Door will not lock from door handle nor for the fob.

680

Asked by Mark Aug 30, 2016 at 03:51 PM about the 2010 Lexus ES 350 FWD

Question type: Maintenance & Repair

Door will not lock from door handle nor for the fob.   Sometimes door, only on driver side, will not open when using the fob and/or door handle.

49 Answers

103,215

The door handles (inside and outside) connect to the lock mechanism by a rod (one for each). The lock switch and fob rely on an actuator, also connected to the lock mechanism by a rod. If both handles and actuator are not working, the problem is likely with the lock mechanism, either the plate that all the rods connect to is broken free or something is jamming it from moving. When you hit the fob, do you hear any noise or buzzing from the actuator? When you lift the door handle do you feel/hear any resistance?

45 people found this helpful.
680

When I try to lock the doors, with either the fob or via the button on any door, I only hear what sounds like the doors locking, but they are not actually locking. I usually hear a horn beep, with a clicking noise of the doors actually locking. So no beep then I know the doors are not locked. Majority of time, when un-locking the doors, they all unlock (I hear a double beep). But sometimes the driver door will not unlock and has to be manually unlocked from inside. When that happens, the car will beep for many times and still not unlock. So not sure if its the actuator, or something else electrically that is not working.

47 people found this helpful.
103,215

It could be the Body Control Module. You seem to be experiencing problems both with the key fob failing to actuate door locks, and with the door switch also failing to actuate door locks, and it is affecting more than one door, correct? You also say you are having problems using the manual door handle to open/close door? (that is the symptom I am not clear on from your description.) The only thing that can prevent the door handle from opening/closing a door is the locking rod being disconnected from lock. If this problem affects all the doors, it's a pretty hard sell that all 4 actuators would fail simultaneously.

20 people found this helpful.
680

For locking doors (both with key fob or via push button on doors), all four doors will not lock. A click sound, like they are locking, but are not locking, so not sure what the sound actually represents. For unlocking, all doors unlock, except the drivers door. Each time I try to unlock the door (either fob key or by pulling the handle) nothing will open the door. Usually the car beeps many times and the only way to open the door is manually via using one of the other 3 doors. So maybe the locking rod on the drivers door is not working? But what about the locking mechanism that stops me from locking all the doors?

21 people found this helpful.
330

Lexus 350 2009 I have changed battery in remote but remote will not unlock any of the doors

33 people found this helpful.
300

I've had to replace front driver, passenger and right rear door actuators. Any information if there is a recall for this issue?

30 people found this helpful.
550

Supposedly there will be no recall because it's not a "safety" issue. Honestly it's unacceptable, and I refuse to pay for a known issue. Dealership wanted to charge $700 per door to fix. I have a call with corporate Monday.

55 people found this helpful.
150

I have a 2013 Lexus ES350 at Ira Lexus in Danvers & all 4 actuators went at the same time. My car has 48K miles but, is out of warranty by time. I'm looking at $2600!!!!! If they can't convince Lexus to cover this. All 4 at the same time? Are you kidding me? I have no idea what to do. I'm at the dealerships mercy

15 people found this helpful.
150

i have a 2010 ES350 all 4 door lock actuators have fail almost at the same time. Lexus did a diagnostic and check the voltage through all the actuators and all were bad. Have replaced the drives door actuator and it will lock and unlock with the key FOB. The remaining doors will lock but not unlock with the FOB, they will unlock manual from inside. When I use the key FOB to unlock all doors (double click) the door lock beeps multiple times but the only door that unlocks is the diver door. If I pull on a door handle (key FOB present) the lock system just beeps multiple times and does not unlock. I just replaced the left rear actuator (with salvage parts, no luck) don't know if all locks need to be operational to make the whole system work. The idea of the body control module having is worth check out with Lexus. Back to Lexus to check out the body control module , another diagnostic $150.00 each time. $550+install per door. I think I'll corporate also, good idea

15 people found this helpful.
770

HI All! I have a Lexus 570. A week ago three doors, not the drivers side, stopped unlocking via the key fob and the inside button. They locked with the fob, the inside button, and by shifting out of park. The lexus dealership wanted to replace 3 actuators but I thought it was very unlikely that all 3 went bad on the same day. I took my car down the street and he recalibrate the key for $45. Problem fixed. I am not 100% sure what he did, but he talked about disconnecting the battery to reboot the electrical system. Do not replace your actuators. That is the only option the dealership gave me and of course it is the most expensive.

