10mm Flat Shaft Central Door Lock Actuator Motor FC-280PC-22125 FLAT SHAFT, D Spindle, Power Locking Repair Engine

My Toyota is almost 20 years old and nearing 300,000 miles. It's been reliable to a fault and I plan to drive it into the ground. But, with some exceptions, it's no longer worth paying for OEM parts-- the car's value just isn't high enough to justify the expense.When the driver's side power door lock quit working, I didn't spend a lot of time diagnosing it. I gambled $8 on this motor, watched a YouTube video, and went for broke.Trying to describe the disassembly process is tedious at best, and there are several videos on YouTube that show it way better than I can describe. I will say that, when working on the interiors of elderly cars, use the minimum amount of force necessary. Plastic pieces tend to get brittle over time, and things like mounting posts break off at the merest touch. On this job, the mounting latch on the inside door lever trim broke off. The trim is now loose, though you have to look carefully to spot it. I wedged it back into position with a strip of Magic On A Roll (IE duct tape) and it seems to be holding.The good news is that nothing else went wrong. I disassembled the door lock actuator and the problem was plain as day-- the motor had just worn out. There was a lot of black dust around the endbell, which I assume is years of brush material wearing away. Out of curiosity I tried activating the old motor with an external power supply. All I got was a tiny wisp of smoke. The little motor would motor no more.Installation was simple. I re-packed the actuator housing with fresh grease, reassembled, and reinstalled. Actually I reinstalled the actuator assembly twice because I didn't quite get the door handle in the correct position the first time. The job isn't difficult if you have some experience taking things apart, but it can get time consuming. Figure on spending an afternoon, though you may get it done quicker.I'll be honest, at this price point I expected there to be a problem with the new motor, but It's been a couple of months and the door lock still works like it did from the factory. If this motor lasts another year I will consider the $8 I spent on it an excellent investment.

Update 2016-02-11:I can't believe it has been almost 2 1/2 years! The motors are still working fine for the automatic locks on the Lexus. The front passenger side failed, but not due to the motor -- rather the gears inside the lock mechanism were partially stripped a long time ago. I've tried several things to remedy the problem, but I've finally just given up and deal with the nuisance of locking that door by hand (thankfully it is the least important of the four doors for automatic locking). Anyway, just wanted to give a quick update to let you know that the motors are still working fine. Haven't had any issues on the other 3 doors and, frankly, haven't thought about them for a long time, so was surprised to realize it has been over 2 years already.Never did get around to putting together a video, unfortunately. I have added a couple of photos showing (1) the inside of the mechanism (sorry it is a little blurry), (2) how to remove the shaft sleeve from the old motor, and (3) how to safely attach the sleeve to the new motor without damaging the motor or bending the shaft.-----Bought this to replace the motor in the door lock actuator mechanism for my 2001 Lexus RX 300. Initially replaced the driver's door motor and it worked well, so I bought 3 more and have now replaced the other 3 door lock motors. All the locks are working perfectly now for the first time in over a year. Definitely worth the purchase.Just a couple of quick details:- This motor is identical in size to the original OEM door lock motor, so fit is not an issue. Placement of leads is also identical.- The OEM motor has a round shaft; this one is flat. However, the door lock actuator mechanism has a sleeve that fits *very* tightly over either shaft, so not a problem.- I decided to purchase this motor because the shaft length is identical to the original OEM. However, you should be aware that the same seller sells a long shaft version of this motor for a couple $ less. I didn't buy it myself, but if you want to save a couple of $ I'm guessing it would work fine. There is some space available in the actuator mechanism for a longer shaft, and if worse comes to worst you could probably trim a few mm off the end of the longer shaft if you are handy. Anyway, just a thought for anyone who wants to save a couple of $.I have tentatively given 5 stars because the motor is working perfectly right now as a replacement for the OEM part and is precisely what I needed (not to mention saving me several hundred $ on what a mechanic would have charged for the work). I don't know how long it will hold up, so I will revisit my rating if it fails within a year, but for now I'm granting the full rating.I'm hoping to get a video posted in the next few weeks about how to do the motor change work. In the meantime, let me know if you have specific questions about a Lexus RX300 motor change (unfortunately I probably can't be much help with other makes or models).