Jimsathome

Hi Gents,

My Misses bought a 2017 Lexus NX200t new, and some good friends were so taken by it a couple years later they bought the 2017 F Sport version Used.

Recently their Liftgate started making a horrible noise when engaged, and would stop working sometimes half way through the cycle.

The local Lexus Dealer, upon a "Free" Inspection advised them, in writing, the "LEFT TRUNK STRUT IS VERY LOUD BUT BOTH ARE RECOMENDED TO BE REPLACED. PARTS:Q: $2560.88+TAX. LABOUR: Q: $160+TAX"

That's in Canadian dollars. For our US friends, that's over $2,025 USD.

Now these folks are retired and on a limited income, and were taken aback by this quote. They asked me what I would do, as they even thought of trading the car in on something else. I said they'd lose far more than $2700 on a transaction with a liftgate that howled when activated. I said I'd probably just suck it up and get it fixed. My Buddy said he was surprised to see these liftgate strut issues are commonplace on line. He said he was even thinking of getting Lexus to convert it to manual struts.

After they sent me the repair quote, I said the install must be almost nothing as it looked like an hour or so ($160) but the Struts seemed outrageous. I wondered if there were Aftermarket Struts available, and they said they'd found some for $500, but were concerned they were probably from China. I advised the Original ones on the NX200t probably were too. I still do the odd car repair as I'm handy and have some tools (see Mirror Replacement ) so I said I'd look into it. I checked numerous on-line parts vendors, and eventually checked out eBay Motors, and was shocked how many sellers were there for these Struts.

Eventually I recommended that if it were me, I'd order from a Seller on eBay who had stock on the west coast, offered some warranty, and had a very good rating. (Of course these are only indicators of a decent supplier, and nothing can guarantee there won't be a problem. There is always some risk.) As I've had success quite a few times buying stuff from eBay, and have an account with PayPal, and a Mail Drop just across the Border in Point Roberts; I offered to buy them for them. (They are probably are our closest friends.) I also said I'd install them in my garage, as long as my Buddy came over to help.

My analysis is I'll have to remove the inside liftgate door panel to exposed the connection points as it seems Lexus has the connection points there, based on where the cables go from the struts. (I have Trim removal tools from my Mirror job.)



The rest of it seems pretty routine. So routine, I can't even find a video online showing a powered strut replacement on one of these cars.

Anyway, so far I've spent less that 10% of what the Dealer quoted, and they are to ship today via FedEx. I'll update after I get them in case someone here is in the same boat.

Lex2000TL

I would check with junkyards and eBay for parts.
https://www.ebay.com/itm/40372070237...BoC4F0QAvD_BwE

Jimsathome

Thanks for the comment. I did buy from eBay. It was a different Seller, with a bit higher rating and a 2 year warranty. As I consider these struts as almost a "wear" part, I really wouldn't go looking for used. But that's just me.

cedwards222

I made this repair a few weeks ago to a 2015 NX200t that we just purchased. Both lift gate motors were about $775 total including tax and shipping from a Lexus Dealer in lower Alabama that seems to have good prices for online parts orders. Installation took about 1 hour and the bulk of that was the rear panel partial removal. I was able to download the removal steps and images from the TIS Techstream site after creating an account a few weeks ago. Access and downloads still work after expiration. I did have to turn on the tailgate through the dash menu after installation for it to work again but all is fine after that. Hope this helps.

https://parts.lexusofmobile.com/p/78...892079005.html

Jimsathome

Thanks for the post but I don't have an account at TIS Techstream, so I can't see the the removal steps and images. Can you post them here?

Lexura16

@Jimsathome Will you do to all who are following your post a big favor and perform a root cause analysis of why these lift struts are failing and what possible routine maintenance owners can perform to extend service life /avoid such failures altogether. I'm picturing the strut is made with a DC motor turning a shaft with threads the length of the stroke. There will be a nut threaded onto this shaft and attached to the inner strut tube. As the motor turns CW/CCW the inner tube will collapse/extend. Hoping when/if you do the destructive examining of the "loud" strut, a clearer picture will emerge. Thanks in advance.

cedwards222

Please forgive me for not wanting to post the files / images from Techstream. I have no idea what issues, if any, I might be creating for myself by sharing those without permission. A 2-day subscription is $25 and well worth the price for access to those instructions and images - IMO.

