Central Locking Issue

[MACRI]

Hi All,

I was wondering if any of you had come across this issue.

My car's central locking started playing up some months ago. To describe the problem, when I press the keyless entry button to "Lock" the doors, the car flashes indicators twice (after a few seconds) and chirps the horn twice. The doors do not lock (this happens when trying to use the key to manually lock the doors as well).

I have found that trying to lock the doors using the door lock feature inside does the same thing. The doors do not lock, and then the hazards flash followed by the horn chirp.

To sum it up, its exactly what would happen if you were to hold the door open and try to lock the doors. I can confirm there is no "Door Open" indicator on the dash. The problem seems to be getting worse now, to the point I have to leave my car unlocked.

Anyone come across this? Or know what it could be? Fuse maybe? Electrical Fault? I've tried spraying with RP7 on the door latch, but doesnt seem to have any effect.

Any help / suggestions would be great!.. Thanks. Toyota Camry Sportivo 2004 4Cyl Manual Model.

[MACRI]

Hi All,

Just a bit of an update. When I got home yesterday I:

1) Reset ECU (disconnected Battery, etc)

2) Disconnected the "Clock" section of the dash, as I've noticed that’s where the receiver is for the keyless entry. Ensured it was all plugged in properly.

3) Removed and checked all fuses under the bonnet

4) Removed and checked all fuses in the kick panel

5) Re-programmed the key FOB

6) Reset the central locking to 2-stage locking

So far, so good. The car locked and unlocked all night with out any issues.

I'll keep you guys posted as I have a feeling the issue will be back later on in the week.

[Whip Cracker]

Wow... sounds interesting... never heard of this problem before.

Quite detailed on what you did to make sure everything's been reset. Sounds like the ECU needed some time off :)

[mbruce]

Well hopefully it doesn’t happen again. But if it dose you don’t need to leave it unlocked, you can always just lock it the old style way, by pushing the little lock things forward and holding the handle open as you close the door, and just unlock the drivers door via the key.

[the_random_hero]

Check pin switches on the door. If any crap has built up in them, there's a possibility that they can be shorting out to earth (therefore making your car think the doors are still open).

[SLong]

Hi,

Had the same issue as you with my central locking. In the end I just reset it by setting my central locking to 2-stage (drivers door then the rest) and back to the 1-stage locking. After that it's working back to normal... So not sure what happened in the first place but keeping an eye out on it.

CHeers

Hi All,

I was wondering if any of you had come across this issue.

My car's central locking started playing up some months ago. To describe the problem, when I press the keyless entry button to "Lock" the doors, the car flashes indicators twice (after a few seconds) and chirps the horn twice. The doors do not lock (this happens when trying to use the key to manually lock the doors as well).

I have found that trying to lock the doors using the door lock feature inside does the same thing. The doors do not lock, and then the hazards flash followed by the horn chirp.

To sum it up, its exactly what would happen if you were to hold the door open and try to lock the doors. I can confirm there is no "Door Open" indicator on the dash. The problem seems to be getting worse now, to the point I have to leave my car unlocked.

Anyone come across this? Or know what it could be? Fuse maybe? Electrical Fault? I've tried spraying with RP7 on the door latch, but doesnt seem to have any effect.

Any help / suggestions would be great!.. Thanks. Toyota Camry Sportivo 2004 4Cyl Manual Model.

[MACRI]

Looks like the issue has returned ;)

Its on and off again... had a relative of mine contact his friends at Toyota.

At first they said it may have been the Keyless entry remote, after which I told them that the issue was also present sometimes if I tried to lock the doors while driving, so that ruled out the remote right away.

The guys said it may have to do with the Drivers side door. They went on to say if the alignment was out, that that could be causing the issue I am experiencing, because it's going to clock, and when it can't it just beeps. Either that, or the motor on it is dying.

I'm going to try and remove the door trim and grease it up. I'll let you guys know how I go, although I may not get around to doing it until the weekend.

I'll take some shots as I go along... I'm sure it may help someone in the future.....

Cheers!

