Toyota Previa

1996 Toyota Previa Electrical / Lighting Systems Malfunction Happens always Always

My car is a Picnic, but there is no selection for that on your drop down menu. It has been rebadged since 2001 as the Avensis Verso. My problem is that the rear loading door will not open, not with the remote control key, nor with the key inserted in the door lock. All the other doors open fine. There are a couple of minor electrical faults with the vehicle (eg front passenger side speaker goes on and off intermittently) so I wonder if it could be a defect in the wiring loom? The owners manual shows that all the door locks are on the same fuse, so that cant be the problem. Before it stopped working completely, it was working on occasions, possibly this is a mechanical problem? I cant open the door to check the lock mechanism. Any ideas?
thanks
Jim

Most of these case end up with the problem being in the hinge between the door and the body. From the door opening and closing several hundred time (if not thousands) the wire at the bend becomes weak and breaks under the movement. So check where the wiring bends in the hinge area. Good luck!

that sounds a good possibility and would fit with the initially erratic fault, then it becoming permenant. Do you know a way to get to the lock to make it open or a way to cut into the electrics to make the lock respond. At the moment I cant open the door, so I can't check the wiring in the hinge!!
thanks
Jim

I cant see any way into the mechanical part of the lock from inside the vehicle. There are access panels in the door interior, but these go to the light fittings.