29 people found this helpful.
50

My acuator on my Lexus 2013 ES front driver went up it cost $703.00 plus tax to replace.

5 people found this helpful.
120

I have had to have 5 door lock actuators replaced on my car in 9.5 months since Dec 2016. All four doors failed individually and now I'm starting with the driver side failing again last week. JM Lexus in Margate Florida says its nothing other than the actuator motor failing. However, I can't see that being the issue, it has to be more than that. Maybe some electrical short that is surging power to them and blowing them. That's just my theory, they can't be using so many defective parts. I even had one service manager tell me that these fail a lot ion Florida because of the humidity but it seems by this thread that people all over the country are having problems. When I asked JM Lexus for something for the inconvenience of coming into to have this replaced five times, they said they would Detail my car which I had to chuckle. They wash my car anyway when it comes in for servicing anyway so it was pretty much a worthless offer.

12 people found this helpful.
380

Hi Guys, I have had to replaced all four actuators on my 2014 RX350 since November 2016. Driver and Front Passenger doors failed first at the same time, then followed by right rear and left rear. I'm currently having the same issue again with my front passenger. When I put my hand through the door handle the car beeps multiple times and only the other three doors unlock, unlocking with the fob doesn't work either, I had to use the inside button. At least this time the inside button works, the last few times nothing worked, I'd have to manually do it. So frustrating!

10 people found this helpful.
40

I have a 2017 RX350. 2 months old. Drivers door lock often fails to open. Can't pull the lever either. Definitely a safety issue. Could not get out of the SUV. Garbage. Should never have changed from Benz.

4 people found this helpful.
380

Hey Steven, bring your car back to the dealer! If the issue happens intermittently record it with your phone as proof. What a coincidence I am having issues with my driver door right now! If this one gets fixed it’s going to be the second time for it and the 6th time overall (2 times for each front doors and 1 time for each rear door). Lexus does not try to find the root problem and fix it they just want to swap out your actuators with a new one! There has to be something that cause all these to fail! My wife and I are in the process of getting rid of this car! Within 14 months 5 door actuators were replaced, a 6th one is about to happen!

8 people found this helpful.
80

I have Es 350 2009 and my locking system failed to day. Would not lock. However it started working again . Do not know how long. I think the locking system in Lexus IS faulty. Need corporate to involve

8 people found this helpful.
380

Hi GuruY4LX7, It’s frustrating when you don’t know when it will fail. My suggestion is to let it/them go out completely and bring it in. If you bring it in and it works they won’t be able to find the problem and fix it.

1 people found this helpful.
380

Hey GuruY4LX7, use your phone to record the problem as proof. The car always behaves when the mechanic is there.

1 people found this helpful.
170

I have a 2012 is350 with less than 64k miles. I had to replace three of the lock actuators in 2016. The fourth lock (the one not replaced) has since stopped working, but it is in the back, so other than getting my dog in and out of the car, I don't worry about it. Now the driver side has stopped working again! The dealership here in Arkansas (horrible to deal with and they have treated me like pond scum since I didn't buy my car from them) says that the warranty on the lock is expired (12 month). As a single female in a small city with a very high crime rate, this is definitely a safety concern. When I use the fob to unlock, I get the same multiple beeps as others have heard. I have to crawl across the passenger seat and manually unlock. The lock/unlock button on the passenger side door will not do the trick- it has to be done manually. The cost of replacement is outrageous. Has anyone been able to contact corporate? If anyone has a contact, I'm willing to call, also.

