How to Fix Broken Land Cruiser Door Lock

[@ryanteter]

I appreciate not only the info here, but the raw footage of frustration, success, bleeped out curse words, plastic flying, taking the Lord’s name in vain, and talking to said parts (and yourself). EVERY person who has tackled something like this has had the same frustration, success, said or thought curse words, maybe took the Lord’s name in vain (one shouldn’t), and has talked to the parts and oneself.

[@ravensvc1]

At a little after 24 minutes in and I'm saying "Don't forget to ply in the light". Paused, now waiting to see when/if you notice. The suspense is killin me!

[@thelandcruiserproject]

The courtesy light? You just made me go out and double check!

[@roderikwarhamar5540]

Thank you! I've almost worked up the courage to try this now.

[@thelandcruiserproject]

Just beware of that white bracket.

[@thomass4422]

Outstanding video. Saved me $300.00 buckaroes. Took forever and it worked just fine. Only suggestion was releasing the harness from the actuator. I did not see it but there is a clip to release that. Ned a small flat head to move it. Important for me and I looked on another video who showed it. Once again thanks for taking the time to help your cruiser friends.!!! I also changed out my front speakers when I took on the job. Sound great. BTW-did not test it until I had everything back together. Tense moment. Made it that much better...

[@thelandcruiserproject]

Glad it helped. Those electrical connectors are a total pain. Glad you got it.

[@TB-em6dy]

FYI, the motors are slightly different for later model years. Just started this on my 2004 today and the motor does not have the collar and has a flat portion on the shaft. Keep that in mind for those needing to order parts.

[@thelandcruiserproject]

Yup, well aware. Details are in the video description with a link to a comprehensive thread about the swap.

[@joesangiacomo6]

I’m midway through doing this project myself. Definitely a pain but well worth it. ~12/door instead of 250+ for a whole assembly. Good stuff man!

[@thelandcruiserproject]

I had my rear hatch parked in the sun and the door lock didn't work. At least it's the easiest one. Need to order more motors.

[@philipjcaputo]

Great step by step video. Didn't have an issue with the white plastic piece. I was able to pop the white piece off by using one of the plastic body trim removal tools like a pickle fork.

[@NorthAtlanticIslander]

Just finished my replacement and it all worked great, thanks for the video. My hiccup was disconnecting the wire harness at the bottom of the actuator assembly, I saw yours disconnected but never saw how you did it - was afraid I was going to break some clips but it came straight out with a good tug.

[@thelandcruiserproject]

Nice work!

[@thomass4422]

Big Hiccup here too. Almost forced this but looked at another video which states there is a clip to move to the side with a small flathead screwdriver. Luckily, I looked and used the flathead to move the clip for a quick and easy pull. Do not force it. Great video.

[@ITWorksSoftware]

12:06 On my 91 Land Cruiser I use a little metal paint can opener to get the plastic clips off the metal bars. Works like a charm.

[@thelandcruiserproject]

Does the paint lid opener work on the yellow one at the time stamp that goes through the black part? Or just the white-ish cream one that wraps around the rod?

[@paulstrommer3830]

Thanks for this video. Took my time and everything came apart and went back together perfectly. I think the part was like $10 to my door. will likely order a couple to have on hand. while it was hot i think this is a better summer weather job. I also started at the end of the white plastic cover and pushed from behind while prying with my interior tool. used the heat gun in the middle part for good measure. also used a large flat screwdriver on the actuator and it popped apart clean and easy. the thing snapped solidly together but i sparingly used jbw for added measure.

[@ken-ec9wv]

nice work, i hope mine does not go bad, a lot of work and a hassle for sure, when u were breaking the seam to get too motor i thought u were going too put screwdriver into your hand lol, it’s the first time i’ve seen a 99 cruiser with cloth seats!!! i thought they only came in one flavor 👍✌️,,,, i see otramm commented on one of your videos,, he’s a great person!!! and top technician,, always good too have friends like otramm !! :)

[@thelandcruiserproject]

Good call on the screwdriver in the hand..almost! When I finally got it to crack, it went in too far. No big deal, but that actuator was by far the hardest to crack yet.

[@hassanfakhoury8429]

thanks for the awesome job, I've done the same job on my land cruiser 2001 today and it went just fine. In fact I add a couple of tie-wraps around the actuator after glue them just in case the glue alone does not hold. Again thanks for your video

[@PocketsMcCloud]

Awesome vid! Will be doing this repair soon on my driver rear door. Same problem as yours, on a hot day that door just won’t unlock but in cool conditions it works just fine

[@thelandcruiserproject]

Good luck! I think my rear hatch and rear driver side door need it. Just ordered another four motors.

