When you get in your car and your not ready to drive yet but you want to lock the vehicle while your sitting there. I saw on some video reviews of the 2022 NX that if you push the lock button that it doesn’t make any noise at all. So how do you know the door is really locked?

All the cars I’ve ever owned have the visible door latch sticking up and you hit lock and it goes down and also get a audible lock noise.

Did Lexus change anything for 2023? Does it make a sound when you lock the door, how do you know it’s locked?

I’m trying to understand this new door latch lock mechanism.

 

The light on the lock button will light up when it's locked. The light will go off after a while, but doors remains locked.

However, only the driver door can still be opened from the inside even when locked.

There's no sound at all when locking.

 

Agree with you it is a bit confusing. When I leave the car, I've found another suggestion someone made here earlier helpful. I keep the mirrors set to fold in when it's locked. Otherwise, when you're in the car, there is a little green light on the lock button on the driver's door when lock is activated. That's about the only indication I've found though. I do find some of the "intelligence" in the electronic lock system a bit frustrating. For instance, I leave the car on, but then want to open the tailgate. You can't hit unlock on the key, and you can't kick to open, even with the key in your pocket. It ignores it. You have to go physically push the unlock button on the driver's door, and then use either the dashboard button, or the button on the tailgate to open it. Little frustrating with your hands full of groceries. Now, I'll admit this is a "first world problem", and one I wouldn't even have if it wasn't for having the plug-in hybrid 450h+. I frequently leave the car on for the radio, climate system, etc. with teenagers who want to stay in the car if I make a quick run into the grocery store. I'd never do that with an ICE car, but it's a nice extra perk of an EV.

 

Just adding to StraySheep explanation. The latch is electrically operated. So the "LOCKED" vs. "UNLOCKED" status is purely a software-managed change. There is nothing physical moving in the door latching mechanism when changing from "LOCKED" to "UNLOCKED" and vice versa. However, the latch can be operated mechanically, both from the inside and outside in case of emergency.

 

It’s so hard for me to grasp there is no sound or moving visible parts when locking the car from the inside. I thought maybe there was a setting in the menu on the Navi screen to make an audible sound when locking.

Does the button on the dash to lock and unlock make a sound? Or is that silent too. I still don’t think I understand exactly how it works. So there is a light that goes on when you lock it from the inside but then the light goes out? How soon does the light go out?

So if I’m in the car in a parking lot and I lock the car while I’m inside waiting for my passenger to come out of the store which could be 5 or 10 mins. The door lock switch will light up to know I locked it but then the light will go out but the door is still locked. Is that right?

 

​​​​​​There's absolutely no mechanical noise when locking or unlocking because it's all electronic logic controlled.

Yes, light comes one the lock button, then goes off after a while, like a minute.

 

Welcome to the strangeness on the 2022/23 NX.

 

Thanks this really helps me understand it better. It’s a mind set thing, I guess re training your brain to know there is no sound or visible part moving when the car is locked.

So can you choose an option in settings to lock the car when it drives away after 5 or 10 mph? If so then the door lock switch still lights up and then turns off?

I’m hoping to test drive the NX next week if the dealer has a f sport available so I can try this first hand.

 

The lock light stays on all the time when locked while the ignition is on.
​​​​​​
​​When ignition is off, that's when door lock light goes off after a while.

 

This is to prevent someone opening your trunk with the kick sensor while your car ignition is on and car stopped. Say at a traffic light or parking lot.
The remote buttons are disabled so kids or yourself don't accidentally press the buttons to open the trunk while driving on the highway. I can see the fustration, but safety comes first.

 

Totally agree, though I thought the whole concept of the kick sensor was that you had to have the key on your person just behind the car, so not just anyone could kick and open. But yeah, I get it won't just open with a button press if you're on the highway. But... there's already the feature that you can't unlock any of the doors unless the car is in Park. I think the bottom line is that there are a lot of variables, and the exact combination of them that is "logical" varies by individual to a degree.

 

We should all call the Lexus Brand Experience Center and request an inside audbile alert when doors are locked and unlocked.

Both the Driver side and Front Passenger side lock and unlock buttons will lock and unlock all the doors. The rear unlock and lock buttons only do their own doors.

it would be nicer if the green LED was larger. On the LC, they have large lock indicator green lights.


I have had to tell my passengers to either press their buttons to unlock their doors prior to exiting or wait till I open the driver side door. I chose the Driver Side Door open selection to unlock all the doors vs placing car in park because I don’t want the doors to unlock if I am just sitting inside parked while waiting to pickup a passenger and some stranger decides to get in my car.

 

It seems like a security failure NOT to have an audible sound or bell tone the you locked the doors. Just having a green light is not enough in my opinion. I understand they are electronic but almost all of US drivers have grown up or are use to hearing the doors have locked after pressing the lock button or looking and seeing the door pin go down to show it’s locked. Now we are only replying on a light which to me does not instill a lot of confidence that the doors are really locked.

 

Do you like it when "technology" is used to solve a problem that did not exist just because they could with technology.

I think Lexus put together a team of "door lock design engineers" and asked them to come up most outrageous and non-functional solutions possible to open and close and lock and unlock doors. They succeed in their outrageous goal .


YMMV,
MidCow3


P.S. I may be the odd duck, but I like the gear shift (same as in Prius) and the NX door open/close

 

The duration of the lock switch light is 30 seconds by default, but can be customized by the dealer (or other ODB port based tools) to 60, 600, or 1200 seconds.