y-not
Member
New to M&Ps on my new M&Pc when you trun the take down lever it will not stay down to remove the slide. I have to hold it down with one hand and remove thr slide with the other. Is this noemal for a M&P ?
take down lever
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mgo
Member
Another user on another forum came up with the solution:
While holding the takedown lever in the downward position, pinch the guide rod and barrel together, toward each other. You may now easily move the slide off the frame and the lever will remain in the down position.
BrianE
Member
I have 3 M&Ps and they all stay down. The 9c sometimes pops back, but rarely. Dont see it being an issue though...
I have 3, 40fs doesn't stay down, my 9c and 45fs stay down. The 40fs was my first M&P, it stayed down the first few times, but then one day I messed up a little while installing the slide and jammed it up a little.Once I figured it out, it wouldn't stay down anymore.. no big deal... it comes apart when I clean it, goes back together when I'm done...
tharper2202
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my roommate has an M&P 9c and a M&P .45 FS. i have a M&P 9 FS. both his take down levers stay down. I have to hold my take down lever down to release the slide
clcdawg
Member
I don't have a compact but sometimes the one on my FS pops up and pinching the barrel and guide rod together slightly works to keep it down.
I'm sure every 'Military & Police' person I know, when required to field strip their pistol under combat conditions, would really appreciate grasping the pistol with the right hand, holding the takedown lever down with the right thumb while racking the slide with the left hand to remove for disassembly. Then hold again in the same manner for reassembly. And if that doesn't quite work under combat conditions then rotate and hold the lever down and pinch the guide rod until flush with the barrel and then hope it stays in place during strip and reassembly. Assuming you can see when the guide rod is flush to the barrel. And oh, if it pops back up on you sometimes, try again.
Would you buy a pistol which manual described a takedown procedure like this? Do you own any other pistols with a takedown lever that operates like that? Is an ambiguous and uncertain field strip procedure really no biggie?
All the M&P pistols discussed in this and other threads, that exhibit this behavior, are malfunctioning. Since the problem is apparently somewhat widespread and random, it is probably a design or QC flaw. The S&W manual procedure on field stripping is clear and explicit, with pictures to match. (Pages 21-22, including all M&P C models. Fig. 20 is notable!) After downward rotation the takedown lever should stay put. If all the gyrations described elsewhere on this forum were 'normal' or 'expected', that's what would be in the manual. I read the pistol's manual before I bought it to set my expectations.
They were not met. So my brand new M&P 45 FS is at S&W right now to fix this exact issue, and I expect that they will. If they don't, it will be the first and last S&W M&P pistol I purchase and it's on to another Sig Sauer or FNP, which always operate as I expect.
Pardon my candor, but the suggestion that any M&P pistol should (sometimes?) operate like this is laughable. If this behaviour was expected, normal, and necessary, that's what the manual would describe. At the least for legal protection, if no other reason. I'm also surprised that so many owners appear content with it. My thought is if all the malfunctioning pistols had been sent back to S&W from the beginning, they would have fixed their manufacturing procedure and/or design, as well as the bad pistols. And if this really is the way they're supposed to (sometimes?) operate, they would have revised their manual for the benefit of prospective buyers.
When my M&P 45 is back, I'll be posting up the results on the original thread I contributed to. Now one of many on this topic.
Would you buy a pistol which manual described a takedown procedure like this? Do you own any other pistols with a takedown lever that operates like that? Is an ambiguous and uncertain field strip procedure really no biggie?
All the M&P pistols discussed in this and other threads, that exhibit this behavior, are malfunctioning. Since the problem is apparently somewhat widespread and random, it is probably a design or QC flaw. The S&W manual procedure on field stripping is clear and explicit, with pictures to match. (Pages 21-22, including all M&P C models. Fig. 20 is notable!) After downward rotation the takedown lever should stay put. If all the gyrations described elsewhere on this forum were 'normal' or 'expected', that's what would be in the manual. I read the pistol's manual before I bought it to set my expectations.
They were not met. So my brand new M&P 45 FS is at S&W right now to fix this exact issue, and I expect that they will. If they don't, it will be the first and last S&W M&P pistol I purchase and it's on to another Sig Sauer or FNP, which always operate as I expect.
Pardon my candor, but the suggestion that any M&P pistol should (sometimes?) operate like this is laughable. If this behaviour was expected, normal, and necessary, that's what the manual would describe. At the least for legal protection, if no other reason. I'm also surprised that so many owners appear content with it. My thought is if all the malfunctioning pistols had been sent back to S&W from the beginning, they would have fixed their manufacturing procedure and/or design, as well as the bad pistols. And if this really is the way they're supposed to (sometimes?) operate, they would have revised their manual for the benefit of prospective buyers.
