Shnewzhere

I have a 2013 Lexus RX350, just got it with 156,000 miles on it. The power liftgate only works sometimes and I have done quite a bit of troubleshooting and have concluded that it may be the motor going out. The symptoms are the car is unlocked and when I push the trunk button on either the key fob or the dash or trunk lid button, the trunk makes a long beep noise and usually unlocks and then locks again. Here are the things that I have done/checked so far:
- Trunk button in glove box is in the active position
- I have tried opening it with the car turned on and running several different times so that could potentially rule out the battery? The battery is 2 years old.
- I have tried resetting it in a few ways including this way. https://www.clublexus.com/forums/rx-...-diy-help.html
- When the trunk has worked, it's usually after I have driven for at least 30 mins or more and it's when the car is off.
- I have checked the pinch sensors and they look fine, tried bending them away from the door, but don't think they need it.
- Replaced shocks a week ago

My thoughts are that it has been used quite a bit within the 156,000 miles and it is just slowly going out. Only other thoughts are maybe the battery is dying? or the pinch sensor module is going out? I'm not sure..

I purchased the OEM lift and I'm ready to replace it, but I thought I'd post on here before I dive into it. Also, I noticed there is not a DIY on Club Lexus or YouTube for my model, if I do end up replacing the motor, I'm planning on making a video and I'll post it on here and YouTube.

Any help/suggestions/advice would be much appreciated!

Clutchless

Replace the rear hatch struts first. They are weak and the motor is being destroyed trying to lift the hatch without much help from the rear gas struts. You can buy great aftermarket rear hatch struts from Lift Support Depot, or the same brands at Amazon for far less than OEM struts https://www.liftsupportsdepot.com/pr...RoCxN8QAvD_BwE

They are inexpensive and there are man youtube videos demonstrating how to remove and install them.

salimshah

Try determining if the lift struts are still good. The trunk should be almost correctly balanced. By balanced I mean in manual mode it should be able to stay at any position and who you open or close, you don't have to fight against gravity. The motor is designed to provide the small amount of force difference to lift or close.

The struts usually start acting up in cold weather.

Salim

Shnewzhere

I forgot to mention this in my initial post, I also changed my rear trunk shocks as well about a week ago. *Just added it to the initial post* The original ones weren't terribly bad either. The new shocks hasn't made a difference in the motor being able to push it up more often.. Would your guess be that the motor is most likely shot? I'm wondering how often these go out. I asked the dealership and they said they've sold 1 liftgate actuator in a year for my model.

Clutchless

The motors rarely fail. Most of the time it is failing struts. It appears you are the rare case of a probably failed hatch motor. Since you already purchased it you may as well install it since the new struts did not help. I suspect the prior owner wrecked the motor by using it a long time with worn out hatch struts.

Shnewzhere

Thanks Clutchless, I think I’ll go ahead and replace it today and I’ll make a DIY video. Is there a place to post DIY videos on this forum? Should I just create a new thread with it or should I just post a link to the YouTube video in this thread?

Non

Post the video on YouTube and share the link here.

NickSP

I don't know if the motor rarely fails or not but on my 450h it did and the dealer replaced it as per the history on Lexus Drivers. So it could be the motor.

Shnewzhere

So, I replaced the motor today. It works great now! I'll post the DIY video on here. I've never done a DIY video, so hopefully you can bear with my lack of video skills. Thanks for the replies y'all!

Clutchless

Thanks and am glad that resolved the problem with the hatch on your RX.

Shnewzhere

Here is the link to my DIY on how to change the trunk motor on YouTube! I hope some of y'all find this video helpful in the coming years when those motors start to go out.

RX in NC

Thanks for posting this video. Now I just need to remember that it is available to us if I ever need to replace the liftgate motor in my wife's 2015 RX350....

AlgoTrader

My rear hatch motor went out as well on my 13RX. Same manifestation as the OP: long beep, intermittently worked.
Here is my post where I discuss the issue and my thoughts on the root cause of failure. (item 2) https://www.clublexus.com/forums/rx-...l#post10867938

lextoys

Shnewzhere and AlgoTrader, great info in your posts. I got mine out of the roof and disassembled (using Shnewzhere's amazing video) and took the circuit board to a few guys in town. The motor isn't likely what's bad, it's likely the relays on the circuit board. Based on what they showed me, the motor works fine and the board itself receives a signal, but then doesn't convey the signal to the motor to operate, whether from the dash button, the key fob or the latch release at the rear outside trunk. Unfortunately, you can't buy the circuit board and you get "robbed" having to buy a whole new motor from all I can tell unless you can find a circuit board guy to replace the relays on the board, which seems near impossible. Just sharing what I was able to learn....looks like I'm stuck buying a new motor for $400 over a busted $5 circuit board.

Shnewzhere

Lextoys, thanks so much for posting your findings! Do you happen to still have the circuit board? How many relays are on the board? It might be worth trying to replace them! Can you find a part number?