Most new Honda's do it and it is a very useful feature. My brother just walks away from his 2017 Honda Civic and car beeps twice to say it locked. If he had a door partially open or a window open, the car start sounding the alarm when you walks away. I think it is a useful feature.

 

My 2004 RX330 did that all the time.

 

My Honda Pilot has a setting that will automatically lock the vehicle when you are about 10 feet away.

I have looked thru some lexus material and I can't find a definitive answer.

 

I locked the doors once with my daughter inside, and when she opened the door to join me inside the store, it started to honk to sound an alarm. She panicked!

And I did not know about this feature.

But it auto-locks if you unload and don't open a door for lets say 30 sec (I don't know the exact duration).

For the lock when you move away, it does not have that.

 

The Smart Access key fob will illuminate the interior when you are close and
unlock door(s) when you reach through a door handle. Touch a door handle
spot (or button on some older Lexi) to lock all doors. There is no setting to
enable an Auto Lock function. One misunderstood feature that has a setting
in the Vehicle Customization Menu is Time to Relock. If you deliberately or
accidentally unlock the car from the fob...and do Not Open a door... the car
will relock. Seems to be intended to secure the car if you inadvertently press
the unlock in your purse or pocket and walk away. Press unlock and open a
door and the car will remain locked.

PeeWee discovered that if you lock the car "electrically" by either having the
fob present when you touch the door handle or press the fob lock button you
are locking the car And setting the alarm. If you lock the car "mechanically"
by pressing the inside door lock button or physically pressing the lock tab you
will lock the car without setting the alarm. Recently discovered that in this
last scenario the Lexus Remote App in your phone does Not correctly display
that the doors are locked And will Remote Start the car!

 

Are you sure about this? For convenience (and to save the remote's battery) I have been locking ES's and RX's for the last 20 years by pressing the lock button on the driver's side interior door and then just exiting the vehicle. I always assumed this also set the alarm.

 

On the 4th generation, you can touch the dimple on the outside handle to lock the doors.

 

I can't imagine this would set the alarm as it would think that there would be someone still inside the car. If you want to save the remote battery (however miniscule it may be), you can always pull out the physical key and turn the key in the lock outside. That will set the alarm for sure. There should be a red LED indicator on the dash that starts to blink once the alarm is set.

 

If I remember, I'll check this and get back. Easy to check: Turn on engine and lower driver side window. Shut off engine. Open drivers door, press interior switch to lock, exit and close door. Wait a minute or so (not sure if this is necessary). Reach through window and manually unlock door and then open it. I remember doing this many years ago with one of our Lexuses and the alarm went off indicating that I did set the alarm by using the interior lock switch.

 

Yep, same on my 2013 ES (and I think also on my 2007 ES and RX). My only point is that it's far easier for me when exiting to push the interior lock switch and then just close the door.

 

I never tried it, I assumed that it would unlock as the door would close to avoid accidentally locking a door.

 

Sounds like an excellent way to check out the system.

 

Might be something relatively new or a setting that can be programmed into the car. IIRC in the old old days:

- Open door -> manual lock from inside door -> close door -> door lock automatically pops open. Car is unlocked and no alarm set.
- Open door -> manual lock from inside door -> close door *while pulling door handle* -> car is locked. Alarm is set (if any).

Have never tried this with the 4G RX; although I won't be surprised if the proximity sensor detect that if you have the key outside, it will remain locked when you close the door rather than unlocking.

 

As I said, I have been locking our Lexus vehicles this way for 20 years (without tinkering with any original factory settings). Try it. After you open the driver's door, press the door switch to lock (the electrical switch, not the bigger manual-looking one), get out and just close the door. Poof, all doors, including any open passenger doors, are locked. It does not lock if a fob (mine or my wife's) is left in the car. Again, the issue is whether this also sets the alarm, and with past cars I knew it did that as well.

 

what you say is true EXCEPT if you lock the door from inside AFTER the door is closed. I guess this is for a passenger remaining in the car, locking the door for safety (the red led continues to just blink under this condition).
I just tested the scenario, thought it interesting to have some thought put into the system.