Nothing like being at Costco one day before company arrives from out of town and finding that your back passenger door refuses to close and your wife has to sit in the back holding it closed as you drive home.

Granted I'll call Lexus first thing in the morning, I had to disconnect my battery when I got home because the car refused to turn everything off, detecting the "open door".

Is it common for the electrical latches to fail like this? Any idea on what the cost is to fix the latch?

It just won't grab...

*sigh*

 

Sounds like the door actuator may have crapped out on you. I know it's been an issue on several other models. Not sure if it carries over to the LS.

 

It shouldn't be the actuator? I had people who doesn't know I have auto closure slam doors many times and that would be before the actuator even have a chance to grab the door. Could it be that the locking latch is somehow engage not allowing you to close it?

 

Well I tried flipping the lock latch (it was off), and there was no change.

It just refuses to grab the metal bar.

 

Please tell us the fix when it is done.

Thanks,

 

Yesterday, when we went to leave Costco, the passenger door would not latch. My wife too had to hold the door shut while we drove home.

This is the third door lock problem I've encountered, the previous two had to do with the actuator not locking the doors. This time was different, a completely unrelated problem. Since I have become a pro at removing the EZ close actuator, it only took about twenty minutes to get the actuator out.

Immediately the problem was apparent. When the door closes, the latch has a spring loaded arm that opens a micro switch. the whole mechanism is made of plastic and is sandwiched between the metal housing for the latch itself. The micro switch piece had broken off from the latch, so that the lever would not move and open the switch. With the lever in the wrong position, the latch will not stay closed, making the door latch unable to remain locked.

This is very poor engineering, in my opinion. the spring is completely housed in plastic and pushes out against the piece, creating stress on it. Over time, with use and temperature fluctuations, the plastic eventually fails.

Next, I will attempt to repair it, using JB Weld. I am not confident it will last long, as the problem is in the pressure the spring puts on the plastic. I will post again once I complete the repair.

Herb

 

It definitely is not a common issue. The actuator motors are but not the door lock itself.

 

We had that problem In our older LS400. We set up an appointment with Lexus and they fixed it for 600 dollars