ccm241

Good afternoon,

Been lurking here a bit but just joined today. Picked up an '05 LS430 Flint Mica/ Black with Custom Luxury Pkg with 88K miles yesterday. Got it from a Mercedes Benz dealer and paid $18.5K for those interested in real world numbers.

I had a pre-purchase inspection done at a local Lexus dealer prior to purchase. Red flags were shot rear brake pads and a dead battery. Cabin filter, air filter, and brake fluid were dirty and need to be addressed at some point but not a big deal. Report also stated that 90K service (obviously)would be needed soon which would take care of those things anyway. This dealer quoted about $900 for 90K service which seems like a pretty good to deal to me.

After getting the car home and playing around a bit I noticed a couple things. First, the battery on one of the keys is completely dead (no problem - will pick up two new batteries and replace them both tonight). Second, when I press the lock button on the good key (or the black button on the door handle) the car wont lock (there is no audible beep either). You can hear the doors lock, then immediately unlock. After further inspection, it seems the front passenger door lock is the culprit. When you press lock/unlock button on driver side door panel (inside car), it wont work either. When you move the car out of park it WILL lock however.

The only remedy that has seemed to work is if I manually slide the tab into the lock position on the passenger door. Once I do this, all lock functions (on remote and using black button on door handle) work normally. I've also checked the Smartaccess button in the driver footwell, and it is activated so I know problem is not there.

Question: is this pretty cut and dry that I need a new door lock actuator for passenger door or is it something else?

Hope that isnt the case as I've read those can cost $400 to replace... too bad there is no such thing as a perfect PPI. Had a very reputable BMW dealer miss a $3K problem on my old M5 too... bad luck I guess.

I've also included an iphone pic - sorry it's at night.

CDJones

Welcome to the club! I believe if you do a little searching, there is a thread that shows a DIY motor replacement for your door locks. It seems to a simple $5 fix, but I can't vouch for that, I haven't tried it. Hope this helps and if you haven't found it by tonight, I'll try to do some searching when I get back home.

CDJones

See this thread:

LS 430 Door Lock Actuator Tutorial

Hope this helps!

ccm241

Thanks for the link... I did see the write-up while I was searching yesterday. At this point, I'm just curious to know if the folks on here definitely think a new door lock actuator is needed based on symptoms described. Sounds like that is the case, I just want to be sure.

JSDND1980

Beautiful car color! Congratulations! Sounds like the door actuator to me. I bought my Lexus last year and had the same problems on both front doors. I just bought on Ebay the 2004 LS repair manuals and am going to try to fix myself in the Spring. You can buy the actuators much cheaper fro Sewell Lexus in Texas. Good luck!!

ccm241

Thanks for feedback.

Car is at dealer for 90K service. Cost for that is $1028. Also getting water pump replaced as they said it is leaking a little bit and a good idea to do during timing belt replacement. Cost for water pump was $349. Also getting my rear driver side door seal replaced as mine is torn a bit. Cost is $208. Also getting a drive belt replaced that is making a little noise. Cost is $64. Also found out my power adapter thing (where cig lighter goes) is dead, which they found a dead fuse - no cost there.

Here is the best part.... quote for door lock actuator replacement: $1200!!!

I said no thanks to that obviously. Looks like you can get part from Sewell Lexus for $641... amazed how expensive that is. I will do that at a later time, but just so I'm clear, is this the part I need?

69110 6911050030
ACTUATOR ASSEMBLY, FRONT DOOR LOCK, (RH - RIGHT / PASSENGER SIDE) 01 In Stock $770.92 $641.16

I do have a 10% off coupon, so that eases the pain here a little bit. The good news is that I think I will have a car that should be well sorted for quite a while. Time will tell.