330 Driver's door lock trouble
 

This problem appeared about 2 months ago, went away, came back today, and went away again.

Locking the doors w/ the remote worked. When trying to unlock via remote, the driver's door had a hard time unlocking. The usual loud "click" it makes when unlocking, sounded very weak & soft. Pressing the unlock button twice unlocked the 3 other doors as normal. Needless to say, the driver's door didn't unlock. After locking again, and unlocking w/ the remote, it worked.

Upon driving off, I naturally have to play & test it. Using the door panel switch, the driver's door wouldn't work, while the other 3 did.

The little lock nob on the inside couldn't be flipped back & forth either.

When it was stuck in the locked position, I tried opening the door using the inside handle, it wouldn't unlock, wouldn't open the door, and the chrome handle wouldn't retract back into place.

Asked a friend who has a 330 as well; his doesn't have the problem, nor has he heard of anyone bringing their 330's in for warranty work on it.

My parent's '98 ES had a similar situation, but they got rid of the car in the meantime.

Anyone out there experiencing a similar problem?

Problem seems to be with the driver side door lock actuater. Not an uheard of problem in the Lexus vehicles. Have it taken careoff under warranty work.

Salim

Thanks for the info brother. Unfortunately, my warranty ran out about 2 months ago... my baby is at 56K already :cry: ... Would the actuater be an expensive out-of-pocket repair? :confused:

Do a search on the actuator and you will see multiple hits .. try the GS forum ,,, the part has the same function but may be actually different.

From the posts, I reacall the repair to be about $600 (labor + part). I am hoping some one will do the DIY writeup.

Since you have not hit the 60k, and it is just over 2 months in time, talk to the service advisor ... and you may get a partial break. May be just pay for the labor etc.

Salim

see if they will fix it under good will since its close to the warranty expiration.

Probably just needs a little teflon lube sprayed in the right place. The trick is getting off the door inside panel without ruining it!

Thanks CL family!

Now the damn driver's door lock no longer works via remote or inside lock/unlock button. Gotta do everything by key. The other 3 doors & trunk are okay. Ugh, second guessing that IS350 purchase...

seriously with all the problems that the rx has as much as i hate my rx330 for all the problems it has most other lexus models should be better.

lol AM1 that sounds a little biased dont you think?

neversatisfied, can you go into lexus and tell them to deal with it, with or without warranty?

and third, (sarcasm) I guess this one RX with door locking troubles does represent the thousands of RXes out there

I guess it's worth a try, it was fine up until about 3 days ago, but I'm almost hitting 60K, so I seriously doubt that they'll cover it under warranty.

It's not so bad using the key to unlock the driver's door for now; but as far as my next purchase, with the IS having SmartAccess, if I encounter this problem again, and if this issue is a company-wide problem (from what I've read on this forum), I don't wanna have to pop off the keyhole cover everytime I get in the car... ugh, what to do, what to do...

Maybe I'll get the car I always dream about: A silver 350Z Roadster! :D *But, it doesn't have the features of the IS that I need* ;)

When you have this drivers door lock problem, can you at least open the door? I'm working on my wifes 2002 ES300 drivers door (about 60k miles), but the problem was the drivers door would NOT open, The remote and the key and the inside switch would all lock and unlock the door but the door would not open! Since the door panel can't be removed with the door shut, it was a major problem to get to the actuator. I think something in the encased actuator is broken because the rods and cables are all connected.
If this sounds like your problem, take care of it right away... before your door gets stuck and won't open.

Same problem with Camary, replaced actuator twice, about $500.00 :eek2: each time. I started wishing I would have got the extended warranty, those 2 fixes would have almost paid for it :egads:. The Camary went bye-bye.

The door lock looks the same on both the RX and the Camary, so I would expect to have the same type of problem.

Yes, the door can open. At one point, the door lock knob on the inside was totally stuck in the locked position, and I couldn't open the door. I was so pissed, that I forced it open by pulling on the knob and inside door handle. That's probably why it's totally disconnected from the remote and interior lock/unlock switch...

Hi everyone. I am having a version of this same issue. I see a lot of other members are frustrated as well. Anyone know where I can find diagrams/instructions for pulling the door panel and what I would expect to find once I have the panel off? I have a 2002 ES300 and my two front doors are messed up. And, your right, the dealer is paying for vacations with what they charge to fix this issue. What happened to Lexus quality. I switched from BMW and Mercedes and didn't expect this.