Hi Lexus Club,

I recently purchased a 2006 LS430 with only 67k miles. The car was purchased from a business bankruptcy auction and the buyer received multiple vehicles including this Lexus. I am the lucky person who purchased the LS from the private individual and hope this car will be trouble free for years to come. So far, I have ran across two minor issues: 1. The door does not lock or unlock from the door handle button. When I press it, it just makes a long beep. I have already searched the forums, and read about people leaving keys in the trunk or the smart key button is disengaged under the dashboard. I checked all over for a hidden key and did not find any(Plus I have both smart key in possession) and I pushed the smart key button a few times. The car will start without key in ignition, and I can lock and unlock the car with the buttons on the key. I would love to figure out a way to unlock the car with the keys in my pocket by just pushing the door handle button. The second issue is the power windows in the front are not working properly. Passenger side will not go up, after going down. When I turn off and then back on, the window will go up half way and very slow, like its got no power. Im pretty sure I have to replace a motor soon.

One last question is the timing belt replacement. I read that Lexus advise to replace it every 90k miles. Is it a bigger factor due to time (12 year old car) or mileage. Its only got 67k, so I am wondering if I should change the belt and water pump early because of the age of the car. Thanks for your help!

 

When I got my car I was in your boat, nothing would respond on the handles. It turned out to be that the driver door actuator was not functioning. If the car is locked with the switch inside, or with the fob outside, in reality, the driver door was unlocked, never locked.

The timing belt is likely just fine, but I would feel better myself having it done. It's $700-$950 at an indie, not nothing, but it can be other components in addition to the belt itself that could cause a problem...

The windows are all auto, but I do notice if the kill switch is activated, the other windows don't work even for the driver. I think the Toyota engineers goofed on that one, normally if you kill the windows, the driver can still operate them, the passengers cannot...

 

The door locks are going to be an issue with the door lock actuator. There are DIY on how to replace just the motor on the inside for about $10 a motor. I was not successful with the motor replacement and ended up buying rebuilt actuators off of eBay (https://www.ebay.com/usr/actuatorplu...72.m2749.l2754). That was the way to go for me, albeit a bit more expensive. Hopefully you can do some DIY for those locks otherwise you'll have to pay a pretty penny to get them done. If I remember correctly Lexus wanted about $1,500 to replace the front two door actuators and a local Lexus shop wanted about $700 (they just replaced the motor) for the same. I believe I replaced both fronts for about $300 in parts and my labor to switch them out. There are plenty of DIY about the door actuators since that is a very common thing to go out.

With the smart key button enabled you should be able to walk up to your LS , stick your hand in the door handle like you are going to open it, wait maybe a second, and it should unlock. The black button on the door handle is used to lock the door. That confused me when I first got my LS until I pulled out the owners manual and figured out what I was doing wrong. Also, when you walk up to your car and it detects your FOB (assuming smart key enabled) the puddle lights under the side mirror should illuminate.

Like mentioned, the timing belt is probably okay but you should budget and get it replaced soon just due to it's age. Mostly for piece of mind. The cost of the replacement is a heck of a lot cheaper than if your ruin the motor. Just my opinion.

Also, check your subwoofer which is probably blown. Another common issue with a $20 fix. Check your steering wheel tilt and telescope, decent chance one if not both aren't working.

I have nothing for you on the window not going back up but surely there is something out there about it. You might want to post a question just for that specific issue. Sometimes those threads get more attention then one the hits a hole bunch of topics.

 

You mention you have both smart keys - note that there are actually three of them, two masters (which can each be set up for individual settings for different drivers for seat position, mirrors, etc) and a valet key that doesn't operate the trunk

Have you tried the lock /unlock button from the passenger front door as well and get the same results?

You've got a couple of weird electronic things going on which sometimes can be caused by a low battery. Have you had the battery checked? It could have been sitting a long time or run accessories while at auction

 

Thanks everyone for your quick replies.
Dave, yes I have tried the passenger front door and it also makes the long beeeeep sound. I don't have the valet key but I have searched all over for another key inside the car and trunk. (Even dug through tool kit and emergency kit).
And thanks for the advice about timing belt Caverman and John, I will try and get some quotes from Indie shops. My telescope still works and my speakers doesn't sound blown. I do want to upgrade my stereo soon, something with auxiliary or bluetooth, hopefully carplay sync to phone, so I might as well change speakers. I came from an Infiniti G35 and M35 and I have to say there are pros and cons from each side. The wood and fitment of the interior is much better on the Lexus and when I close the door, it has a heavy refrigerator door feel that I like. The Lexus has a quieter interior and better ride all around. The pros of the infiniti, it has much better heated and cool seats and both had hands free phone for around the same time period. Loving the Lexus so far

 

Do you have the ML stereo? If so it's going to take a bit of money and work to upgrade the system. I have the ML stereo which, especially after I fixed the sub, sounds really good to me. Do some searching if you have an ML and want to upgrade your sub, it's not a typical ohm speaker/amp. I had to add a GROM system to connect up to my phone so I can play Pandora. I ended up with a fixed cell phone mounting bracket that connects to the back of the stereo and then I use a Pro-clip to hold the phone. If I remember correctly the GROM was about $125 and the holder was about $70 but I like my setup now.

My'04 LS wouldn't connect to my phone for hands free but my '05 works just fine and I use it all the time. It's a little weird in how it connects to a phone call but you get used to it. You have to remember the technology it's using is 15+ years old.

 

NO on the ML stereo. Im hoping to just pull out the whole thing and get a double din stereo with apple play and back up camera. I hope the connectors are pretty universal for the non ML stereo

 

I may be wrong here but it sounds from the description that you may be pressing the door handle button (small black square located on the exterior outside of the door handle) in an attempt to unlock the car. Th e outside door handle button does not unlock the car - instead pressing that button locks the car door. To unlock the car door you place your hand inside the door handle interior (not touching the outside button at all) and the car will sense your hand position inside the door handle and unlock the door. To understand how smart key works with locks check and read operator manual carefully - it can be a little confusing.

If I'm wrong and you understand outside button is to lock door please ignore.