Hello everyone,
I am new to the board and to owning an Smith & Wesson.
I picked up my M&P 45 this past Sunday from Turners (San Diego) and realized that the takedown lever does NOT (corrected) stay down when stripping the gun. In order to strip the gun, I have to use my thumb on the takedown lever to remove the slide.

I have been told this should not be happening.
Any input would be appreciated.

Thanks
Wil

Welcome to the forum. Do you mean that the lever does NOT stay down?

The takedown lever on my M&P9 does not stay down when I disassemble the gun. I use my thumb as you describe, otherwise the lever may come up and get stuck in a position that wasn't intended.

My M&P 40 is not doing that. Lever stays down by itself.

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Gerry

Yes, I meant to say "does NOT stay down".
Apparently it seems to be a common problem or known issue.
I e-mailed Smith and Wesson and they said that becuase of the close fit, SOME M&Ps' slides will make the takedown lever to come up to its original position, and that all of the compacts operate in this manner.

On my 45 the take down lever will sometimes stay put and other times not. I just hold it with my thumb, as previously suggested, and remove the slide. I do not find this a problem as it forces me to be more deliberate with my work and for me that is not a bad thing. I do not view this as a malfunction.
Frank.

My 45 M&P does the same thing. The 9mm M&P does not. Go figure.

My M&P 9mm FS does.

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George, Go Razorbacks!

My M&P 40 does the same thing. Not a big deal, like you said, just use your thumb to hold it down.

My 45C's lever wants to move up also. In fact, when I reinstall the slide and push it to the rear the takedown lever pops up.

THis is a post I made back in March I think... if the TDL snapping back bothers you... this is what I found and what I did to fix it.

TDL = take down lever

Ok, well I feel pretty comfident about my assessment of the TDL snapping back. I like not having to be a contortionist to take my M&P down. I just picked up my new M&P40c a few weeks ago, the trigger sucks in Mass.. we in Mass know what that's like... I ordered my Apec trigger kit a month ago so it's on the bench ready to install tonite. I want to just update my findings from previous M&P's I own that do not need to have me hold the TDL while removing the upper slide assembly, as I stated, I had one that the TDL wouldn't stay down and fixed it, well my new 40c won't stay down so I checked it out, found a little high spot easily seen before removing the TDL, filed it down and my TDL stays down just fine now!! There was a little bump in the middle of the lever that was black, that means it was there from it's birth and colored over. After removing the slide, remove the TDL by turning it forward past the roll pin, then remove out the left side. You may be able to turn the lever over the roll pin or you may have to drive the pin in about an 1\8th of an inch and the TDL will turn easily forward then just pull the lever out. In the middle of the flat on the forward edge there is a little nub there, file it off so the surface is flat, install and your TDL should stay down much better. The spot we need to pay attention to is where the recoil guide rod makes contact with the TDL.
hope this makes sense and helps, let me know.
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Jack C

Great information, Thanks.
Frank.

My M&P45 had the same issue and I sent it back.
They fixed it and it is fine now.

Doesn't make a lot of sense to me to send it back for a 10 minute simple procedure... but if you had other issues, that would be different.

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Jack C

I discoverd the same problem when I was cleaning my 9mm today. I had to use my thumb sometimes to hold down the takedown lever and sometimes I didn't. Since this is a common problem, has anyone noticed if it has affected the performance of the gun?


Thanks,

Matt

My M&P .45 fullsize does the same. No problem, I just hold it in position.

One word, Lawyers.

what about em?

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Jack C

I can't say as there are any performance problems related to the take down lever, other than the PITA of it snapping back during take-down. Bottom line, if it bothers you, there is a fix. If it doesn't bother you, that's why God gave us thumbs...

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Jack C

I think read your post differently from what you meant. I was refering to why most gun manufacturers now require return of the guns to the factory for even the simplest of fixes.

If a gun manufacturer instructs a customer on how to fix the weapon, and then the customer botches the work and is injured, the factory could be held liable.

We just purchased an M&P 45 full size last week. The pistol functions flawlessly, except for the takedown lever. The lever springs back to the 'normal' position at every opportunity. We have also noticed that the slide periodically gets stuck on the frame, either coming off or going back on. We are well aware of the sear disconnect lever and are using that too according to the manual's procedure. Taking the pistol down and reassembling it is very awkward when the TDL won't stay PUT.

I'm no expert gunsmith, but it's obvious the TDL has two static positions it can (and should!) take, as defined by the two flat spots on the TDL shaft. The first is wider and normal, where the guide rod spring is seated agains the larger, flat face. The second is for takedown; the guide rod spring should transition from the normal face to the (smaller) takedown face when rotated. From the previous notes on the fix (filing off the nub on the TDL face), it seems fairly obvious for whatever reason the end of the guide rod spring is not transitioning properly, and/or not staying put after the transition. There's nothing special about this. Our Sig and FN pistol TDLs work exactly the same way. Only their TDLs stay put!

