My Auris Won't Lock!

[Redauris]

Hi guys,

New to this forum and hoping someone more techincally minded than me can help me! I own a 3 year old Auris, which in the last six days has started having problems with the central locking (it's a push button smart entry start). The car locks itself with the remote central locking key when I push the button on the key, but then immediately unlocks itself again and sounds a tone for several seconds as though it thinks a door is still open. I have checked all the doors, boot and bonnet and they are all properly shut. I even called the AA out and the guy was stumped as to why the car was doing this, so removed the Battery and then put it back in to try and reset the car. This worked once, and then the car started playing up again. Surprisingly, the car fixed itself the next day, when it was meant to be booked into a local Toyota dealership, but the problem has now started again today. I'm wondering if there's a problem with the door sensors or the wiring? Hope someone can help me resolve this without me having to pay a £92/hour labour charge to Toyota-eek.

Thank you in advance!

[Jan&tone]

First of all welcome to TOC.

A similar thing happens if you leave a set of keys inside my Prius - I'm assuming that you have checked that this is not the case with you (silly to ask perhaps but.....)

I also had, some years ago, a problem with an Avensis losing the sync between the blipper and the car, this was due to me parking it under an electricity pylon believe it or not! the spare blipper worked fine and luckily was only a couple of miles away so easy to get hold of....

[Redauris]

Hi Jan/Tone,

Thanks for replying so quickly-no there are definitely no keys inside the car. I've even tried to lock the car manually with the key hidden inside the electronic key and it turns one way to unlock but will not turn the other way to lock the car-very strange! I haven't changed where I park my car in months, so I don't think it could be the environment playing a part, and the key has enough power to attempt to lock the car and then immediately unlock itself, so I'm not sure it's the key Battery either (which I replaced anyway several months ago). I'm slightly confused by this whole situation, especially as the locking mechanism corrected itself for all of three days before the problem returned! Any other suggestions would be gratefully received.

[ashpole]

I've even tried to lock the car manually with the key hidden inside the electronic key and it turns one way to unlock but will not turn the other way to lock the car-very strange!

That's interesting, does it imply something mechanically amiss with the door. Does that door do the same, ie key won't turn towards lock, when the door is open? Does the other front door (open and closed) "feel" the same as regards turning the key? If not then you might want to check that the troublesome door is closing fully (the keeper could be out of alignment); one way to fool the system into thinking the door is fully shut is to put one or two pieces of card between the door sensor switch and the door...

[Jan&tone]

Just a thought.... I did hear once of an mr2 that had a problem with the drivers door locking, it turned out that someone had opened the passenger door as the drivers door was being locked and they both went out of sync... Finished up with the passenger door being locked from inside and then the drivers door and it then sorted itself out!! Very weird

[Redauris]

Hi Ashpole,

I followed your advice and opened the door then tried turning the manual key, which appeared to work in both directions. When I closed the driver door again, the key turns anti-clockwise to unlock the car, and now turns clockwise but has the same issue as with the electronic key, as in it locks itself then immediately unlocks again and sounds the same tone. My front passenger door does not have a manual key 'socket', so I can only use the manual key on the driver door. I've managed to lock all my passenger doors by pressing the 'lock doors' button inside the driver door to do this, but this is just a temporary half-fix. The driver door still refuses to lock. I've tried the card suggestion as well and that didn't work either but thank you for the suggestions...

[FROSTYBALLS]

Looking at the manual there are various ways in which the key Battery can be depleted, and cause problems with locking systems. The manual recommends not leaving the electronic key within one metre of the following electrical appliances that produce magnetic fields - these include: TV's, Personal Computers, recharging mobile phones or cordless phones and table lamps. The manual recommends replacement of the key Battery. I noticed from what you said you removed the key Battery and then put it back in - which may have given the battery some time to recover.

For example, we have Virginmedia TV and they recommend keeping cordless phones at least three feet away from the set top box to avoid problems with the set top box. Similarly energy saving lightbulbs can cause problems - hence the mention of leaving your keys near a table lamp - and Virginmedia have asked us in the past when we've had problems, what type of lighting we use.

Try replacing the battery with a new one.

[FROSTYBALLS]

Reading a bit more of the manual, problems can also occur if the wireless remote is used to lock the car when the electronic key is near the vehicle.

Window tint with metallic content or anything metallic attached to windows can affect reception of the various antennae used to receive the radio signals from keys, etc.

[Huwjeffries]

Hi guys,

New to this forum and hoping someone more techincally minded than me can help me! I own a 3 year old Auris, which in the last six days has started having problems with the central locking (it's a push button smart entry start). The car locks itself with the remote central locking key when I push the button on the key, but then immediately unlocks itself again and sounds a tone for several seconds as though it thinks a door is still open. I have checked all the doors, boot and bonnet and they are all properly shut. I even called the AA out and the guy was stumped as to why the car was doing this, so removed the battery and then put it back in to try and reset the car. This worked once, and then the car started playing up again. Surprisingly, the car fixed itself the next day, when it was meant to be booked into a local Toyota dealership, but the problem has now started again today. I'm wondering if there's a problem with the door sensors or the wiring? Hope someone can help me resolve this without me having to pay a £92/hour labour charge to Toyota-eek.

Thank you in advance!

+1 for second set of keys in the car. It locks, unlocks and beeps for a second or two. It basically won't let you lock a set of keys in the car. It would be nice if it told you why it won't lock. (EG, a dashboard indication as it does when a door is open).

[Viviane]

My Toyota auris, the door doesn’t open. Please help what to do 

[Heidfirst]

Hi Viviane, welcome to TOC. 🙂

Are you saying that your door won't lock from a remote fob, by mechanical key or by button within the vehicle? More information will help others to help you. 😉

[Guest]

Please don't try this! 😲

[RL519299]

Blimey, I was charged £160 per hour by main dealers, and still have problems similar to yours (see my post re: Boot catch unlatching).  Like you I am considering the possibility of re-programming the control system.

[Mooly]

I might be way off the mark here but anyway...

Give all the latches a good squirt of WD using the straw to get right into the latch itself.

Around 6 or 7 years ago I had a weird problem on our old Corolla where it would not lock after going half a mile to a supermarket. It wasn't a one off it did it more often than not. Thought it might be the key so entually took the spare instead. Just the same.

Not holding much hope but also thinking that as this is a Toyota and they don't have 'real' faults like this I gave the latches and also drivers lock a good squirt. Repeated the process a couple of days later. The issue has never returned in all that time and before it was doing it nearly every time. Its 21yrs old now...