[@Donquijote007]

Thank you!! done in 3 door and back door LC 98

[@thelandcruiserproject]

Nice work. We're the rear doors easier than the front? Did you break the white plastic things on the fronts?

[@lmnop7098]

Subscribed. This happened to me today. Thanks for the vid!

[@thelandcruiserproject]

Thank you for the subscription and I hope it helps you with the repair. Good luck!

[@DanielTejnicky]

Awesome - I need to take care of that light you disconected xD

[@DanielTejnicky]

No srsly, mine doesn't shine either, for exactly the same reason xD I wonder If I could "just" pop the light out use tweezers to find the cable and connector and connect that without doing "ALL THAT" just to reconnect it. - it looks doable.

[@thelandcruiserproject]

I ended up remembering and it works fine. You might be able to reach of there.

[@Khmer-US]

i did subscribed thanks for video

[@thelandcruiserproject]

Welcome to the party 🎉

[@rahalati]

Thank you so much, that was very helpful . Let me know your thoughts in the following problem. Occasionally when the Back Doors (swing type) of my Land Cruiser LC 100 1998 are open, suddenly the central lock receives wrong signal to lock all doors including the Back Doors which are open as if someone intentionally locked the door with the remote key switch, this happen while the remote key is in my pocket

[@thelandcruiserproject]

I'm not sure, to be honest. Sounds wacky.

[@rbrown1339]

Great video and thanks for doing. A couple of questions: 1. Should I disconnect the battery before starting this? 2. Any thoughts on why the actuator doesn't work in warm/hot weather? Just curious. Thanks again!!

[@thelandcruiserproject]

Yes, I would disconnect the battery. You could likely make the repair without doing so, but it's good practice. On why they act up in warm weather, I'm not certain on the science behind it. The motors might have a cut off when they get too hot to prevent damage?

[@rbrown1339]

@@thelandcruiserproject Thanks for your quick response! Funny about the effects of hot weather. My AC compressor sometimes won't initially engage when it gets real hot outside but does start working once the car is in motion! Never understood why this happens either. Thanks for all your clear and well-presented videos; really helps us novice mechanics. I'm a subscriber!

[@thelandcruiserproject]

Thanks for subscribing! On the HVAC, there is a safety cutoff for temperature in the HVAC system. If the engine/coolant is too hot, it won't run the compressor.

[@rbrown1339]

@@thelandcruiserproject Thanks for the tip; I'll try to isolate that cutoff in my system!

[@tonybertucci9324]

I'm having issues with my 2000 LC right now. ..this video is really helpful, thank you for doing this. I have 1 door and the rear hatch that will not unlock all the way. But what's weirder is I'm having all sorts of erratic behavior from the door locks and alarm system as well (most common being doors repetitively locking themselves on their own, even with the car completely off. Planning on doing actuator motors, but from what you've seen in those assemblies, any idea if there is a lock sensor or something that could go bad?

[@thelandcruiserproject]

so what is likely going on is that your door locks aren't able to tell that they're fully closed or fully open one way or the other, and so replacing those actuators should do the trick.

[@ravensvc1]

Thank you for the info. I'm considering a 100 or 200 series. Having had both do you find you prefer the 100 & why. Any thoughts appreciated.

[@thelandcruiserproject]

You saw my response to your question on the other video?

[@bcatz454]

I have had both. Went from 200 series to 100 series. Depends what era of Toyota you want to be in. They both very different. 100 series I can beat around more and not feel bad while it still stands up to all of it.

[@mannyqalc4624]

Hey man wondering if you could help me out I have a 99LC. When I bought it the key was in bad shape so I got a locksmith he cut a new Original key for me and programmed however it rarely ever works to lock or unlock the doors. The guy tried for a while and was not able to figure out why. The motors work since I can lock and unlock from the driver door but I haven’t been able to see why the key fob won’t. Any help is appreciated

[@thelandcruiserproject]

Does the key fob work at all for locking and unlocking the doors? You can email me at thelandcruiserproject at gmail for follow up.

[@rbrown1339]

Thanks again for the great video. Question: Does this same fix work for rear door locks as well? Regards.

[@thelandcruiserproject]

I believe so. Slightly different access but I think the motor is the same. I'll be doing it soon for my rear hatch and one of the rear doors to confirm.

[@rbrown1339]

@@thelandcruiserproject Thanks, look forward to it!