Here are the steps I followed and some photos from my car for reference. Most of these pieces will pop off and are held in place with typical clips. I had to remove the brackets (new brackets are included with the motors) to remove the old motors. I did one at a time and had a helper support the liftgate during the motor removal and installation (5 minutes). Do this last - get everything else removed / opened before you remove the motors/arms.
1) Remove top plastic trim above back glass (located center of window and trim piece is approximately 31 inches long)
2) Remove Driver's side (left if looking towards front of car) side plastic trim (trim is approximately 16 inches long). First remove the tie down hook (stud) and then you should be able to pop off the whole trim piece.

3) The passenger side arm motor/arm should be able to be replaced by simply removing the small square plastic piece to access the plug/connection - see photo of plastic trim piece circled below.


4) Now remove the bottom trip around the latch (pops out) - see photo of circled part

5) Next you should be able to partially remove the large black trim piece that covers all of the liftgate below the glass. I didn't want to fool with the speaker, so I only removed/detached the drivers side portion. You need to be able to get your hand arm about a foot into the space behind the trim to disconnect the drivers side motor cable and reattach the new cable.
6) That's the hard stuff. Now put everything back together in reverse order and remember to check the dash menu to ensure that the door operation is "on". Good Luck!

Jimsathome

Thanks for the explanation and the photos.

I did find a video of someone installing a retro kit on one of these cars that didn't come with powered struts, and the first minute or so is removing all of the plastic panels on the liftgate.

So it seems like a relatively simple process to do that. I'm debating whether to remove each of the 2 smaller panels (as you mentioned in #3) or just pull the whole large panel off including the small ones as in the video. I'll probably do the latter as it will expose where the cables are connected, but we'll see what I find when I remove the side pieces first.

I got the replacement struts (from eBay) today, and I had a look at my wife's NX just to compare all the photos and video to reality. I'll be in contact with our friends and schedule a time for the work.

Wish me Luck.

Jimsathome

Hi Gang,

Here's an update. We got the Struts from eBay, and the video above was bang on for removal of the Liftgate Trim Panels (in order). You need them all off to access the electrical connectors. The whole re & re took less than an hour but then the issues came.

We couldn't get them to work at all initially, but thankfully I had waited on putting the Trim Panels until after testing.

After swapping things around we got it to work with the old right strut (the left one was deemed faulty by the dealer) and a new left strut. So I thought we had a faulty new right strut, which I would get replaced by the vendor on eBay.

Well, not so fast! After corresponding a few times and supply them parts & and VIN numbers, they came back and said their struts won't work on this car!

"Dear customer,

Thanks for your information. According to the information you provided, we are afraid you selected wrong item. Unfortunately we do not have the correct one for you.

To show our sincerity, i would like to refund you 15% for the inconvenience, could you please kindly buy a correct Right Hand Strut locally

If you agree, i will refund you 15% at once.

Have a nice day."

They said it was my error until I pointed out their listing specifically said it would fit this particular car, and I was considering contacting eBay if they didn't step up.

Then they said:

"Hi customer,

I'm sorry that the solution didn't meet your expectation.
As our part is a direct OE replacement,we suggest you check the OEM numbers to fully comfirm the compatibility before purchase.

We strive to provide the best services to our customers, and we hope our solutions can meet your expectations. Thus we would like to offer a 20% refund for you.No return harssel and save your valuable time.

If you agree, we will refund you now.

Or if you still want to return the part,we would honor your decision and help you proceed with it."