11 people found this helpful.
770

HI. I did not end up having to replace any actuators. A random mechanic told me that if I put down all the windows and held the window button down for three minutes it would reset the whole lock mechanism. I sometimes have to do it 3 or 4 times before it will work. The whole time I am opening and shutting the back of my lexus SUV with each attempt. Eventually it works. I have no idea why. He said it is very similar to the way Toyota resets their computer system so that is why he tried it. Maybe go to an independent mechanic and mention this fix and see what he says. They charged me 45$. It has only happened twice in the last year and both times this fix worked.

44 people found this helpful.
170

Good to know- Thank you. I just talked to my dad today and he thinks it's a problem with the master switch on the driver's side. Said he had similar issues with a Toyota years ago. I'm going to try your suggestion and see how that works. Better than spending $600+ just to have this happen again. I appreciate your feedback!

6 people found this helpful.
380

Hey guys, Posting on here won’t get to Lexus. If you have Facebook I suggest we post our problem there. Just pick the most current picture and post your problem.

3 people found this helpful.
380

Hey everyone I post a few comments regarding this problem on some of Lexus’ photos and a person named Steven contacted me via FB messenger. After some talking he contacted the local Lexus dealer where I bought my car and they called me to ask me to bring my car in for checking. What sucks was my car was fine when it was there and the dealer couldn’t do anything. Anyway at least someone from corporate noticed the problem. It’s worth a try to post on Lexus FB.

7 people found this helpful.
40

I am having the same issue with my 2017 RX350. funny my last RX never had any issues. And when I drive the door locks click they are trying to lock. This morning I was locked in my vehicle. I am not a happy lexus owner to say the least.

4 people found this helpful.
10

My husband and I both have an ES 350. He has replaced all four of his locks, with one of them going out again. Now my driver’s side lock has failed. I have sent a message to Lexus, waiting for an answer. Of course, my car is just out of warranty!

1 people found this helpful.
120

I followed the Sleuth suggestion above on my 2006 r x 330 and it restored the locking mechanism on all 5 doors. On an SUV, open the rear door, put all the imdows down,hold the drivers window button down for 4 minutes.ALL THE WHILE HAVE YOUR IGNITION SWITCH ON. GOOD LUCK,

12 people found this helpful.
80

Question regarding the Minor Sleuth's suggestion of putting down windows and holding down the window down button for 3 minutes as a part of the process to reset the door lock system. While holding, presumably, the driver door window button down that 3 min, how can you then at the same time keep opening and closing rear door? Could you, or anyone, please provide very detailed instructions on this for me to try. My 2001 RX300, which I just bought, had a problem where the driver door would not lock/unlock from fob while all the other doors did. So I replaced the actuator on the door. After that the door would lock/unlock using the door button to activate. However, now the doors would not lock/unlock using the fob - this is real bad because now I cannot lock the doors because even the metal key does not turn at any door lock cylinder. When I replaced the actuator I had to disconnect the wire connectors in the driver door. I forgot to disconnect the negative battery terminal - I don't know if the problem I now encounter is related to that, or not. Suggestions???

8 people found this helpful.
150

it works!!! :) In my ES350 I did open 4 windows, pressed driver's side window button down for 4 minutes and it did reset :) After about 1 minute or less I heard a click under a dashboard, probably resetting, but kept the button down for 4 minutes . UFFFF!!!

12 people found this helpful.
150

hint for "J" -re: "MinorSleuth" - he probably meant: while holding the window button down,he used the remote, trying to open and lock the back door :) Also: Pressing the little black button on a door handle might work

40

I have a 2011 Lexus ES 350, same issue with only drivers door working with fob or door mechanism. I followed the suggestion to lower all four window and keep the switches pressed down. I did this once for about a minute, and walla, it worked! All four doors lock/unlock with both the fob and the drivers door switch!

