Not sure what to make of this so I thought I'd ask you guys. My GX used to honk when I hit the lock button on the key fob. Now it locks the doors but there's no honk. The horn works when I press it.

Any ideas?

 

To be clear, you're sure it didn't beep (electronic) rather than honk (horn)?

Mine beeps, from a small piezo buzzer in the engine compartment. Those can go bad, but are usually easy to replace.

I have no ideas on how to help, assuming you're sure it honked.

 

Hmm, you might be right. It used to make noise so maybe it just beeped?

Any idea where the buzzer is?

Thanks for the help!

 

mine beeps right there

 

Take off the driver's side engine cover, exposing the brake master cylinder. As you are facing the firewall, look to the right of the master cylinder and you will see a large bundle of wires coming through the firewall and into the engine compartment. From that huge bundle there will be a loosely wrapped wire branching off and disappearing down into a hole in the fender. See photo below, at the tip of the screwdriver.

I am 95% sure those wires lead to the piezo buzzer. I tried to pull mine out of that hole in the fender, but could not get it out. I figured I was going to fool around and break something, so I gave up. If you break the plastic grommet around that hole, it's about a $3 part, I think. Even if you can't get the buzzer/beeper out, you can still replace the beeper by cutting the wires and splicing on a new buzzer.

Your choices for replacement include the $66 dollar Lexus beeper, the $22 dollar Toyota beeper, the OEM quality Floyd Bell M-80W, or a bunch of different buzzers from Radio Shack.



First, you should ensure that no one accidentally turned off your beep with the Personalized Settings/Techstream, and then maybe jumper a 9V battery onto your existing beeper to make sure it is really dead.

 

BTW, these things are very sensitive to water, which is why Lexus hides it down inside the fender. If you replace yours, mount the replacement in a place where it will not get wet.

And - ensure all your doors are actually locking. I know many Hondas will not beep if there is any sort of irregularity with the door/window/lock system. My Acura stopped beeping when I had a power window fuse removed. Go figure.

 

There a combination of things you can do to turn it on and off on most older toyota lexus vehicles. the gx you may have to take in to the dealer but the manual should say the beeping is an option that can be turned off without removing the actual buzzer (oldschool). I think my father did this to his 4th gen 4runner once and I had to read online how to get the beep back. maybe that might have happened. its in the owners manual, too lazy to go out and look sorry but that is where I would start if it was working before. I have never hasd a car where it actually broke, but I have had several relatives turn it off accidentally and then wonder what happened till someone turns it back on or the accidentally do it again.

 

Hey all, thanks for the assist. I'm back with an update:

So the GX wasn't beeping because it wasn't locking. It wasn't locking as one of the lock actuators was failing intermittently. In rather quick succession, another two lock actuators failed as well! I had them all replaced by my local stealership. It was exceedingly pricey, but it's a safety concern while toting my little one in the back, so I wanted it completed immediately.

Apparently the cheap fix is to remove the actuator, remove the motor then pry it open and clean the commutator or simply replace the $5-$10 motor.