Door Check

[DBMaster]

The part I am talking about is the thing that looks like a bar and attaches to the door and body of the car about midway between the upper and lower hinge. The one on the driver's door of my girlfriend's 2003 Highlander has more or less "lost" its detents. The door will not stay open. It does not look terribly difficult to replace, but you have to remove the door panel - which I tend to avoid doing on any car. New ones cost over $80, even online. Seems like a lot of money for such a simple part.

Has anyone successfully fixed one so that it will keep the door open? I only avoid removing door panels out of fear of messing up the plastic snap fasteners. I have the correct tool for doing it, but correct positioning is still very important.

 

[JamesBond]

I'm never sure how those things work, but I have oiled the hinges and all the parts of the door check and had them work better in the past. Have you tried cleaning/lubing them with wd40 or oil? That might clean out dirt and gummed up grease and help it a bit.

I'm always nervous when I pull door panels. I like to wait until the weather is warm so the plastics are a little more flexible. I don't know if it makes a difference.

 

[Donald]

They hold the door open and also prevent it from coming back at you if you open it too hard.

Get some of the tools they sell at HF for door panels. It is a 10 year old car however.

Plastic will snap when its cold.

The one in my Jeep was broken off. It was that way when I bought the vehicle. I waited until the door panel needed to be pulled for another reason.

The window regulator was what went and needed to be replaced. They do not last forever especially on the drivers window.

 

[JHZR2]

Most new ones are plastic. Even good ball bearing metal Mercedes ones are better off being replaced.

Easy to do generally, and likely cheap.

 

[JimPghPA]

Sounds like a job where a couple of strong friends to hold the door up while you align and tighten bolts would make this job much easier than trying to do it yourself.

Time to buy some pizza and invite a couple of strong friends over to help.

 

[DBMaster]

You do not have to remove the whole door, just the panel. They are not cheap. (Somewhere around $80) If I deal with this at all I might check out a wrecking yard to see if I can find one that actually works well. I would imagine that this part may cross other Toyota models.

I was just asking if anyone knew of a way to fix the thing. Replacing it I can handle. She says that it does not bother her much so it was more of a challenge for me anyway.