Greetings, I have the 2018 Lexus NX 300 F Sport. I've had it for about two months now. Loving the car... I know the kick sensor worked a couple of times in the beginning but it stopped working. I find myself looking like a idiot putting my foot there and nothing is happening Anyone else having the same issue?

 

Are you leaving your foot there? You're supposed to just kick, don't hold your foot there. Also make sure the sensor is clean. Being in New York and having snow and stuff, the sensor may be real dirty.

 

Where exactly is the sensor... if you don't mind me asking...

 

There is a small plate underneath the car in the back (about 6"x6") that if you tap with your foot will open the hatch. Find the Lexus symbol in the back and is under that under the car.

 

 

 

My wife and I had issues and read the manual. Kick and take one step back. If you are too close, the hatch won't open.

 

They only put this in the new NX300 body update. Some tips for you:
-Make sure the underbody on the bumper is clean
-After "kicking", if you walk towards it, it will either stop or not open for your safety (it thinks you may walk into the hatch).
-Be patient. It is normal for it to take up to 8 seconds to begin to open.

 

Are we saying kick the actual sensor. IE: bring my foot up and actually tap it with my toe? Or bring your foot up to the sensor like in a kicking motion but don't physically touch it?

I ask because I was able to open the trunk once by waving my foot from let to right under the car and it worked but I've yet to get it to work since.

Thanks,
-Nigel

 

Sorry, when I said kick, I should have said "wave". We wave our foot under the bumper in a sweeping motion like you mentioned. No foot contact with the car. But if you don't step back, the gate won't go up.

 

I find that my foot has to go high, like bumper height, for it to work.

 

I tried yesterday and now can't get the kick sensor to work at all... Do you have to have the key in your pocket in the rear for this to work? I have noticed that the rear lock button on the tailgate doesn't work if you walk away with the key.... I have to have the key in my pocket and be in the rear of the tailgate for it to lock the entire vehicle. But with the kick sensor I was only able to get it to work once so far. No clue why this isn't working. Tried waving my foot all around, left/right, up/down...nothing.

-Nigel

 

We took delivery of our F Sport NX300h yesterday, and have yet to be successful in opening the tailgate by way of the kick sensor. When the salesman was going over the car with us he too failed to get this function to work, and therefore could not demonstrate the hands free opening.
After much reading of the manual, watching you tube videos and reading forum posts, I am yet to find a solution. I did go into the settings on the dashboard and confirmed that the kick sensor was switched on.
I'm beginning to wonder if there even is a kick sensor fitted to our car. The description of a 6"x6" plate under the bumper directly in line with the Lexus emblem mentioned above sounds like where we found the jacking point cover (at least I assume that's what it is, it has a picture of a trolley jack on it.
Hopefully it is just a case of user error, and we can find a solution because our closest dealership is 60 km away...

 

Yes, you must have the key in your pocket for it to work. I have found that even if I am standing close to the rear with the key in my pocket and someone else tries the kick it doesn't work. The person who is trying to open the hatch by kicking must have the key....in my experience.

 

This video shows the proper way to do it.