sparky76

Hi, I'm new here and am excited to find this forum!

I've done some searching and didn't see this problem mentioned, but I'm hoping someone can help me. This is the sort of situation where I don't like taking the car to the shop without knowing a little bit about what I'm getting into first.

On my 1999 Rx-300, the remote lock on the driver's door doesn't work, meaning when I hit lock/unlock on the key fob, that door stays the way it was (either locked or unlocked) while the other doors do what they are supposed to do. To lock the driver's door, I have to do it the old fashioned way before I shut the door, and I have to unlock it with the key. This is a problem I can deal with and have for years.

Lately, however, sometimes when we get in the car it won't start. The key won't turn and nothing happens. Though sometimes the security alarm (beeping horn) will go off.

If I mess around with it long enough - locking and unlocking the doors with the key fob and manually locking and unlocking the driver's door with the key, eventually the car will start.

This is getting to be annoying and my wife has been stranded a couple of times recently when she couldn't get it to start. (I seem to have a little more of the magic touch with it than she does - I believe partly because I always make sure the door is locked and the alarm is on when I leave the car.)

So I'm guessing that the issue is that since the door lock is broken, there are times when the car thinks the security system is on and disables the starter - even though we are in the car with the key trying to start it.

So I am curious if anybody has dealt with this and/or might know what the issue is and how to fix it. Will fixing the door lock do the trick or is it some kind of complicated electrical issue?

I wanted to see if it is something I can fix or if I can at least get an idea of what is wrong and what it would cost to have someone else fix it.

I'm not an experienced mechanic by any means but I can usually fix things if I have instructions. I'm scared of what it would cost to take it to the shop for this.

Thanks!