Hey guys,

So just recently, it doesn’t happen all the time, but I can’t gently shut the drivers door without it bouncing back out. It’s like it won’t catch the door latch, so I need to slam it in order for it to do so.

Does anyone know if this a common problem as these cars get older? I do have the soft close door feature on my car, but I never use it for the drivers door as I naturally shut the door like any other car.

I appreciate the feedback in advance.

 

Try lubricating mechanism.

 

I was thinking the exact same thing. I’ll try spraying some silicone in there and see what happens. Thanks.

 

Well now my door won’t even close now after spraying some silicone in the mechanism. It just keeps bouncing back out. Even when I try to slam the door, it still won’t close.

Is the mechanism busted or something? I’ve never owned a car, EVER that had a broken or messed up door latch.

 

Does your car have soft close doors? You have a 2007 is that correct?

 

I also have a 2007 LS 460, but I’m talking about my 05 LS 430.

Yes it has soft close doors. It’s my assumption that the latch has broken, (common problem on these cars after researching) so I went ahead and bought a used one online and I will try to install it myself.

 

Update.

So I replaced the entire door lock actuator assembly myself, and now the door finally closes again.

I haven’t been able to drive the 430 in so long because of the broken latch.

After further inspection, a blue plastic thingy with a spring attached to it did break, thus not allowing the latch to engage with the door striker.

The job isn’t hard, it’s just a bit time consuming and you have it be careful when removing and reinstalling the door panel, including the unplugging and reconnecting the wires.

At the same time I installed some sound deadening material, including felt padding inside the door skin to make the door feel even more solid and quieter.

So for anyone in the future that encounters this issue, you HAVE to replace the actuator unfortunately.

 

Were you lucky enough to get a used working part or did you purchase new?
Kinda glad I have the ML - but the UL soft close is slick -

 

I found one used that was in excellent condition. New is like $1,000 which is just outrageous.

Honestly the soft closed doors isn’t really that big of a deal to me. I kinda wish my car didn’t have it. It adds an unnecessary motor that’s attached to the actuator making the repair much more expensive. Plus the entire assembly is huge compared to the non soft closed doors actuator and it’s a bit heavy.

 

Question, could it be possible to use the conventional door latch system and remove the soft close feature if it is a cost and useless feature for a person?

 

Thats a good question I’m not sure, maybe someone else can answer.

But it’s my guess, probably not. Reason being is that I believe the black box which is the MPX body control module is different on the non soft close doors LS 430’s. The white cable connector is what plugs into that module which controls the door locks, alarm feature and I’m sure the soft close feature which now finally works on my car.


Check out the pics, also if you zoom in on the picture of the actuator, the little blue plastic piece on the left is what broke. A small spring was attached to it and that was dangling loose too

The job wasn’t too difficult, it just takes time and patience. Also now if another door in the future breaks a latch, I know what to expect. I really was surprised on how huge the actuator is. And it would have been better if one could replace the latch by itself instead of having to replace the entire assembly.

 

Hello Flexnlexus. I have a 2003 LS 430 UL and the same thing just happened to me. The driver door won't latch and I had to hold the door closed while I drove home. It has the soft close feature. Any Ideas where to look for a used one and how do I track down the correct part number? Any help is most appreciated. Update: I called the lexus dealer in Oxnard and using my VIN he said the part number is 69040-50200. Any ideas? Thanks.