[Sanctuary]

I doubt its mechanical, i dunno bout the 2005 model but on mine if you try locking the door from inside there should be no horn or hazards. But anyway, the fact that it stopped after resetting the ecu and clock etc makes me think that its more software related. Dunno how thats possible but did u try doing wat u did before to fix it?

[hixsta]

Looks like the issue has returned ;)

Its on and off again... had a relative of mine contact his friends at Toyota.

At first they said it may have been the Keyless entry remote, after which I told them that the issue was also present sometimes if I tried to lock the doors while driving, so that ruled out the remote right away.

The guys said it may have to do with the Drivers side door. They went on to say if the alignment was out, that that could be causing the issue I am experiencing, because it's going to clock, and when it can't it just beeps. Either that, or the motor on it is dying.

I'm going to try and remove the door trim and grease it up. I'll let you guys know how I go, although I may not get around to doing it until the weekend.

I'll take some shots as I go along... I'm sure it may help someone in the future.....

Cheers!

Hi Macri,

I have the exact same problem on my 2003 Altise V6! It seems to be intermittent too, with sometimes I don't have a problem for a week. It can't be related to the door sensors as the interior light goes out just like normal. I used a new iphone on an old radio transmitter and the iphone came up with an interference warning so I thought I had solved it when it was OK for over a week! Now it has returned and I no longer plug in my iphone to the 'itrip' radio transmitter to play my tunes through the radio.

Did you manage to solve your problem? Please help me with an update on yours.

Thanks, hixsta

[hixsta]

2010 UPDATE

It went away it's own!

...for about a year and now it's back again?!? What's with that Toyota??!!

1.press fobkey button when unlocked...

2.gives off beeps as if there is a door left open.

3.check all doors

4.does it again

5.you can lock all four doors by hand, then the fobkey will unlock OK!

6.button inside drivers door does same thing, even when driving!

If anyone knows what to do, please help...

Thanks.

A

[Ronnyboy]

Something similar happened with my 2005 model camry 4 yrs ago when i changed the front two speakers.

The reason this happened was because the lock button hook on the passenger door wasnt in properly causing all four doors not to lock.

You can check the door locks (remove and put back in) especially if u had the speakers changed.

[uzz32]

Hi all,

My 2003 Sportivo developed this problem yesterday, however, I experienced some different initial symptoms.

After I parked my car, I tried to use my power window switches to wind the windows up, but they wouldn't work despite the ignition being in the "on" position. I started the car and tried the windows, but to no avail. I switched the car off and checked the fuses under the bonnet, but could not find anything out of the ordinary. I tried the windows again and they worked! However, my central locking starting playing up and I've been experiencing the very same symptoms everyone has been describing. I have to lock the Camry with my key now. Any ideas?

[hixsta]

However, my central locking starting playing up and I've been experiencing the very same symptoms everyone has been describing. I have to lock the Camry with my key now. Any ideas?

Mate the stuff I described above beeps even if I try and lock with the key. I have to actually lock every door by hand!

What you may have is a simple FOBKey battery failure as they are only supposed to last 4 - 5 years AND Toyota charge about $70-80 for a new FOB key. They cannot be opened and replaced, Grrrr. I've done that one too, the salesman said your lucky it lasted 5 years!

Hope that helps...

BTW: my fault came back again a month ago, did it almost every afternoon and it has now disappeared again and has been working fine for the last 2 weeks. Driving me crazy!

[vickyd18]

Hi All,

I was wondering if any of you had come across this issue.

My car's central locking started playing up some months ago. To describe the problem, when I press the keyless entry button to "Lock" the doors, the car flashes indicators twice (after a few seconds) and chirps the horn twice. The doors do not lock (this happens when trying to use the key to manually lock the doors as well).

I have found that trying to lock the doors using the door lock feature inside does the same thing. The doors do not lock, and then the hazards flash followed by the horn chirp.

To sum it up, its exactly what would happen if you were to hold the door open and try to lock the doors. I can confirm there is no "Door Open" indicator on the dash. The problem seems to be getting worse now, to the point I have to leave my car unlocked.

