my RX came with it when i bought it a few weeks ago, but i've tried with key in my pocket and stick out my feet, but the rear hatch just wouldn't open. i had to push the button on the handle to open each time. do i have to enable this feature inside the car in some way?

 

I found that it was pretty picky about location of foot and distance back. I think that I was standing too close when I first tried using this function. The video below shows the person back a few feet.

This shows the positioning.


I rarely use it but I see the value if your hands are full.
Mine came ready to go....no special set up or enable function needed for me.

 

Within a second or two of the time that you kick under vehicle, you need to step back a couple of feet. If you don't do that, the hatch won't open.

 

good to know, will try tonight, thanks.

 

I thought mine was defective when I first had the RX. Perhaps 1 of 10 tries it would work. What I finally figured out is that you have to stand well behind the vehicle and kick to just under the bumper. Once I nailed the technique it works every time. TBH, though, it's not a feature I use much.

 

Where you are standing when you flick your foot under the bumper doesn't make any difference, but you need to be standing back a bit, after you have flicked your foot under the bumper, to allow for clearance before the hatch starts to open.

I've found that the easiest way to make the hatch open is to flick my foot under the bumper while standing at any comfortable distance from the bumper, but, then, to take a step back from the vehicle, which allows for adequate clearance for the hatch to start opening.

Like with many others, it took me about a month before I figured out what is, for me, the most comfortable process to get it to operate properly.

 

It makes a difference with mine. Melissa @ Northside Lexus does a good demo at the 6:15 point of this video: If I stand closer than she does in the video the door operation is very sporadic. Stand where she does or farther back (I think I'm taller than she is) and works every time.

 

I just took delivery of a 2022 RX450h, after trading up from my 2019 RX350.
while I’ve got the sequence down using the kick sensor, the hands free sensor behind the logo doesn’t work at all.
is this absent or disabled on vehicles having the kick sensor?

 

I'm nearly certain the kick sensor replaced the older sensor behind the emblem. Check your owner's manual.

 

As said above, I also think that the sensor is now under the rear bumper.....watch the video clip that I posted above in post #2. Mine was picky about where I stood, but now it works perfectly...stay back a little farther than you suspect.

 

Thanks for the answers. I have had this feature on a few vehicles, and they are all quirky. I too had trouble with the 2022 we just picked up the other day.

My in-laws came over in their new Buick Envision. It projects a Buick emblem on the ground under the hatch. It shows exactly where to put your foot. It’s a hell of a nice vehicle. I was very impressed with how it drove. Smaller than I would want though.

 

Tried a few times to perform Riverdance in the parking lot and evidently none of the cars I own think I am a good dancer)))

 

That's a good idea.

 

I’ve tried many times to work the kick sensor but still no luck. I started to think maybe it’s missing? I looked under the car, and I was expecting to find some kind of sensor.

Can someone share a photo? Where would the kick sensor be located? I have a 2021.

 

Don't have a photo, but it's tucked inside the bumper cover a little to the passenger side of the car.