2000 RX 300- Fob will lock and unlock driver and passenger side rear doors and rear door. However, it will not lock or unlock the driver side front or passenger side front door. When attempted, sometimes the passenger size inside door control button will move forward a little in an attempt to latch but it ultimately fails. The driver side front control button doesn't move at all. Any ideas???

 

Have you replaced any of the lock actuators?

 

I have not. Sounded like a good idea. I watched a YouTube video.
It looks like that needs to be done on both driver and passenger front doors.
The passenger door actuators moves a little and sometime functions properly. About 25 % of the time.
The drivers side not at all.
I think I'll get the parts and have my son do it during his next visit.
He always likes to do small "fix it " projects.
Thanks for your suggestion.

 

Fair warning, it's a bear of a job.

 

Yeah, it didn't look like something I want to tackle. My son is a NYC lawyer, he likes to do these things as a change of pace. He can get a sense of satisfaction in 60-90 minutes when it normally takes months or longer in his work.

Have you done it yourself? How long did it take you?

 

Yes, I did it myself. Full disclosure, I'm 73 and a retired psychotherapist...but have been taking engines apart since I was 5 years old, i'm definitely a gearhead. I got my '99RX in 2009, and at that time the driver's door actuator did not work, so I replaced that one alone, and all was well. Last year I noticed that the driver's side rear door actuator sometimes required me to hit the fob lock button twice to make it cycle, so I began to prepare to just replace all the actuators, including the liftgate. Luckily, I had a heated/cooled shop to park the RX in, and began replacing all the actuators...along with the stereo speakers, since I was "in there"...and began with the driver's door, then the front passenger, then the liftgate, then the rears. The toughest part of the job was accessing the "pop-off" connectors that the lock/unlock cables attach to. Just make sure to test the WHOLE system after each replacement...which I did not do...then go to the next.

What happened to me? After I got them all replaced...about two weeks sitting in the shop with my procrastinating due to the difficulty of the job... the fob no longer cycled the actuators. I finally had to take it to Lexus to have it diagnosed, to the tune of $150, and they said the problem was in the front passenger latch mechanism, which they would gladly replace for the part price of $748 PLUS labor. I thanked them for their time, went home and found the latch online for $319, ordered it and replaced the old one, and it worked. So thanks to Lexus for their proper diagnosis. My takeaway is that the latch mechanism and security system is not to be ignored for its complexity, as SalimShah has opined in another post. But at least now I have a PhD, or maybe all but dissertation, in the 99 RX latch system!

 

I also noticed the RX requires more force to close the doors.