As it's not my car, I advised our friends of the correspondence with the recommendation to return both Struts for a full refund and source another pair (somewhere) to install. They are resistive as it sort of is working, but I'm sitting on it until Friday (?) to allow them to consider it further.

What a saga...

Lexura16

@Jimsathome I feel your pain. I had similar experience with an eBay seller during the COVID years. Product arrived defective from some place in China. Contacted seller who said he'll send a replacement. It never arrived. Contacted him again. He replied and advised replacement on its way and to be patient because of COVID . What a crock of BS. Good thing it was only $25 out of pocket for me. I buy from Amazon now. Hopefully the next follow-up post from you will have better news. Thanks for the update.

Jimsathome

After a lot of back and forth, the seller agreed to a return where they pay shipping. But I felt it was like blackmail to preserve their reputation on eBay. They finally said:

"You can open a return case with a reason of " No Longer Needed / Doesn't like it/ordered by mistake" to get a pre-paid shipping label."

Of course no option for "Seller sent the wrong part even after confirming the vehicle details" was given. As it wasn't my money I was working with, I went along with No Longer Needed and got the return label that evening and shipped them the next day. They are due back at the seller today. (Somehow USPS Tracking says they were checked into their center in Seattle at 2:00 am today, but will still make it to California for delivery before 9:00 PM?)

Now I'm back on the hunt for a pair of struts that fit / work without costing an arm and a leg. The original Part Numbers are 68910-78020 with LH or RH in front to distinguish Left Hand (Driver) or Right Hand (Passenger) side. My understanding is that's been superseded by 68910-79019 and 68920-79019 for Left Hand (Driver) or Right Hand (Passenger) side respectively.

There was a seller on eBay (automarine_store) who had both and confirmed they were Lexus Parts that would fit the car via it's description and VIN number. (I don't want any mistakes this time!) eBay said they are Located: Miami, FL, United States. (I don't want to buy from anyone outside Canada / USA as international shipping from overseas could be messy and import duties unknown at time of purchase.) But when I look at the detail of the listing after much correspondence, the Struts are located in Phuket, Thailand!

I'm now checking into another eBay seller in Derwood, Maryland, United States. These too are Lexus Parts, not that I need to but a Lexus Branded part - we just want something that works!

If anyone reading this knows of a good place to get these struts, I'd appreciate a link.

Thanks for the assist.

Jimsathome

Today is just a bit of an update to this saga.

I contacted 7 sellers on eBay who advertised their struts would fit this Lexus, but once I gave them all the details (including the VIN), not one of them confirmed they would fit.

Even though I contacted the other eBay seller in Derwood, Maryland, United States (who I mentioned above) who's listing was for a genuine Lexus Part (and priced like it too): to find out if they had both Struts (they only listed the Driver's side on eBay) they never replied. So I tried them again and still silence. We were getting pressure from my Buddy's wife to finish this project, and I was just about to give up, and send them back to the Dealer, when i was checking eBay again and that vendor (ourisman_auto_parts) listed the Passenger side strut as well. Of course both struts were listed as "the last one available".

We decided to take the gamble and order both of them even though the vendor wasn't responding to messages on eBay. We were relying on eBay and PayPal to protect us on the transaction. Even though the vendor had posted that return shipping was on our dime (if needed) by going through PayPay they said the vendor was responsible as it was part of their "new" Customer protection plan.

Anyway, I got the Struts yesterday, and they are in Lexus Genuine Parts boxes, and look like the real thing.

We'll ry to get them installed soon. Wish me luck?

Lexura16

Admire your perseverance and dedication. Let your next update be a WOO HOO. Good luck.

zozoramelu

I am sorry, but I saw this thread too late. Anyone who wants genuine parts directly from Japan, check this out: https://www.amayama.com/en

Jimsathome

Hi Folks,

Hopefully this will close out this thread as we installed the OEM Struts last Monday. It took only about 20 minutes as we left the panels off after swapping back. The report so far is they work perfectly and they are happy with the results. Of course there was a huge premium to be paid to go with the OEM parts, but at least the results are there.