, just to see. Worked like a charm! Why didn't I do this in the beginning? So, problem solved, at least for a while.

 

Hey hey not so fast. What did you oil down? The washer?
Mine is doing the same thing. Unlock the door with the fob I can see the lock is up. Pull the handle and I can see the lock go down. That's what yours was doing ?

I will give the oil a look tomorrow.

 

I sprayed pretty much the entire portion of the latch mechanism that you can see in my photo, but I wasn't very tidy about it. I also sprayed the latch from the outside end of the door. Good luck.

 

Whew! Finally found some info on this same problem!!! My '99 has been doing the same thing lately, when I try to open the passenger door using the outside handle, the lock re-engages, and I have to use the key again to unlock it so I can fully open the door.

Did the oil method last for you guys? Did you have to re-oil the mechanism? Any other solutions that you came up with?

Thanks.

 

Take the entire mechanism out of the door. It is a little work but the results will be worth it. I dump some gas or solvent in a small tub and let it sit for a minute or 2 then rinse it off in hot water then blow it dry with compressed air. I have some 3 - 1 oil and I lube all moving pieces then put some white grease on all the moving parts. When done I can open the door from the outside lifting with 1 finger. At the same time look at the plastic guides that guide the interior door pull to see if they are broken. If they are AND you have power locks it will intermittently unlock using the power locks.

 

Cool. Thanks for the tips. Will tackle this project soon.

 

For what it's worth, my door handle/lock is still working correctly 2 years after applying the "hose it all down with WD40" method.

 

@whizfish : I want to say thank you for your post! My door handle physically broke on my 99 Tacoma. When I replaced the broken door handle with a new door handle, whenever I pulled on the door handle, it would engage the lock and I would have to stick my key in the doorlock and try to unlock it again and hope it didn't engage the lock a second time when I tried to pull the handle again. Your solution of spraying WD40 on the linkage mechanism (that you showed in your photo) not only solved the issue, but my handle is now MUCH easier to pull and will make it much less likely to break again since there is much less stress on it when opening my door. THANK YOU!!

 

Glad it worked for you. It's closed to 3 years now and that one squirt of WD-40 has kept my door handle & lock working just fine.

 

If you eventually need to take the latch out of the door to free it up or replace parts, stick your phone in first and take pictures. Im a body tech and I take pictures of everything I work on.t hat way you have a reference on how to put it back together

 

never had this issue with my 2000, but my '04DC has gotten to be a real POS to open from outside which this is an issue for years '01-'04's

(and for some of you early 1st gens apparently ) just got new outside handles And that BS "specialty tool/wrench" they insist you need, on the plus side watched a couple youtube vids and it pretty straight forward , not as bad as it may first appear, now just gotta get my lazy ass out there and do it haha

 

WD40 worked for me too. Thank you!
My 2004 door lock would pull down when I used the outside door handle. Came here after getting locked out with the truck running.

• Take door panel off (drivers side for me)
• carefully pull back plastic near the lock
• Remove the nut and bolt that hold the bottom part of the window track. Nut was under the door panel (top left)DS), bolt is on the outside of the door near bottom.
• Stuff a rag in the door to catch runoff.
• Hose it down with WD40
• wipe off excess
• Spray movie parts with white grease.

Door handle never worked so easy...

While I was in there, I also used silicon spray on the bottom of the Window track rubber. Window was getting a little sticky.

 

@whizfish thanks for your post! I was having this same problem. Just tried your method, and my door handle is like butter!