Liv22907

I bought a used 2010 RX350 this past February and the lift gate has never worked properly. It opens properly most of the time, but almost everytime I push the button to close it, it goes almost all the way down, then beeps and goes back up. At first I thought it was sensing something in the way, but it will do this even if the trunk is completely empty. I end up having to manually close it, which it pushes against me and starts clicking and feels like I'm breaking it. How do you fix this?!?

Clutchless

Have a body shop or dealer look at it. I would go to a body shop first, find one that does a lot of Lexus and Toyota cars. The latch may be misaligned. There is not safety mechanism to keep it from closing. Or maybe your struts are worn out as you said "it opens properly most of the time"

F250

Worn struts should not prevent or impede closing (unless one or both are bent, and then it would be difficult to both open and close). Worn struts, however, WILL prevent proper opening due to lack of internal pressure from aged/leaking seals. I noticed in some colder weather this past weekend that I need to replace the struts on mine... opens ALMOST all the way up, but still closes perfectly.

raylor4

LIV22,
If your problem turns out to be the sensors in the lift gate shorting out when the lift gate gets to a certain point, let me know and I will send you my spares. They sell for ~$700 each new, but if you need them, I will send them to you for the price of shipping.
Ray A.

Clutchless

Where are these sensors located in the lift gate? What do they sense? Could they be damaged if hit in the rear?

My hatch struts are getting weaker too and when colder it does not lift the hatch as high resulted in banged head syndrome. The Lexus struts cost a fortune and I heard from posts here that the aftermarket ones are not really calibrated well and lift the hatch too fast or some other complaints I cannot recall.

seboshka

Raylor - I'm having closing issues with my 10 RX450h. Do you think it could be a sensor and do you still have yours you offered up last year?

Thanks and have a great day!!

raylor4

Seboshka - Yes, my offer is still good. This is my way of paying it forward. But since your liftgate goes part-way down, then reverses, I would have someone knowledgeable about the sensor(s) check them out to be sure that's the problem. I would think the liftgate wouldn't go down at all, like someone else's post, if the sensors were bad. But, who knows, maybe something is touching the sensors part way down. Maybe the lift shocks are causing resistance to closing in some way.
BTW, my extra sensors came off my wife's '11RX350, but I think the hatch sensors are the same. The story is she backed into the garage door while the liftgate was open. The shop replaced the sensors as a precautionary measure. The old ones were still good, as far as I could tell. They replaced trim unnecessarily too. Oh yes, the camera was replaced, even though it was not damaged. I already sent that off to someone in Canada years ago. Happy new year!

Clutchless - Here is a picture of the sensor. It looks like a rubber seal on either side of the hatch. The wire going to it is somewhat hidden.
If I pinch the seal as the liftgate is going down, the liftgate goes back up.
Ray A.

raylor4

Clutchless - I swapped out my liftgate struts with a pair of the most expensive ones from RockAuto. SACHS SG229046 I think. Only $16.47 each. I found out the hard way that they must be ordered in pairs. Just replacing one doesn't work. It creates an imbalance back there, so to speak. If this post is deleted because of mentioning a business, PM me and I will tell all.

I posted pictures of the sensors in the previous post.
Ray A.

harkerr

Do you still have the sensors?

Clutchless

Raylor4 has not posted since October 2022 and may not see this or respond. You should send him a PM as that should go to his email.