05RollaXRS

Edit: See post #16. I got the door to unlock finally after trying a few things. Thanks.

This is serious issue I have not been able to find a solution through research. My RCF is stored in the garage so this weekend I decided to take my Nicco jump starter to start the car up and run some checks etc. on it. Whenever my battery is dead, I usually use the mechanical key to open the door. It has always worked on the RCF in my 3+ years of ownership and my 18 year old Corolla XRS mechanical key works like a charm every time. I was baffled this time as I tried many times as the key turns even turn counter clockwise to put it in lock and then doing clockwise turn to open it, but the door does not unlock. Last time I opened it successfully and started the car up etc. a few weeks ago. This time it is not working. The only plausible theory I found was that maybe, the locking mechanism has some damage, but how could that have been the case as a few weeks ago I was able to do everything without any issues? It only has 10K miles on it and is almost brand new.

I guess, it is a difficult situation that I cannot open the hood to give power to the battery because I cannot get into the car so I have hit a dead end. The mechanical key is the last resort and it does not work. I might have to call Lexus tomorrow and try to find out what the way forward is with this situation. I am surprised that a Lexus originally $96K+ CAD would have such an issue. My 18 year old Corolla XRS with mechanical key works every time. Any ideas or thoughts would be much appreciated. Thanks.

Teutonic

iTrader: (1)

Just throwing this out there since you live in cold weather.--The lock wasn't wet and frozen when you turned the key and something broke?

Lurker9

I believe most CAA towtruck operators are equipped to open your locked car doors in 15 minutes. If your car is still under warranty, then call the Lexus roadside assistance to see if they can help.
Don't you have access to a power outlet to install a trickle charger? it keeps your car battery fresh all the time.

arpus 7

1 thing you may want to try. Hold the fob up against the door handle and pull the handle. Maybe a tiny trickle of power in the battery will open it.

CinFulxgs

Unless he is as skinny as a pair of skis that's not going to work.

arpus 7

That's why we have children.

SUNNYRCF

I have had an occasional issue with the driver side door lock getting stuck on my 2015 RCF. The door locks fine, but does not unlock with the door handle or key fob. I didn't try the manual key, but I tried locking and unlocking with the remote, but the door remains locked. I have had to climb in the passenger side and manually unlock the drivers door. It appears the mechanism is stuck halfway between locked and unlocked. Maybe your having the same issue?
I was going to have Lexus look at it, but it has only occurred maybe six times. It's just plain embarrassing to climb into the passenger side to unlock your high end car.
If that's the case, since there is no key on the passenger side, I think your best option is to get into the trunk and have a little kid climb through and unlock the door.

mcomer

Was the car accessible while in the garage and someone tried to "jimmy" the door lock?

05RollaXRS

Thanks Teutonic. I would never park my RCF outdoors. It is kept in a climate controlled garage where it is warm in the garage at all times so that was not the case.



Yeah, I might explore that option. I will check with Lexus first to see what they say. Lexus road side assistance has now expired. My powertrain warranty is still there, but I believe my bumper-to-bumper has expired. I wish I could hook it up to a trickle charger, but I don't have an electric outlet close to my underground stall.

Quote:

2 things you may want to try. Hold the fob up against the door handle and pull the handle. Maybe a tiny trickle of power in the battery will open it.

I think my battery is really dead right now. It was already weak and due for a replacement. I was going to look into it in March/April since it is winter now. Usually, I am able to open with the mechanical key and then jump start it to roll the car (to avoid flat spots) and check things after every 3 - 4 weeks. This time the mechanical key issue has happened.

How would I open the trunk with a mechanical key. Does anyone know the location where the key can be inserted in the trunk? I only see the button, which electronically opens the trunk (once the key fob unlocks the doors).




Yeah. the pass through is very narrow in the rear seat. Definitely, not for a reasonable sized adult male to go through it.

Quote:

I have had an occasional issue with the driver side door lock getting stuck on my 2015 RCF. The door locks fine, but does not unlock with the door handle or key fob. I didn't try the manual key, but I tried locking and unlocking with the remote, but the door remains locked. I have had to climb in the passenger side and manually unlock the drivers door. It appears the mechanism is stuck halfway between locked and unlocked. Maybe your having the same issue.

Thanks. That might be a possibility. How did you climb in the passenger side since the car is completely locked and the key fob in my case cannot unlock it? Also, the mechanical key is my last resort, which is not working either. I tried to rotate it counter-clockwise to fully lock it and then clockwise to unlock it. Did not work.

Quote:

Was the car accessible while in the garage and someone tried to "jimmy" the door lock?

Yes, it is a shared garage so it is possible. However, the key goes in fine and turns clockwise or counter clockwise as I expected always. Just the door does not unlock, which makes me think the mechanism is probably not tampered with.

cvt

Holy cow. Hope you get this sorted Rolla. Have never heard of this issue on any Lexus cars. Maybe time to upgrade to the anti gravity batteries the ISF boys are using. 🤔

05RollaXRS

Thanks man. Like I said, my 2005 Corolla XRS has had dead battery many times over the 18 years I have owned it and it opens like a charm every time with the old-fashioned big keys. Never expected this to happen on such a high-end car. I am going to try to simulate the same thing on my 2014 Lexus RX450h to see if I am doing it right, but I strongly doubt I would have a memory lapse like that.

p.s. Lexus told me I should call back on Monday morning when I can speak with a master tech on this and my hope is, he is able to give me some suggestions on the next steps.

buister

iTrader: (1)

How about your key fob's battery? Is it still good?

05RollaXRS

Key fobs are good. I replaced the batteries a few months ago. Looks like something was happening when first tried thr key fob and probably the battery stopped cooperating so I tried the manual key and discovered manually it was not opening.

SUNNYRCF

I was able to climb into the passenger side because my battery was fine and that side unlocked. that's not going to work for your situation. I didn't realize until your post that the driver side is the only side with the mechanical key. Hope you get it figured out!

Yri

That does seem odd that a lock would just spontaneously break... like mcomer mentioned, somebody could have tampered with the lock, but the key wouldn't go in and it would probably feel weird if it would go in. I may be mistaken, but it does look like the manual door lock mechanism uses cables to get the job done. There could not a way in heaven that those cables would just either 1: snap or 2: rust (lol, stupid thought). Getting a Lexus technician on the line is really a good idea.

Does it by chance feel loose, or broken in any way? Door lock cylinders on older cars have been known to go bad, generally after many years of use, so this is why I have a hard time believing that the issue here is a broken actuator or manual locking mechanism