Ever had a bad day at the car wash? Lol
Other than minor scratches and swirls, I've been ok so far.

Broke trunk

 

No, it didn't "break" the trunk. What happened is that high-pressure water, when it hits the electronic sensor for the power hatch-opening, sometimes fools the sensor into thinking it is your hand trying to open the hatch lid......and opens it for you.

I have to be careful of that with my own vehicle when using a hand-held water-spray (I don't use automated car washes)...I've had my own hatch lid pop open inadvertently a couple of times.

 

Just one of the reasons I don't use car washes.

 

When I wash our cars, they keep locking and unlocking when I spray water over the handle. I guess the keyless entry touch sensors in the handles trigger from the water spray - very annoying as the sideview mirrors are set to fold when the car locks, so they keep folding and unfolding. I sometimes unlock then and then bring the keys into the house, so they are not in close proximity to the cars and then sensors wont react.

 

Are you sure about that? 👀


 

I've had two mishaps. One was in FL when I had a rental car, I ran it through a gas station carwash because it had so many love bugs on it, a service door was open and got caught on the mirror and screwed the door all up. Nobody noticed when I turned it in lol

Another time was my own car (my 4GS) the car ahead of me didnt drive and rolled backwards into my car on the conveyor. Luckily it only bent the license plate

So annoying. Add on the Mercedes the damn door handles constantly pop in and out

 

Does your vehicle have the kill option on the fob? On mine if I hold the lock button down & hit unlock twice it kills the fob. You have to actually hit one of the buttons on the fob to wake it up, but this way you can keep the keys on you & no folding of mirrors, etc.

 

I don't think BMW fob has this function. Press and hold lock button closes all windows and roof, press and hold open button opens all windows and roof.

 

When I wash the cars I just leave the fob in the garage or inside the house so I don't have to deal with the constant locking/unlocking from the water. It's just easier that way.

 

Are you sure it didn’t break the trunk? Sure looks broken to me.

 

No guarantee with the following. It was provided by AI Microsoft Copilot for my GX-550, but will hopefully work for yours/others Lexus products:

https://copilot.microsoft.com/shares...hkTG8HRWELwxJM
"Lexus GX‑550 — Rear Hatch Automatic Activation Controls
✅ 1. Power Back Door (Main Power Control)
This is the closest thing to an “ON/OFF” switch.
• Location:
Settings → Vehicle Settings → Door & Access → Power Back Door
• What it does:
• ON: The rear hatch opens/closes electrically using the exterior switch, interior switch, or key fob.
• OFF: The hatch becomes manual only — the electric motor will not operate.
This is the setting to check first.

✅ 2. Kick Sensor (Hands‑Free Activation)
If your Premium+ or Overtrail+ is equipped with the kick sensor:
• Location:
Settings → Vehicle Settings → Door & Access → Hands‑Free Power Back Door
• What it does:
• ON: Kick‑to‑open/close works.
• OFF: Kick sensor is disabled, but the hatch still works electrically from buttons.

✅ 3. Close & Walk‑Away Function
This is the feature many owners mistake for a malfunction.
• Location:
Settings → Vehicle Settings → Door & Access → Power Back Door → Close & Lock / Close & Walk‑Away
• What it does:
• When enabled, the hatch won’t close immediately when you press the “close & lock” button — you must step away with the key.
• Turning it OFF makes the hatch close immediately when you press the button.
This setting explains the “beep but no close” behavior some owners report."

 

Maybe you need to buy... a Tesla. What car is this? Some BMWs have had exclude home feature as well. Not like how it works on Tesla but it would not unlock at home when you're near unless you pull the handle. I've never had this happen with water but that locking/unlocking sure is annoying. I usually just unlock then toss the fob inside. It prefer unfolded mirrors while washing.

 

I'm not a mechanic but I don't think he's walking away with only a new trunk door.

Doesn't look like an easy fix to me but maybe I'm wrong. Lol

 

Duplicate post

 

Not IMO. In my experience, that is likely to happen anytime a high-enough stream of water-pressure hits the hand/finger sensor that releases the truck/hatch lid. That is why I am careful when I hand-wash with a hose.