LS 430 Door Lock Actuator Tutorial
 

My electic door lock quit working. Since there wasn't a good tutorial on do-it-yourself replacement of the motor I wrote one up. The cost to fix this problem is about $5. The dealer probably charges >$700 for the service. The lock actuator uses a $5 dollar Mabuchi motor (you can find the part number elsewhere.) On my 2001 LS430 the motor requires a "D" shaped shaft to fit the gear. A round shaft will not work unless you want to drill your gear and epoxy it onto the new motor. No special tools are required.

I posted the tutorial at:

http://www.shastaanesthesia.com/Lexu.../actuator.html

The time to accomplish is about 90 minutes. Return on your time =($700-$5)/1.5 hour=$463.33/hour

Wow excellent write up, had this happen to me recently luckily my warranty was still in effect. Sure did appreciate the 2010 loaner too lol

Yikes, that's a great write up but seems like more than 90 minutes of work, especially for a novice. I can kind of see why the dealer gets away with charging so much for this.

Thanks for the write up! As my 2001 gets a little long in tooth I worry about those actuators every time I hear them go into action. I've bookmarked your page. Regards!

I did this today, however I still have a problem.
 

I get a gear grinding sound sometimes when the door locks or unlocks. All parts seem to move freely, until gear sounds starts. Then the lock seems to get binded up and is very hard to move manually from inside the car.

Any thoughts?

Randy B

Nice tut! I really like the factory service manual steps along side your pictures. I know it is time consuming. Thank you for taking the time to put this tutorial together. Truly appreciated.

EXCELLENT write up.

Thanks for adding that write up - nice work

A little more to add for the future...
 

After much Google searching, I figured out the grinding I was experiencing sometimes, was due to having not glued the actuator housing back together. I originally simply snapped it back together and re-installed. Rather than glue it and not have access next time, I used some zip ties. Others have done this from the links I read and saw, and upon reassembly, it all fit with no issues regarding the zip ties. The first two pics show the assembly with the zip ties. This placement will not interfere with any reassembly or functionality.

Since I had taken the whole thing apart again, I figured I would really inspect the old motor and compare it to the new.

:banghead:***Warning***; those of you that are not in to minutia and fine details need not to continue reading the write up. It may bore you to death, and I do not want to responsible for that. :eek2:

:cry:Continuing on for those that dared. The new motor which was the Mabuchi replacement recommended on many threads is not quite the exact replacement. It is much louder and stronger on the torque than the original.

The third picture shows the end cap with the brushes of the original motor.

The original motor had a part number stamped on it "BN635624." The brushes were quite deformed, and worn out.

The fourth picture is of the new end cap from the Mabuchi replacement motor.

The armature from the original motor is slightly shorter in length than the replacement. About 3.7 mm's off. However this excess is in the end cap, not the magnet portion or commutator portion of the motor.

Based on this inspection, I cleaned up the original armature, and used the original magnet housing, and placed the new end cap from a second motor I had purchased as a spare. So essentially what I have re-installed in the car is the original motor housing w/magnets, original armature, and new end cap with new brushes.

The fifth picture shows the two armatures side by side.

After re-installation, the motor is as quiet as the original, and it functions as is should. Also by reusing the original armature, I was able to have a correct D shaft, and not a grinded one from a dremel tool.

I share this for future do it your-selfers. The write up in the beginning of this thread by the OP is quite good, and was relied upon for completing the project. So a big thanks the OP for getting me going.

Randy B

So what is the correct motor for replacing in the actuator? I would rather replace it with the correct motor : )

For those that have installed as is, how much louder is it?

The answer is, you can't get it.
 

Cory, all the online places only sell the round shaft from what I searched. That is why I disassembled the motors and re-used the original armature and D shaft. I could not find anyone online, or on ebay that sold a new D shaft.

Mabuchi is the correct brand. The motor sounds correct compared to the original. Its the brushes inside that wear, not the armature.

Randy B

Wished I saw this sooner, just replaced my door actuator in my 2004 LS passenger with smart key. Bought the whole unit for about $200 I think.

Please tell me more. I might be interested in going smart key.

2002 LS430 UL

A very good and interesting write up.
One thing I noticed was the change in build quality on the LS430 actuator compared to the earlier LS400 models shown below,the motor looks smaller,the motor contacts to the housing are no longer hard wired and soldered and the brass worm drive is replaced with a plastic one.
Plus the casing is screwed together not glued
I guess even Lexus have to make compromises on build quality then?

Attachment 434958

This is a GREAT help. I never would have tried it but am goin to do it now. Thanks a bunch. Wish I had a "D" shafted motor.