I'll be phoning S&W about this tomorrow to send it back and get it fixed. We did not pay $700+ to accept this kind of erratic behavior.

I must say I am surprised that a fair number of M&P owners seem willing to accept this behavior and wrestle with it. The S&W manual is very clear on the takedown procedure, and nowhere does it say anything about using two hands, holding the TDL in position, or anything else remotely close to that. The pictures are equally as obvious and speak for themselves as to how the lever should behave.

I'll post up with the outcome when I have one.

GK, Hows that 325TR coming....

Also, I'm the one that found and wrote about the "fix" for the TDL.. If you do a search, I posted it up here and also on M-P bulletin board. It really is very easy, only takes a few minutes to a 1\2 hour. IMO, not worth sending it back...

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Jack C

I'll be talking about the 325TR on the same call. Been too busy to call in the last couple of weeks. But now, two new S&W handguns, two problems. Hmmmmm.

I did actually start to file the TDL, but not enough to fix it. I could do more, but then I thought... if every M&P owner with this problem either accepts it, or fixes it themselves, how will S&W know they've got a problem? So I held up on filing it more, lest I give S&W cause to blame me. From the little I did, the detent seemed to work slightly better, if I assisted it by pressing the end of the guide rod toward the barrel, to firmly seat the end of the spring on the TDL edge.

I must say I agree with you that I'd prefer not to send it back for a small issue I might be able to fix myself. But if I file it down and it's not fixed, then S&W has an out. And I'm not giving them one. I wonder if a new TDL purchased as a part would have the same nub?

I looked closely at the TDLs on our Sigs and FNs, and although their TDL designs are different, they are identical in function. Perhaps that's why they stay PUT!

I'll post up on both Jack when I have resolutions. For better or worse.

My 9fs just started doing this and I have found that if you lightly pinch the guide rod towards the barrel it will stay down. At least it works on mine and someone here told me to try it when I asked the same question a while back.

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M&P 9 because 'Merica.

My M&P 45 is going back to S&W. I took it to my FFL yesterday. We compared operation with the other M&Ps in his case, and they DON'T behave like mine! The TDL stays put in all cases.

I noted that his other M&Ps have the same nub on their TDLs as mine; in some cases the nub is larger. My FFL also agreed with me that my slide is riding out of alignment (high) on the frame. We can see through a gap at the barrel; we see daylight between the coils of the guide rod spring. NG. And the guide rods on his other M&Ps have a different motion than mine when the TDL is manipulated.

I will do my best to determine exactly what S&W finds and fixes to make the TDL behave as it should.

I own several m&p's in various calibers. I was having the TDL problem with one of mine. I swapped levers with another one of my nines and the problem was cured. I am just going to order a new one from S&W.

My 9C does NOT stay down, which I find a bit annoying, but there's worse things it could (or could not) be doing, so...

Older thread, but my problem fixed on just purchased used PD (.40 - $315.00) from Bud's on line. Many thanks To turbo38gn for below info;

"There was a little bump in the middle of the lever that was black, that means it was there from it's birth and colored over. After removing the slide, remove the TDL by turning it forward past the roll pin, then remove out the left side. You may be able to turn the lever over the roll pin or you may have to drive the pin in about an 1\8th of an inch and the TDL will turn easily forward then just pull the lever out. In the middle of the flat on the forward edge there is a little nub there, file it off so the surface is flat, install and your TDL should stay down much better. The spot we need to pay attention to is where the recoil guide rod makes contact with the TDL."

Nice to see it worked for u.. I figured the vid would help.. but after reading my post... it's a pretty simple fix.. I wonder how GKDoll made out..

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Jack C

Odd timing but I just picked up my police trade in .40 yesterday and have the same behavior. I Googled it and this thread came up. I did pull the TDL and saw the burr / nub that is being discussed. I thought about calling CS just to see if they would send me a new TDL and then still try the fix listed above on the one I have. To me it's not a big deal but it is awkward to have to keep it down. If I call I'll post an update.

Once the TDL was out I don't think I spent more than a minute with a sharp file. Done. G/L

Agreed. I took it out again on Sunday and filed off that bit. Now the TDL stays put.

I know this post is getting old, but I wanted to give some input as the same issue came up with my 45C. Removing the bump is the correct answer. S&W sent me a new take down lever after I read about the bump removal. It worked, and now I have a back up take down lever without a bump.