Saturday, August 26, 2023

How to fix a 2005 Toyota Sienna power sliding door

If the power sliding door works when you pull on the door handle (either inside or outside), but it doesn't work from (1) the key fob, (2) the square button next to the door, or (3) the button on the roof near the driver console, then you probably have a bad sliding door lock actuator.  You can buy a replacement part on eBay for about $16, free shipping, and free returns.  

It's a little tricky to swap it out, but here's what worked for me.

Start with this video, which will show you the basics: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ivC0WdRTkNY&ab_channel=RicoL

But... take seriously his warning about stripping the brass Phillips head screws.  I stripped both.  I didn't really try the soldering iron technique, but you could try that.  Be prepared to drill out the screw if you still strip it though. But stripping it and drilling it out isn't the end of the world.  (I stripped it and had to drill both out).

Watch this video at the 2 and 7 minute marks to see how to remove the sliding door panels: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FlJA7p4n0mI&ab_channel=TeddyHashee

Unfortunately, there was another very helpful youtube video that explains how to detach the regulator from the sliding door's window, but the author has removed that video.  There are 6 10mm bolts to remove it.  It's tricky, because the sliding window tries to fall (due to gravity and not being attached to the regulator).  If you have 1 (or 2) others to help you, that will help a lot.  But it's not necessary.  You can do all you need yourself with blue painters tape to hold up the window.  It uses a lot of tape, but it should be less than 1 roll.  You can try suction cups, but the ones I bought from Amazon were only good enough to keep the window up if it was rolled all the way up, due to the short cords.

This video (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FHUvj6wuAQw&ab_channel=MT) is helpful in explaining what to do if you strip the brass Phillips head screws holding the actuator to the door panel.  He drilled it out, and I ended up having to drill it out too.  He doesn't explain how to drill it out, but I used a 1/4" bit to get the head off, and then a 3/16" bit to pierce a hole to do the final detachment.  I did drill a little bit of the black metal panel, but my washers were still barely wide enough to cover the whole.  If I had to do it again, I'd try a smaller bit - or just get larger washers.  The video has helpful information about which metric screws to buy at Home Depot.  I used hex head bolts, with an M4 16 mm screw length, which worked perfectly.  I also used the only M4 washer Home Depot had, but I probably should have used a larger washer (too).

The first video explains how to use a 90" screwdriver to get the screw off, but I'd avoid that technique.  I found it easer to just completely remove the black panel (well it was still mostly attached to the door, but I could fully bend it down onto my lap), giving yourself plenty of space to work the drill.  Had I done that to begin with, I might have been successful with a Phillips head screwdriver - especially if I used a soldering iron.  But if you already stripped the screw, then still take off the black panel, and you have plenty of room for your drill.  You do have to remove the 6 10mm bolts to detach the window regulator from the window.  It's kind of tricky (such as moving the window up and down to access the bolts, but doable.  For the window switch, I elected to remove the outer plastic panel by removing the 2 brass screws connected to the window switch, which was much better than trying to remove the electrical connector.  You will need to move the window up and down during the repair anyway, 

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