Unlocking a Possessive Camry

Only about two or three days passed since I repaired the clutch fork in the 1996 Subaru. Then the fuel pump died. Sigh. So we borrowed a car from a friend. It was a 2002 Toyota Camry. They didn't tell us about this little quirk it had. It seems the car is a little possessive. I'm not sure if it liked me or just wanted to toy with me, but it locked me in the car. That's just my luck. I borrow a car and it breaks on me.

The driver's side door wouldn't unlock. It wouldn't unlock from the inside or the outside. It's supposed to unlock when you pull on the inside handle. I tried turning the key and pulling the lock lever at the same time. I tried moving the handle and the lock different ways. I even tried pulling on the handle and turning the key at the same time. I pulled the inside handle and the outside handle. I turned the key back and forth while pulling on the inside handle. It was jammed.

There was no problem with any of the electric locks. The lock cylinder was functioning correctly. The linkage for the inside handle and lock lever were functioning correctly. The actuators were working on all the doors, except it wouldn't unlock the driver's door. I could turn the key to unlock twice and all the other doors would unlock, but the driver's door was stuck locked. The problem was inside the lock/latch unit.

To replace any parts, I needed to get the door handle off. There was just one problem. I couldn't get the door panel off without first opening the door. So I rolled down the window and took a look inside the door. It's a narrow gap, but with a flashlight and a small inspection mirror, I could see most of what I needed to. One of the clips for the outside handle was not connected properly. I clipped it back on the rod, but that wasn't the problem.

I said a little prayer and decided to try again. I tried the key and the inside lock lever at the same time again. Then I got a crazy idea. I turned the key the other way, to lock the door. I wanted to see what would happen if I pulled on the lock lever to try unlocking it as I released the key from the fully locked position to the unlock position. It actually popped unlocked. Yay! I squirted some WD-40 on the door latch and where the rod from the lock cylinder goes, some WD-40 in the lock cylinder, and even some WD-40 in the ignition lock cylinder so it would move freely too. Ok, I was getting a little carried away with the WD-40.

I have no idea what went wrong, but you can probably bet this will happen again. At least I'll have an idea of how to get in there if we need to replace the latch assembly in the future. And maybe if your Camry locks you in, you can try what I did. Maybe it will work for you too. I also found a really helpful video on how to take the door panel off: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3o05U4Qn5pQ

How Do You Break a Clutch Fork?

I have no idea. Maybe my daughter has some ideas. Just kidding. She just happened to be driving it when it broke - both times. Wait, I'm seeing a pattern here. Nah, it's probably nothing.

Today marks the second time I replaced the clutch fork on my 1996 Subaru Legacy Outback. Previously, my son and I took the transmission out once to change the clutch, once to fix the oil leak on that plate under the flywheel, and once to replace the clutch fork. Not wanting to take the transmission out again, this time I got an engine hoist and lifted the engine up and forward to separate it just enough to get the new clutch fork in.

We supported the transmission with a jack so that it wouldn't fall down after separating the engine and transmission. I don't know if this way was any easier. Maybe it was a little easier. But I still had to disconnect both half-shafts from the transmission to get access to the nuts that held the transmission on the engine.

The pivot ball under the clutch fork looks a little worn. I don't know, but maybe it could be the cause of the clutch fork wearing out early. But I suspect the clutch forks are either a little under-engineered, or have cracks from the factory. I'm not the only one to have the clutch fork fail. But I haven't seen people complaining of them breaking again in a year. Hopefully a little caliper lube on the pivot ball will keep this one lasting more than a year.

Here's a picture of the first two broken clutch forks, and the new one that I put in today. I still had the original one in my scrap metal bin.

Original clutch fork, 1st replacement, and new one that went in today.

When the second one broke, my daughter couldn't get the car into gear because the clutch wouldn't fully disengage. So I told her to put it in 2nd gear, start it in gear, and then just drive home in 2nd. That worked.

I'm selling this car to my son next month. And he's happy to buy it.

Update November 29, 2014. The last clutch fork lasted seven months. It broke again and we had to replace it again.