4 people found this helpful.
50

2014 Lexus ES 350, I have tried the "hold the window button down" fix. Unfortunately, for me it is not working. Have tried multiple times and no joy. On mine, the rear doors and trunk lock/unlock with key fob and the handle, but the front doors do nothing. They try to lock/unlock but will not do it. Any suggestions? I have tried this method with the car running, the "power on" setting and Aux on. Still won't work. The car only has 20,000 miles on it, so its not very used. suggestions???? Thanks for any help.

5 people found this helpful.
10

Does anyone k ow if the car should be turned completely on for this fix or just by pressing the start button once?

1 people found this helpful.
380

Unfortunately I have to post more on this thread . After 6 times of replacing the actuators on all my doors, 2 for each front and 1 for each rear the problem is coming back again! Currently my front and both rear passenger doors are working intermittently. I again complained to Lexus on Facebook, let’s see what they will do this time since my 2014 RX350 is now 65k miles and out of warranty! Can someone please clarify the information on how to reset the actuators above? 1. Do I turn on the ignition? 2. Roll down all 4 windows and hold down the driver window button for 3 minutes or hold down all four window buttons at the same time for 3 minutes? Thanks!

1 people found this helpful.
770

I've had this work multiple times but never on the first try. Keep doing it. Keep the engine on when you try it a few times and if that doesn't work do it with the engine off. My memory is that the engine was off but it was a long time ago for my lame brain. It might be helpful to have a helper opening and closing the back of the car and fully lifting the hood door open. Also, keep trying to lock and unlock the doors with the fob between tries. It was at least 5 tries if I remember correctly. The mechanic told me it was an old Toyota fix.

2 people found this helpful.
380

Thanks MinorSleuth, Lexus got back to me on FB and had someone at the local dealer where I bought my car scheduled an inspection. I’ll update everyone.

2 people found this helpful.
120

I was going to give up and take to Dealer when I saw in the book about the fuses. So i found the fuse that controls the door locks and pulled it out. It was ok so i put it back in and wala it works I ...

6 people found this helpful.
30

I just tried the suggestion above of 'A random mechanic told me that if I put down all the windows and held the window button down for three minutes it would reset the whole lock mechanism.' Everything reset and is working EXCEPT for the drivers door. Lexus/Toyota is wrong about the safety issue. If I need to use my car late at night in a bad neighborhood and I get attacked while fumbling with the FOB mechanical key it will be a safety problem for me and them.

3 people found this helpful.
100

I just bought a RX350 2015 40k miles like 4 months ago. The front passenger door never unlocks fob or button. Please help!

2 people found this helpful.
380

Hey HelpMePlease, Take your Lexus to the dealer, I’m not sure if the bumper to bumper warranty can be transferred to the 2nd owner but your car could be still under the 4 year/50k miles warranty. Just want to give you guys un update...two weeks ago I had to bring the car back to the dealer to fix the door locks again, car is now 5 years 3 months old with 68k miles. Here is a copy of my post in Club Lexus Forum “Hi folks, just wanted to give you an update on this. I reached out to Lexus Social Media (LSM) on Facebook and was told to bring the car to my local Lexus dealer. They found that not only the right rear door actuator was failing but the right front and the left rear were failing as well. I was quoted for $1800 for all 3 actuators. After 3 days of back and forth between LSM and the dealer, the dealer agreed to pay for the parts and I pay for the $450 labor (All replacements before this round were done under warranty). I accepted the offer. So all together in 2.5 years and between 37k miles and 67k miles my driver door has its actuator replaced 2 times, 3 times for front passenger, and 2 times for EACH rear door. Unbelievable but true! PS, owner with new Lexus vehicles if you have any problem with your new car, please reach out to Lexus Social Media Team, they have been very good in helping me through all this. You can just bring your car to the dealer and get it fixed under warranty but contacting Lexus Social Media gives you a record with corporate.”