[@sergionunez8646]

Thanks for the info. Its shame I did not see it sooner, as I already bought the replacement motor, but not the one with the brass collar. (the car is my daily driver and the problem door is the drivers, so I dont want to pop it open and have to wait a couple days for the replacement to put it back together). Can the brass collar from the original motor be pulled out to be used on the new motor?

[@thelandcruiserproject]

In the video description I linked a thread on ih8mud.com with 32 pages of detail and discussion. I found this post (#89 in that thread) that might help: forum.ih8mud.com/threads/door-lock-actuator-replacement.237827/page-5#post-4866292

[@carlososorto721]

Excelente good job 👍

[@thelandcruiserproject]

Thanks for the visit

[@mizznfizz1]

Easier to get the door card on/off with the window rolled down. I did this on my drivers side but planning on doing the camry motor assembly upgrade on the other doors. Replacing my door lock sensors is next though as my motors seem fine but alarm keeps going off because it cannot sense what the position is.

[@thelandcruiserproject]

If you roll down the window to get the door card off, the window has to go back up to get the actuator out, right?

[@mizznfizz1]

@@thelandcruiserproject Yeah but it is super easy to just plug the switch control back in and roll it up. You can just leave the switch control hanging. And I broke the same stupid white "guide" piece on the door.

[@mizznfizz1]

LOL.. and just realize that you are another "Brother of the Cloth".... Got grey cloth interior myself!

[@thelandcruiserproject]

Right! We just messaged each other on Ih8mud the other day. You found me!

[@mchestnut45]

Great video thanks for doing this - could you provide a link to the motor that you used? Mud seems to suggests an eBay 4 pack for ~$20, I’m wanting to make sure I get the brass ring version that you went with...

[@thelandcruiserproject]

I have had luck with these, I have also heard that some later Land Cruisers might use the style without the collar. www.ebay.com/itm/282890358233

[@mchestnut45]

@@thelandcruiserproject thanks for the link - ordered these and installed yesterday. The video was fantastically helpful, and I avoided snapping the white thing in half! The heat gun came in clutch there. I'd say the most challenging part was extracting the actuator unit. Once it was out, cracking the case and swapping out the motor was cake. For anybody considering dropping the $125 for the new actuator unit on rockauto vs. $20 for 4 replacement motors, don't spend the $125 because it really doesn't save much time. I cracked mine with a flathead screwdriver, inserting at the seam and giving a small/low force pry at about 10 locations. It easily popped open, unplugged the old motor, plugged in the new motor, JB welded back together, ate dinner while it cured, and then put everything together again, testing the lock and window along the way to make sure it all worked before it was all back together as you demonstrated. I only had a momentary heart attack on the first test when it didn't work, and I forgot I had the tailgate open. Thanks again, whats your mud handle so I can give you a shout out? I already posted your video I just don't know how to tag you...

[@thelandcruiserproject]

I'm @clayinho on mud

[@IronMountainPlumbing]

I got my new one in and tested. It sounded like it was stripping inside of the casing. Now i need to take it back off again. Why did this happen??

[@thelandcruiserproject]

How'd you seal the casing up (assuming you broke the casing apart)? It sounds like the two pieces of the actuator housing didn't stay bonded together.

[@IronMountainPlumbing]

@@thelandcruiserproject i used JB weld. It still locks and unlocks but on unlock it sounds like it’s gonna blow up the whole thing lol

[@thelandcruiserproject]

That's how mine sounded when the two halves didn't stay together. You'll have to pull it back apart and investigate.

[@johneraygonzales8142]

👍👍

[@DanielTejnicky]

HAH back again on this video xD Hello! I managed to rip-off one of the cables (the one leading to the handle) I was just exiting the car, and the cable snapped - right behind the handle behind the L . I tried and look for new cable but it almost seems like they sell the entire assembly which is -_- any tips to how to fix that cable?

[@thelandcruiserproject]

You could try and find some cable crimps at your local hardware store perhaps? Weld it? Depends though on how the cable broke. If it's frayed you might have to cut too far to get to clean ends to join.

[@DanielTejnicky]

@@thelandcruiserproject yeah its frayed like a flower xD I talked to my toyota guy, he sais he probly has some spare laying around. So I am maybe saved xD

[@weewee9464]

Really awesome! Can you please send me the exact link on eBay for the motor?

[@thelandcruiserproject]

www.ebay.com/itm/282890358233

[@weewee9464]

Thank you so much

[@thelandcruiserproject]

Added it to the description. Need to be better about that. Thanks for the reminder and thanks for watching.