Phil01

Yesterday I bought a 2001 RX300. The car is in great shape but has a few problems that I am hoping some one can guide me on.
1) The remote unlocks the rear doors and tail gate but not the front doors. What can cause that.
2) The radio antenna does not retract and is out all the time.
If anyone has any suggestions of what to look for it would be great.

mnewxcv

do the front doors lock and unlock from the master power lock button on the front doors?

mnewxcv

as for the antenna, the first thing I would check is the fuse. If the fuse is fine, you will need to remove the interior panel surrounding the antenna motor assembly. I am sure if you google you can find the procedure. From there you can test the harness connector with a multimeter to see if it is getting power when you switch the radio on and off. It should be 2 wires, and it should show 12V between them when you turn the radio on initially.

salimshah

Welcome to Club Lexus.

Please look through the sticky threads. Most of the common problems [like the one you have listed due to age] are already discussed in there. There are trouble shooting hints there too.

Salim

Phil01

This is easy to answer. No
In looking through the sticky threads it suggests disconnect the battery for ten to fifteen minutes to see if it resets anything. All my other cars if you disconnect the battery you need a reset code for the radio. Do I need one on this car?

ukrkoz

Yes. You need code. Should be in your user manual or a sticker in the glove box. Usually. Or, youc all dealer give them VIn they give you code. In person, sorry, I forgot, they won't do it over the phone. Or, you go to dem plenty websites that will give you code based on VIN.
But why bother? Isn't it easier to locate whatever dedicated fuse you need to pull and pull that out?

salimshah

This thing had me confused for a while till I sorted this out. We are talking about security code associated with radio/cd.

There is no security code associated with the radio/cd of Lexus.[Unlike BMW and maybe Benz].
The Security warning silk-screened on the radio bezel is a reminder that if anyone reaches inside the vehicle to open the doors, after security is armed] the siren will sound.

As far is removing the battery terminal, just make sure the key is pulled out of the ignition wait few minutes and then disconnect the battery.

Salim

Phil01

New bit of information. It turns out the switch on the inside of the drivers door does lock and unlock the two rear doors and the rear hatch. Are these cars prone to having broken wires at the door hing areas? Two of my other cars have this issue.

salimshah

BMW of those production years were prone to wires rubbing against each other and loosing insulation.

As long as no one has messed with the wires, Lexus always uses strain reliefs and holders to prevent such rubbing. That said the door lock actuators do wear out.

Salim

mnewxcv

It sounds like you need door lock actuators for the 2 front doors. OEM parts recommended (based on threads where people with amazon/ebay actuators causing issues).

Phil01

This brings up a new question, other than the dealer what is a good source of parts for these cars?

b2884987

I went to the salvage yard and pulled out a door actuator. Still works on my car.