javohio

When opening Power Rear Door , the door will open then immediately close . After going through this initial opening, the second attempt will open properly & close only when Power Door Button is depressed. Recently had some engine work done by Dealer & wondering if door settings may have been disturbed. Any suggestions or like experiances would be helpful. Possible Fix? 2005 RX330

Thanks!

2GSKaizen

iTrader: (1)

It sounds to me like the "pinch sensor" is being tripped. That is what stops the door from opening or closing if it feels too much resistance. This causes the door to immediately change direction to avoid crushing someone, or wacking the roof of your garage. As far as I know, there is no setting that would cause this to happen. It is strange that it works fine on the second attempt. I would def have the dealer take a look.

jakenbake

This topic has been discussed to death. Using the search function you will find multiple threads asking for help with your same question. You need new struts.

neelnaik

Welcome to Club Lexus, javohio!
Definitely one of those beating the dead horse problems. I agree with jakenbake. Definitely the struts on the hatch going out.

javohio

Thanks to all for your replies & suggestions. Being the "New Guy" at Club Lexus has been a great experience. Love my Lexus, 138k miles & performs great!

spratt23

I have replaced the struts twice now in the last three years and the problem is back; it is definitely temperature related. I do not have the problem in temperatures above 60 or if the car is sitting in the sun I do not have the problem.

jamieZ

SPRATT23 you are absolutely right. It is weather related. Struts might be a small reason but not the major one. I have the same issue as you. The good people at Lexus have no idea how to solve the problem. There are sensors in the door that go out of whack when the temperature changes but nobody seems to know anything about them....

sderman

Probably related to Charles's Law (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles%27s_law). The pressure within the strut body increases as the temperature increases. So, a strut must have enough pressure at low temperature to lift the door.

spratt23

Well, the struts do not function at low outside temperatures. The door opens fine and stays open if the car is in the heated garage, is sitting in the sun, or the outside temperatures are above around 60 degrees Fahrenheit. If Charles Law explains this, then the maintenance people at Lexus need to read this and send out an advisory. I am done replacing struts; they work fine at the Lexus dealer because it is in a heated environment in the service area. As soon as I get them home, they fail when the temperatures cool.

Rushore

I have an issue with my rear power door latch. When I use my remote control or the button on the dashboard, the rear door opens but not when I pull the latch, nothing happens. Not sure if anyone else has this problem?

peverette

When mine acts up I spray silicone on a rag and apply to the entire gasket and to the struts. Seems to fix it. Seems mine only does it when the rear door hasn't been opened for a while.

Phil

Eddie2086

Mine will not open or close in warm weather. The tailgate works great in any other condition. The door opens about 2 inches and closes or if opened manually, it starts to close, then goes back open. If i drive home and park in garage, it works again..Dealer and shop foreman do not know what it is.

Oldsports

I know this is an older thread but I hope someone is monitoring it! I have a 2005 RX330 with a power tailgate. The tailgate would not open when I pressed the power button so I had to open it manually. Once open it would close when I pressed the power button. After reading through several posts on this site I determined that the issue was that the struts were worn. I purchased a set of non-OEM struts from eBay for $45 and installed them today in about 30 minutes (thanks to some advice I read in another post).

Now I have the opposite problem. When I press the power button the tailgate opens as it should. However, once the tailgate is open, it will not close when I press the power button. It attempts to close but then it starts to beep and it re-opens. It seems as if the tailgate is too hard for the motor to close. I can close it by hand but it takes a bit more force to close it with the new struts versus the old ones. Is there a way to reduce the force of the struts so the motor can close the tailgate? Is there some type of adjustment I can make to the motor to allow it to close the tailgate? Did I get a bad pair of struts? Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

Oldsports

I figured out the issue with my struts - incorrect installation. I installed the top mounts upside down. After reversing the mounts, the tailgate opens and closes as it should when the power button is pressed.

mcomer

I see by the time stamps that you were burning the Midnight Oil to rectify that one!