redtacoma31

I have an 87 with power locks and windows. I just purchased the truck last week. I pulled the door panel and sprayed WD-40 and spray lube into the latch. I worked everything until it was super smooth. It cleaned out nice. Lots of old grease. Before and after if you locked the door either manually or with the button. Then closed the door it will unlock the truck. You can watch the button push up. The only way to actually lock the door. Is to use the key from the outside. Both doors are doing it. I cant figure out why. Has anyone had this issue and figured out how to fix it? Thanks in advance.

scope103

This is what is supposed to happen if the key is in the ignition. So you might have a sticky switch inside the ignition switch, sensing the key when it isn't there.

nothingbetter

Welcome to the site and to Toyotas! I'm going to assume this is your first yota truck assuming your asking how to lock the door. Every old toyota pickup I've been in does it. Its a safety feature so you don't lock your keys in it if the door closes on its own from wind, a hill ect. Theres nothing electrical about it, such as scope says. I have fully manual doors and they do it. Its just how the lock rod is hooked up to the latch. You can lock it with the key as your doing now, or, you have to push the lock "button" down, then as you close the door hold the outside handle open, close the door, and let go of the handle once its latched. Its annoying the first week but after a while you don't even think about it.

redtacoma31

Thanks for the info. It is my first pickup. I have owned a Tacoma, but this is a little different animal.

nothingbetter

It confused me for a couple weeks too untill someone explained it to me. One thing I still forget to do is teach my passengers how to lock the door. Otherwise, they think they locked it but its still open. Its fun to bug them about it though.

scope103

My error; I have the electric locks. I don't do anything to the door handle; if the button is down, the door stays locked as it closes, even if my keys are sitting on the seat. But if the key is in the ignition, I cannot lock the driver's side door. No matter what I do to the door handle.

nv4runner

If your problem is that the door unlocks with the key in the ignition... then there is no problem. That's the safety feature mentioned earlier.

If your door unlocks without the key in the ignition... then there is a problem.

My 92 4runner with power locks has some damaged wires between the door and the body, so when I open the door they all unlock. It does the same thing if I wiggle them. One of my power mirrors doesn't work unless I open the door a little. Bit of a pain to do, but repairing/replacing the wires is my solution for my problem.

nv4runner

Repaired 5 broken wires between driver door and body, and found that my aftermarket keyless entry module was the source of my unlocking issue. Found that solder from the ground circuit was squished by the plastic housing until it was starting to touch the unlock terminal.