I'm not a Prius owner, but am posting this on behalf of a Prius-owning relative. She has a Gen II Prius (2007 model, I believe) that is one of the more basic trim levels - it has the normal, click-the-button key fob rather than the smart key system. I recently discovered that one of the rear side doors is not locking when the central locking system is activated, either with the keyfob or with the switch inside the car. Moreover, the lock "switch/rocker" on the door itself (which you would move to manually lock the door) can't be moved by hand, so the door is essentially stuck in the unlocked position all the time. I tried monkeying with the child lock and both door handles, but it won't budge. Is this a common problem? Is the repair generally as simple as pulling the inner door panel and swapping out the door lock actuator? Is there some sort of quiet warranty on this? I think I have sufficient mechanical aptitude/car repair experience and the tools to do the job, but wanted to make sure there weren't any hidden surprises.
The OP made one post- nine years ago. I'd suggest getting a copy of the service manual and looking up what you have to do to remove the latch. I haven't done one on a Prius but often the latch and actuator are a single assembly (that info should also be in the manual). Posted via the PriusChat mobile app.
The actuator is a fairly simple replacement and yes, it begins with removing the inside door trim panel. Once that panel is out, of course the next thing you'll do is take a good squint at the whole linkage arrangement and actuator there, and decide whether the actuator is in fact what you need, or it's just something else needing attention.
