afterburne

The left rear door chatters upon actuating the lock.with either the key or the driver door switch.and it fails to lock.
This condition occurred soon after a mechanic fixed the same door electric window. I have removed the inside door molding and cover, but have gone no further since I do not have a repair manual.
I am unfamiliar with Lexus door mechanisms but have repaired electric door locks and windows on Fords. Your help and guidance would be appreciated.

thomas1

It chattering makes me nervous that you have an intermittent or broken wire....If you do a search of repairing door locks in the RX300 Forum you will find a wealth of info.

afterburne

Thanks Tom
Could be a bad wire, but the problem is too consistent . It happens every time i actuate the locks. Also it as rapid as a 50 cal machine gun for about one second and a short break with an even shorter chatter.
I do not want to pull the actuator until I am sure of the basis of the problem. I am hoping somebody will respond and say they had this problem and this how they fixed it.

aznlapin

FYI, this is the first gen (RX300) forum. Not sure if the locks differs on the 330.
Either way, if you're looking for information regarding the repair manual, you should check the Second Gen forum instead.

thomas1

A broken wire or lost of ground could cause that chattering.

here is a thread:
https://www.clublexus.com/forums/rx-...uator-diy.html

afterburne

Thanks guys
I don't understand the basis of first and second generation. What constitutes the difference to make a vehicle a first or second generation?

aznlapin

First Gen: 1997-2003 RX300
Second Gen: 2004-2009 RX330, RX350, RX400H
Third Gen: 2010-Present RX350, RX450H

With each new generation, there are a lot of changes in terms of parts, features, design, and capabilities. So it would be more appropriate to ask question about your car in the respective forums to get the most accurate answers.

sktn77a

iTrader: (2)

The door lock actuators/solenoids on the RX are nothing like those in a domestic car (unfortunately). There's a write up at the top of the posts on the RX300 sub-forum with pictures. Good luck.

afterburne

The Chatter is coming from inside the actuator. The actuator looks significantly different than the RX300.
The cause of the chatter is not associated with the cables or any other external parts Lexass wants $269.00 for the part (gulp!)
Found one on Ebay under Toyota (not Lexass) for $60.00 ( Oh happy day!) I did not want to take the actuator apart to make any repairs because I found another Ebay site, under Lexus actuators, that will refund $30.00 if you send them a defective actuator. (It starts off by spending 99 cents for a mailing label)
So, the actuator now nets out about $30.00.. I would rather spend thirty bucks and not have to attempt a repair that might end up as a failure
Hope this posting helps someone with a similar problem
Afterburner