When my M&P 45 is back, I'll be posting up the results on the original thread I contributed to. Now one of many on this topic.
gkdoll, I'm sorry your unicorn peed on your rainbow. Did you think that you were stepping up to an M&P from a Sig or FNP??? When I say "no biggie", I have confidence that all Weapons Procurement Officers, be they LEO or Military, would have an extensive working knowledge of this platform. They would not turn their men loose without critical field stripping familiarity. This would reveal any problems in this procedure, and any issues would be remedied at this point. My point: Fix it, have it fixed, or have a fail safe muscle memory index established for all side arm field stripping procedures. I am not denying that this may be a problem for some operators, but many of us pull our noses out of the book and use our heads and hands. When I say "no biggie", I can field strip and reassemble my "malfunctioning" .40c in under 10 seconds with no visual reference. If one has to field strip a pistol in a critical civilian scenario,they are pretty much screwed at that point anyway. Fix it and enjoy it, or sell it and move on. Have a nice day. Regards, Rick.
Our M&P45 was returned yesterday.
The factory replaced the frame to remove the visible gap between slide and dustcover. The leading edge of the dust cover is still not perfectly parallel with the slide, but there is no longer a visible gap showing daylight and the guide rod spring. The rep said the gap is the result of variance in the manufacturing process.
The factory removed the nubs from the takedown lever to fix that issue. The S&W rep confirmed that this is indeed the cause of that problem, and that M&Pc models should work the same as all the others, per the manual.
I know the nub fix has been widely reported; so did the rep. He stated S&W doesn't really want customers filing down their pistols, and that they remove the nubs and reblue the TDL to fix the issue.
Our pistol now operates properly in all respects, and we are disposed to like it. Ergo and accuracy are all pretty good.
The factory replaced the frame to remove the visible gap between slide and dustcover. The leading edge of the dust cover is still not perfectly parallel with the slide, but there is no longer a visible gap showing daylight and the guide rod spring. The rep said the gap is the result of variance in the manufacturing process.
The factory removed the nubs from the takedown lever to fix that issue. The S&W rep confirmed that this is indeed the cause of that problem, and that M&Pc models should work the same as all the others, per the manual.
I know the nub fix has been widely reported; so did the rep. He stated S&W doesn't really want customers filing down their pistols, and that they remove the nubs and reblue the TDL to fix the issue.
Our pistol now operates properly in all respects, and we are disposed to like it. Ergo and accuracy are all pretty good.
Smith357
US Veteran
This issue has an easy fix. It is caused by a sharp edge on the Take Down Lever (TDL) pulling the guide rod out of position as you rotate it. To fix the problem all you have to do is polish the part of the guide rod that rest against the TDL and polish the very edge of the TDL that digs into the guide rod lifting it out of position as you rotate it. It is a 3 minute fix tops.
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I been sayin it for 2 years now, I'm pretty sure S&W discovered my fix from my posts
.. I should get some kind of compensation for that.. When I first posted what I discovered on M-P forum.. the big boys said BS.... 
but it is exactly what I did. Now if they would send me an M&P45c.. we can call it even or a 627PC... or both!!!Turbo: yes you've been right about the nub all along. I did mention you to the S&W rep, although not by name. But besides that...
Smith357: Have not heard your method before, but that (in tandem with smoothing out the nub) makes a LOT of sense to me.
After the slide is locked open, the motion of the guide rod is distinctly different on a pistol with the problem as opposed to one without. On a properly operating pistol, as the TDL is rotated to the takedown position, the guide rod moves straight forward and down. And on a 'bad' pistol you can see the guide rod moving back and forth simultaneously as the TDL is pushed into takedown position, and then snapping back when you let go. The edge of the TDL catching on the guide rod end plate would account for that.
Smith357: Have not heard your method before, but that (in tandem with smoothing out the nub) makes a LOT of sense to me.
After the slide is locked open, the motion of the guide rod is distinctly different on a pistol with the problem as opposed to one without. On a properly operating pistol, as the TDL is rotated to the takedown position, the guide rod moves straight forward and down. And on a 'bad' pistol you can see the guide rod moving back and forth simultaneously as the TDL is pushed into takedown position, and then snapping back when you let go. The edge of the TDL catching on the guide rod end plate would account for that.
gkdoll, my own fix shows the same thing, the leading edge of the dust cover still droops just a titch but not enough to be stand-out noticeable. Everything else is fine now. As I say, we'll see if it lasts.
MMac
Member
After I lock back my slide with my left thumb I drop the TDL and my left index finger knuckle push up on the rod, drop the slide and pull the trigger and in seconds it's off. No problems.
I'll have to check out polishing those areas to make it even easier. Thanks for that tip.
I'll have to check out polishing those areas to make it even easier. Thanks for that tip.
My lever on my 9c sprung back, which I dealt with for a while by pushing up on my guide rod. Tonight I got the time to try out the fix (remove the burr, polish the edge a touch) and 10 minutes later I can take down my gun as it was intended.
Thanks for the tip, works great!
Thanks for the tip, works great!
Spartikus
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What's the best way to polish the TDL? I know you can't put metal back so I'm guessing a really fine file, steel wool, or something else similar would do the trick?
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