Harvijay

The rear lift gate will not open or close the trunk. When i press trunk key on my fob, there will be long beep and i can see the gate unlocking and opening about an inch and then will close in about 2 seconds.
If I grab the door manually then I can lift it open manually. But it won't open automatically. I went to dealer to get it checked out. They charged me $250 to read some code and offered to fix it for $1700.
The dealer said the motor is not working and have to be replaced. I googled few things and the motor assembly is sold on Lexus website for $600. I feel like i am being ripped off by dealer.

Anybody has done such fix on their own. Any help will be super helpful. I will post pics as I progress through the fix.


Edit:
2013 Lexus RX 350

salimshah

You can always ask the dealership to break down the price into labor and parts. Labor is going to be $120+ per hour.

Salim

Harvijay

The labor and Parts are super expensive after talking to dealer. There are some websites are selling this part for even cheaper than $600.
Does anybody knows how to replace this? Tools and parts I need?

salimshah

It is mechanics (humans) who will do the repair. So theoretically you can do it too. Need tools and know how and there is the risk factor too.

First part is diagnosing the problems and then doing fault analysis. You don't want to throw parts and a good repair to go bad without fixing the root problem. Dealerships have the advantage of doing prior repairs and collective history of the model.

For know how, I usually refer to service manual. [TIS for online]

People usually over look the 'risk' part, I am very careful in repairs, but once in a while things go wrong and some things inadvertently breaks.

The good part about DIY for me is that I do not cut corners and if a fastener is broken, i would purchase a new one.

Salim

mandyfig

Have you checked the struts? The struts play a role in the operation of the latch. Being a 2013 you would not think they are gone. Because of my strut failing on my RX330 (and the hood falling on my head - no blood spilled), I would recommend replacing them when they get 10 years old. The aftermarket is relatively cheap and they do work. But figure need replacement more often. We just disregard how important their function is.