Anyone come across this? Or know what it could be? Fuse maybe? Electrical Fault? I've tried spraying with RP7 on the door latch, but doesnt seem to have any effect.

Any help / suggestions would be great!.. Thanks. Toyota Camry Sportivo 2004 4Cyl Manual Model.

Hi,

As of this stage I am facing exactly the same problem, each and every bit of it same, except that I have a 2003 V6, automatic model.

I took it to a registered automobile shop and they fixed the problem at the cost of almost $550, it worked a couple of times as it was meant to but, after a day it started acting up again the same way, the bad way.

Any suggestions as to what you did to make this matter simplified.

Thanks...

[Mr Toyoda]

Are these problems common on Camrys? Are Mazda or Honda actually better quality? Your thoughts please.

[hixsta]

As someone suggested earlier I have managed to get the car to lock with the FOB without the "door open" chirps by:

- opening the drivers door and jiggling the inside lock switch back and forth (one with the red sticker on it).

Makes me think that it is a problem with the inside door lock sensor and not the little black door closed sensor on the main body of the car.

If someone charged me $550 and it still wasn't fixed I would be currently thinkin of a way to insert my Camry sideways in their ....

[vickyd18]

Are these problems common on Camrys? Are Mazda or Honda actually better quality? Your thoughts please.

Cant really say, in other words, you don't get to know the problem until you use it. So with the other manufacturers, it could be something really weired. However, I have discovered some causes that might be responsible for the central locking issues in toyota camry.

1) If in the event the remote cell is dead or low power, it would definitely open the doors but, the emitted frequency is not powerful enough to actually perform the close function. Weired, but, its true, when you press the button on your remote to say, close the doors, the battery is weak, so the emitted frequency is low, but, still received by the receiver on car, so the receiver is clever enough to think that, the command was to close the doors, but, when it looks into its database for the frequency match, it cannot match the numbers and thus it flashes the light twice and chirps twice to indicate that, the message was received but, I cannot process it.

2) Some people also mentioned that lock function also doesn't work from the master control ie. drivers side controls and also with the keys. Possible reasons are, when the situation 1)(above) occurs, and if by any chance you tried your keys to lock all the doors, the electrical system actually splits itself from the actual mechanism. Results of electrical charge variance. As an effect, doors do not lock from the master control and with the keys as well. Only if you are lucky, the drivers door will lock with the keys, but, rest of the three doors are clue less as they are no longer connected to central bus. The situation in commonly know as Trip system (Trip Wiring), the kind of system used in most houses these days, to prevent short circuit situations.

3) This may be quite common and most mechanics would consider this as the first check point. The Actuators, which help to convert that electrical function of you press the remote button > receiver receives the command > passes the electrical pulse powerful enough to move the piston rod kind of thing on the actuator, to perform the mechanical action of locking the doors. If this actuators are out of alignment, it will also cause fail security system or doors not locking properly/at all. Circumstances when this happen, if you slam the door out of frustration, accident etc.

This are more or less my assumptions based on my knowledge around the subject and some of the possible causes as told to me by Toyota motors.

Good Luck.

[hixsta]

1) If in the event the remote cell is dead or low power, it would definitely open the doors but, the emitted frequency is not powerful enough to actually perform the close function. Weired, but, its true, when you press the button on your remote to say, close the doors, the battery is weak, so the emitted frequency is low, but, still received by the receiver on car, so the receiver is clever enough to think that, the command was to close the doors, but, when it looks into its database for the frequency match, it cannot match the numbers and thus it flashes the light twice and chirps twice to indicate that, the message was received but, I cannot process it.

++++ My FOB key is brand new++++

2) Some people also mentioned that lock function also doesn't work from the master control ie. drivers side controls and also with the keys. Possible reasons are, when the situation 1)(above) occurs, and if by any chance you tried your keys to lock all the doors, the electrical system actually splits itself from the actual mechanism. Results of electrical charge variance. As an effect, doors do not lock from the master control and with the keys as well. Only if you are lucky, the drivers door will lock with the keys, but, rest of the three doors are clue less as they are no longer connected to central bus. The situation in commonly know as Trip system (Trip Wiring), the kind of system used in most houses these days, to prevent short circuit situations.

