nhuto

Go Husker,

I live in Southern California, it rains very little here and the humidity is always low. I live near Disneyland, about 15 miles from the beach, I doubt the sea air has anything to do with this. The OEM ones cost $250/actuator, Amazon sells the knockoff ones for $35. If Lexus refuses to fix for free I will buy the knockoff and do it myself.

I loved the car the first 2.5 years, then came all these door lock problems, and after the 6th replacement (March 2018) the car gave us a good 13 months of no issue and now I'm here ranting to the good folks of this forum. Spending $45K for this car counting on Lexus/Toyota reputation of reliability.....

Clutchless

See this link for a solution https://www.clublexus.com/forums/rx-...xus-rx350.html

nhuto

Clutchless, thanks for the link. Now I just need the courage to take everything apart.

nhuto

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. 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 doors. 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.

RX in NC

Certainly glad to hear that you received some financial assistance from Lexus. But wow, what a potential build quality issue. Did Lexus offer any explanation as to why multiple door actuators are failing multiple times in your particular vehicle, even after replacement?

Non

Thanks for posting the update, it helps the community.

nhuto

No, the dealer never explained it to me. I asked them last couple of times. I’m thinking maybe something is wrong with the electric current that runs these actuators, I wish I know how to test it or some shop that can test it for me.

mandyfig

Do you have another Lexus dealer to take it to, if you, suggest that you try the other one. O good Lexus shop should be able to explain hwy they continue to fail. Am surprised that you were getting a not so good treatment for the dealer.

charley95

I have a 14 out of warranty. So far, so good. I sure dread this issue if it happens to mine.

Jimsrx350

Easy fix, Biggest delay was trying to find the one plug toward the top of the door that was right in front of me the whole time. I could have done it in 1/2 hour but took 45 min finding that one plug. Anyone considering having a dealer do this needs to do it themselves unless they don't care about the money. $32 part off amazon. Thanks for the videos! I also replaced the struts on the back hatch for $20. Those are very easy. Just pry off the bands holding them in and the new ones pop right on. Prop the hatch up so it doesn't fall on you

ShawnD

Just did the drivers door on my wife's 2013 RX350...piece of cake. I would suggest you can skip the step of moving the window guide. I was able to wiggle the motor in and out without doing that. Great write up and video! I just ordered the pass side ($31 shipped via Amazon) now as it's acting up as well...of course.

lex_rx

My right rear has been acting up. When I checked for the part, 2011 seems to be different from previous models so I will have to search some more for 2011 videos.

For now, I think I will order off Amazon.ca for the whole assembly then take apart the old one and replace just the motor. We're a one-car family so gotta have a vehicle with doors properly closing.

raylor4

Our 2011 RX350's front passenger door actuator went out about a year ago. After dealer replaced it at ~$450, the driver's door actuator went kaput. After watching YouTube videos, I bought a replacement actuator from Amazon for ~$35 and replaced it myself. The job is fraught with pitfalls, but with persistence and luck, I got the old one out and the new one in. The Amazon unit has been working ok for about 8 months now. I agree, these parts shouldn't fail.

lex_rx

I just finished installing the Aisin part from Amazon. Some numbers on the part weren't identical with the original which was also Aisin. Door lock works well now. It took me about an hour as I was quite tentative in pulling out the door panel and had a bit of difficulty putting the panel back.

When I have some free time, I will disassemble the broken part and replace the motor and sell the whole assembly as "refurbished".:-)

nhuto

Hi guys,

Just want to give you an update on this. After Lexus fixed the front passenger and the two rear doors last time, my driver door is acting up now, it's been acting up for about 2 months now, but it just got worst a couple days ago. If this get fixed, it's gonna be the 3rd time for the driver and 10th overall. At this time I'm just tired and don't want to deal with Lexus anymore, I will either do it myself or have a Toyota tech friend replace it for a small fee.

For those who read this post and don't have time to read the entire thread. I have a 2014 RX350 bought new in 3/2014, now with 73.5K miles. I started having this door lock problem in 11/2016 at about 30k miles and since then I've fixed the driver doors 2 times, front passenger 3 times and each rear passenger 2 times. All were done by Lexus under warranty or courtesy service, the last time Lexus fixed the front passenger and the two rear doors the bill was over $1800, car was 67k miles and oow, but after a lengthy back and forth between the dealer and corporate I only had to pay $450 for labor. If it was up to me I'd get rid of this POS many months ago.