wildace

iTrader: (1)

So moms on vacay and left me her corolla to look after. Being that the corolla uses a 1/3 of the ls I decided to commute in. So anyway the ls was parked and only moved for alternate side parking.

Now the problems. Yesterday I ran so errands in ls an noticed that the lock on the drivers side door won't unlock or lock using the power switch or the remote. This is a pain cuz I have to use the key to get in the car. Then I drove the car last nite and my hid's in my foglights start flickering SMH. All this from the car sitting for a little over a week. Can this be caused by the battery? I hear these cars are finecky if the battery is going bad.

The one that concerns me the most is the lock. It seems really complicated to get the panel off

Any suggestions?

tl.nguyen

iTrader: (5)

Sounds like the door lock actuator is bad. Your ballast or hid bulb is bad.

wildace

iTrader: (1)

Hmm thanx I guess I'll look into a actuator

miniz

Don't let complicated cars sit unused, ever. I tried it once and learned my lesson with endless repair bills afterward. Now I always have someone else drive the car every 2 weeks when I'm not in the area using it and always attach a battery tender if it goes any longer then 2 weeks.
Since you already made the poor choice of letting it sit, you should go to AutoZone today and get your battery load tested for free. They will tell you how much life is left. Low batteries can cause very strange problems.

StanVanDam

wildace: I've read on these forums about weird things happening when the battery is weak or when a cell in the battery dies. Try plugging it into an intelligent charger or switch your battery with a known good battery.

miniz: curious as to what car you are referring to, what your repair bills were for, and how long you left the car sitting.

V8_Fan

I suspect your battery is weak. If you don't drive the LS for about 6 days, the battery will be drained. Was the car locked during the week or unlocked? Whenever I don't drive my LS for more than a few days, I put the battery on a 3A trickle charger. I don't have to do this with my wife's LX since (1) it has fewer electronic gadgets continuously running and (2) I have an extra high capacity deep cycle mil-spec battery. The original panasonic battery in the LX died after driving the car only once in one month. The LS has the smart key system and a bunch of other stuff, so it's constantly draining the battery. If you're gonna be gone for more than a week and are flying, it's better to leave the car at home with it plugged in rather than to park it at the airport and allow the battery to drain.

caddyowner

Jim has a good point. If you look at a LS430 on a used car lot, it will usually have one or both battery post covers off or loose because they keep jumping it. The Lexus service histories of many of these cars show an early battery replacement if the car sat new on the dealer lot for more than a couple months.

wildace

iTrader: (1)

the car was locked the whole time. when i went to start it yesterday it was weak to start. drove it around all day yesterday with lots of highway and the battery seems good now. HID's didnt flicker at all last nite but the power lock is still sticking and im seeing used actuators for 340 on ebay

tl.nguyen

iTrader: (5)

Heres one starting at .99 plus $15 for shipping. Just swap out your cables since one of theirs is broken. He claims it works but IDK. Its Used

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Door-...Q5fAccessories

wildace

iTrader: (1)

yea i saw that one just now also and have it watched. is there a difference between the actuator of a UL and a regular model? some other guy is selling them at different prices claiming they're different.


actually nevermind they are different and that is the one without the motor

tl.nguyen

iTrader: (5)

The UL and CL has the auto close. All others models dont have this feature. Not that I know if anyways.

--edit--Just notice you have a UL. You gotta buy the Big baller one

V8_Fan

When the car is locked, it continuously tries to "find" the smart-key, burning up battery power doing so compared to when it is unlocked. If you must leave your car unattended w/o a trickle charger, you can disable the smart key feature by pressing in the button just above your knee (next to the tire pressure sensor button). My LS had its battery replaced during the CPO process. Car was pretty much undriven for a couple of months between when it was traded in and sold at the internal lexus dealer auction and when it became offered as a CPO. Just comes to show if you leave a lexus sitting for a month, expect a dead battery.

wildace

iTrader: (1)

02's dont have smart keys. i learned my lesson and will drive the car for a lil bit everyday. door lock still not working so i'll have to search ebay everyday for one