++++ Great info, I will add that in this situation the ONLY way you can lock the car is by hand locking all four doors like back in the dark ages (pre-1980s)++++

Excellent post vickyd18. Seems like Toyota probably haven't got a clue either, but I am sure they'll still take our money whilst they 'experiment' the solution. ;-)

[Altis]

Mine's 2005 Camry Altis. I have the same problem for 3 months now. Occasionally, I can not use either the remote or the door-lock button on driver side panel to lock all 4 doors, and the hazards light flashes twice and horn beeps twice. However, I can lock the car if the other 3 doors are locked manually by the lock switch on each door first.

[hixsta]

Mine's 2005 Camry Altis. I have the same problem for 3 months now. Occasionally, I can not use either the remote or the door-lock button on driver side panel to lock all 4 doors, and the hazards light flashes twice and horn beeps twice. However, I can lock the car if the other 3 doors are locked manually by the lock switch on each door first.

Mines gone away (until next Autumn). Every autumn and spring in Perth when there's a bit of cold dew around.

Anyway the way I have had the best results is to jiggle the actual inside door lock on the inside of the driver's door. This makes me beleive it's a fault with the actual door lock switch on the inside of driver's door.

Hope that helps!

[Family Guy]

I've had this now and then (2003 V6 manual Sportivo) - there are a few electrical phantoms with it besides this. Oh well, I'll keep driving it anyway. Electrical stuff is real difficult to remedy on modern cars as finding the culprit is like a needle in a haystack!

[Mr-abc]

Hello All,

I have a Toyota Camry 2004 model and I'm experiencing the central locking problem. This car has served me good for the pass 5 years and this problem has just started. The problems are as follows:

1. I can central locks all for doors but when unlocked the door from inside only the driver side is unlocked not the other three doors.

2. When using the remote control the driver door is unlocked but not the other three doors.

3. The car will not response to the remote control i.e the light flashes 2 times (from memories) and will not locked the doors.

It is an intermittent problems and the car becomes good for a few hours and than problem started again.

Anyone with suggestions will be much appreciated.

Thank you!!!

[Mr-abc]

i.e the light flashes 2 times (from memories) and will not locked the doors. >>> I meant the Hazard lights.

[Ronnyboy]

Hello All,

I have a Toyota Camry 2004 model and I'm experiencing the central locking problem. This car has served me good for the pass 5 years and this problem has just started. The problems are as follows:

1. I can central locks all for doors but when unlocked the door from inside only the driver side is unlocked not the other three doors.

2. When using the remote control the driver door is unlocked but not the other three doors.

3. The car will not response to the remote control i.e the light flashes 2 times (from memories) and will not locked the doors.

It is an intermittent problems and the car becomes good for a few hours and than problem started again.

Anyone with suggestions will be much appreciated.

Thank you!!!

Haver you taken the car to the dealer to have it checked?

[Mr-abc]

Hello All,

I have a Toyota Camry 2004 model and I'm experiencing the central locking problem. This car has served me good for the pass 5 years and this problem has just started. The problems are as follows:

1. I can central locks all for doors but when unlocked the door from inside only the driver side is unlocked not the other three doors.

2. When using the remote control the driver door is unlocked but not the other three doors.

3. The car will not response to the remote control i.e the light flashes 2 times (from memories) and will not locked the doors.

It is an intermittent problems and the car becomes good for a few hours and than problem started again.

Anyone with suggestions will be much appreciated.

Thank you!!!

Haver you taken the car to the dealer to have it checked?

Hello RonnyBoy,

Since the car is out of warranty 2 years ago I couldn't bother to take it to Toyota I know it's will cost an arm and leg to get this fixed. That's why I try this forum to see I can get any free help!!

I did discharged the battery completely and it's seems to be working fine for now but like I said it's an intermittent problem. I will keep you guys posted.

Cheers,