2 people found this helpful.
120

DID you guys try pulling the door lock fuse from the fuse box under the hood?????? Look in you book and get the number of the fuse for the door lock . Pull it out check that it is not burnt leave out for a few minutes and it will reset the system . Put back in and it should work . If it doesn't then maybe you do have to replace lock!! Good luck

3 people found this helpful.
120

I gave up on my problem and traded it in for a 2019 new edition es350 F Sport. Hot car they increase HP to 302 . The steering feels like a camaro tight and responsive. Didnt want a new payment but thats how it goes sometime . Check out these pictures love this car.

1 people found this helpful.
100

Everyone needs to go to the NHTSA and report this. If they get enough complaints they will look in to it. The form will only take 5 minutes to fill out. Clearly Lexus/Toyota is fining to do nothing about it so I’m going to the government with this. It’s totally a safety issue.

8 people found this helpful.
380

Hi guys, Just want to give you guys an update on my door lock situation, so after about 4 months of intermitten problem, the driver door lock actuator finally gave out. Bought the actuator on Amazon for $50 and will have a Toyota mechanic friend replace it. Car is 75K miles, first problem started when the car was about 30K. At this point I'm convinced that the problem is not the actuators, it has to be something else that keeps causing these actuators to fail. I think it's a good idea for me to start buying these actuators in bulk and learn how to replace them myself. BTW this mechanic friend who works for a local Toyota dealership told me not use air fresherner as the chemical from the air freshner can damage the electrical. We have since stopped using air freshner but my wife still puts on tons of scented lotion LOL! Driver - 2 times, 3rd time is coming up. Front - 3 times Left Rear - 2 times Right Rear - 2 times

2 people found this helpful.

I have a 2014 300h with the same door lock actuator problem. I replaced the actuator in the driver's door at about 50,000 miles. I replaced a back passenger actuator shortly after that. Now another passenger door lock has stopped working the the lock in the driver's door has failed again, at about 80,000 miles. I tried the process with the windows several times but had no luck. Has Lexus acknowledged this defect?

380

Robert, Lexus will never acknowledge this defect. They consider it wear and tear. All in all I have replaced actuators 10 times, 3 for each front and 2 for each rear. The last time was 6 months ago for the driver door and it’s the only time I did it without involving Lexus using a $40 actuator I bought on Amazon, this would be the 3rd time for the driver door. My 14 RX350 bought in 3/14 started giving me problem in 10/16 at around 35k miles. Front passenger and both rear doors all failed at the same time in 6/19 when the car was 65k miles, this would be the 3rd time for the front passenger and 2nd time for each rear door. Lexus quoted me $1900 for 3 doors because I was way pass the 4 year/50k miles warranty, after back and forth with Lexus corporate through their facebook page I only had to pay $500 for the labor. It’s been more than a year for those 3 actuators and 6 months for the $40 actuator and everything is still working properly. If any one of them fails I will just buy another actuator on Amazon and replace it myself.

1 people found this helpful.
770

HI. It is 4 years later and the same problem just occurred and the same fix worked. 1. Open all 4 windows all the way. 2. Open the back of the suv all the way. 3. sit in car and turn on engine 4. hold down front seat window buttons for 3 minutes solid. 5. while doing this press lock and unlock on the key fob (mine made no sound and did nothing) 6. with your free hand press lock and unlock on the button on the drivers door. 7. after three minutes if the lock and unlock on the drivers door does nothing, start the process over again. down to opening and shutting the back and closing and opening the windows. 8. I had to do this a few times before it worked. I am not sure whether the engine being running or just the car on but engine not on, made a difference. 9. the key fob didn't seem to do anything. it could work with holding down just the driver side window button but I did it with both front seat down. There was no sound or any thing to indicate that a reset had occurred except after 3 minutes when I tried to unlock from the inside while still holding down the window buttons, it worked. Good luck!

2 people found this helpful.

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