Comparison of TMMC and NUMMI made front door locks

Comparison of TMMC and NUMMI made front door locks

There are 2 different versions of the front door locks depending on where the car was made, NUMMI made or TMMC made. I've been collecting power door locks from random junkyard Corollas for a while now trying to finish my power door lock conversion. Today, I just ran into my first Canadian Corolla (TMMC made). I was suprised at the superior quality of the door locks compared to the NUMMI ones. I know that out of the 4 front door power locks (all NUMMI made) that I have collected, 2 have failed actuators. That's a 50% failure rate for NUMMI or I just have bad luck. The NUMMI made actuators are made by GECOM in the U.S.A. while the TMMC made actuators are made by AISIN in I guess Japan. Thought I'll post the comparison:


Side by side comparison
The one on the LEFT is the NUMMI version and RIGHT is the TMMC version. The rods for the NUMMI made are easy to fall off. Notice how this NUMMI version has lost 2 rods. The 2 rods are the one rod for the unlock/lock stalk going up the door panel and the rod for the exterior key hole.






Notice the lack of the rubber vibration absorbers (foam) on the NUMMI made. Simply the foam adhesive used in the NUMMI made was not as strong. Meanwhile the TMMC made even included this extra foam piece that the NUMMI made lacked.



The actuator even has a breathing tube in the TMMC version and another foam cushion on the back of the wire harness so it doesn't vibrate against the door frame.



Rod quality comparison
The NUMMI made lock rods get lost easily because they are just jammed into that white plastic tab.





On the other hand, the TMMC version has a plastic fastener tab holding both the rods.





Look at the rod for the exterior key on the TMMC made, it is fastened with a fastener and has a hard plastic shell hole.



The NUMMI version has this rod naked without fasteners with this flimsy plastic shell.



Material comparison
The plastic shell of the TMMC made is hard and will not flex. But the NUMMI made is flimsy and will bend.



Spring quality
The spring of the TMMC made was larger and stronger.

This is the spring for the NUMMI made:



And here is the spring for the TMMC made:



Bracket quality
Here are the comparison of the brackets that hold the door lock actuators and is used to bolt to the car doors. The NUMMI made bracket is bolted at 2 points while the TMMC made is bolted at 4 points.

Look at the bracket for the NUMMI made:



Look at the bracket for the TMMC made: