MBear12

My wife's 2011 RX350 started showing the Key Detected in Vehicle a few months ago...along with flashing yellow light and warning beep. It seems to start sometimes at the same location...EX: turning onto our street...but mostly is totally at random. We bought this car several years ago and it now has 48,000 miles. I have noticed that the rear hatch does not seem to lock as positively as our previous RX 330. The hatch on the 2011 just barely seems to close. Lsst week after a four day trip the car battery was totally dead...I tried tthe trunk and it was not totally lcoked but would not open.

Any thoughts?

2GSKaizen

iTrader: (1)

Ok. Is the car telling you "Key detected in vehicle" and you are having problems locking doors because it thinks the key is inside? Or is the car telling you "Key not detected in vehicle" while you are driving? When closing the rear hatch are you using the power close feature? or are you manually closing the door yourself? Sound like you didn't close the door all the way, and it killed the battery maybe?

MBear12

It is telling us "Key Detected in Vehicle while driving. I probably closed the hatch manually but then pushed the door lock button on the key fob. I just checked a friends RX330 and it was just as I rememebered...a very solid positive lock...actually very audible...the RX350 makes very little noise.

I am not sure what difference closing the door manually or with the key would be.

vlad_a

The hatch is not closed all the way. Check for obstruction. If the problem persists, you may want to have it checked out. Sounds like your warranty is about to expire. If that is the case, take it to the dealer immediately.

MBear12

There is nothing obstructing the latch...a litlte greasse might help..If not ..to the dealer in the morning.

MBear12

A little grease helped...the door now latches with a positive click.. and it seemedo be much better. Driving yesterday and hit a bump...the key detected alarm sounded, went for a few minutes, made the block and tried the same bump trying to get the alarm to sound...no luck. Time to go to the dealer.

KrisA

My apologies for never closing the loop on this thread. MBear12, sorry to hear that you are having the same issue; it's really annoying/frustrating/puzzling. After multiple trips to our dealership with many fixes (including replacing the entire rear door latch mechanism, etc), we ended up turning in the vehicle (Lexus worked with us, as we were 18 months into a 36 month lease) & getting into a new 2013 RX, which I am still driving ... thankfully with no "Key Detected in Vehicle" chimes!! I really think it was just a malfunction in our vehicle & I can't say enough about our dealership (IRA Lexus - Danvers, MA & Lexus ) - everyone was so helpful & understanding. So, keep contacting your dealer & hopefully they will help to resolve the issue or offer alternatives!! I love my RX & although I had this one issue, I certainly can't complain. My 2013 lease will expire next year & I'm already planning on my next RX!! Good luck & keep us posted on the outcome!

MBear12

After having the car for 4 days it appears to be fixed. It was a good thing the warranty was still in effect. I was not there when my wife picked up the car but it appears that they replaced the rear locking mechanism. They told my wife that it appeared to be a corrosion issue,...they removed the defective part and tried it on another car on the lot and the key detected error came up on that vehicle. Bottom line when the hatch is closed either manually or with the button there is a positive closing sound from the latch.

It has been almost a week now and there has not been a "key detected message"

CyberCop

June 2015-
I have owner my RX350 (2011) for about 4 months. Wife and I purchased this as a used vehicle (29000 miles) Just recently my wife experienced the same issue as described in the forum posts. Our symptoms have been a bit different. While driving down the road, everything fine, the doors will lock and the warning on the display will read " Key detected in Vehicle"
I have not yet gotten it into the dealer yet but dealer mentioned the FAB and battery. Wife was using a brand new FAB when this occurred.
When the issue occurs its the very same symptoms with locks and then error message.
Your posts and info on forum was very helpful in one sense and discouraging in another.
I hope we can find out what our issue is- but there seems to be some correlation between these issues.
Todd

BertL

Todd, welcome to CL and congrats on your new-to-you RX.

I would suggest you put another fresh battery in the FOB. I've found some of the cheap batteries I've purchased on eBay or even Amazon that cost the same for a 5-pack as single new battery at a local store, are sometimes old and don't have the strongest charge -- they do all sort of strange things to my MBZ similar to what you're describing, and when I put in a guaranteed-fresh battery, the problems go away.

I've not had the problem you're describing in my RXh, but after putting in a new battery in the FOB, if it still occurs, it's absolutely time for you to take it in for service. I assume of course, the FOB isn't being placed in some location that will potentially interfere with it's communication to the internal antenna -- e.g. if it's next to foil, by some metal objects in a purse, the console, or in your pocket with too much change, etc -- that can all cause issues as well. As the battery ages, the potential for interference increases, and you'll also have less distance the FOB will work to lock/unlock your RX.

Good luck.

vtec1jk

I forgot to update my status, but the dealership was able to get this resolved for me. It ended up being a sensor in the trunk I believe. They replaced the sensor and everything was fine. It took a while for me to convince them of the issue. Eventually I setup my phone to video tape the dashboard while i was driving one day. But in short, after they replaced the sensor it hasnt happened again 2 years later.

kitlz

Thank you for the update, vtec1jk. Your information may be beneficial to other RX owners experiencing the same issue. Much appreciated.

MBear12

One year later and the problem has returned. Key Detected in Vehicle which can be stopped (for a little while) by pushing the door lock button.

Rear door open, inside lights on.

Both problems can be replicated by hitting a small bump.

I greased the rear latch mechanism and that seemed to help for a day or two.

I am going to replace the key fob batteries and see if that helps.

CyberCop

My wife and I have for sure suffered from this "Key detected in vehicle" console message multiple times. We also thought as many have the battery in the FAB is low...Not the problem.
When then suspected the Back hatch was not closing with the auto close function, caught on rug..something. Closing it manually helped, at least we thought so.

Long story short- For other reasons we had our car in for body work and it so happened that the battery failed just before picking up car.. Body shop went out of their way to purchase a new Lexus battery.

Ever since this new battery was installed we have never had the "Key" console message appear at all. Mind you this has only been about 30-45 days ago, but car is driven every day.

Other users on this forum , nor the dealership could solve the issue or shed ANY LIGHT on issue. Dealer thought we read the message wrong and it stated "Key is not detected in vehicle"- But the exact message is "Key detected in vehicle"

Our new battery- which is the only thing changed since this error started occuring may not be the final problem- but has to this point resolved our issue. If this reoccurs again I will be the first to jump on this forum and let others know.
Hope this helps
Cybercop

Bigjoe7744

I have a 2012 Lexus RX350 that was having the same issue. "Key detected in vehicle" warning light and chimes sometimes "Back hatch ajar" warning light. I finally figured out when I hit a sharp bump it set the warnings off. Apparently the bump bounces the rear hatch enough to falsely set off the alarms.
Save yourself the headaches of wasting time going to the dealer. Go to the hardware store and purchase six 1/4" lock washers. When you get home get a #2 Phillips screwdriver and open the rear hatch. On the lower portion of the opening you will see two small round black rubber bumpers ( one on each side). Remove the screw and leave the rubber bumper on the screw. Place two of the washers on the screw below the rubber bumper and reinstall the bumper. Repeat process for the other side. You now have two spare washers. The extras were in case you dropped or lost one. Problem solved!!!
The washers act as shims to raise the rubber bumper slightly thus making the hatch less liable to bounce and trigger the false alarms. Lexus techs are good but sometimes they don't take time to think about the problem in detail. Yes I am a "shade tree" mechanic. Lol
My wife and I have driven over the bumpy road several times that always set off the warning and so far the solution has worked great. Cheap, easy and no trip to the dealer.