How to open the car or hood when battery is dead
#46
Racer
Dear FlopTop04:
Could it be that the campaign work done on the door at the dealers about 2 years ago was not done correctly, it is unlikely but possible. And lastly it is possible that I did not follow the manual directions to the letter. I will try again but cannot do it right now as my car was left about 60 miles from my home. RC16
Could it be that the campaign work done on the door at the dealers about 2 years ago was not done correctly, it is unlikely but possible. And lastly it is possible that I did not follow the manual directions to the letter. I will try again but cannot do it right now as my car was left about 60 miles from my home. RC16
#48
Mine is a 2018 RX350, same GEN 4 as yours. You are correct with the fact that you can use the key and turn it twice to unlock all the doors IF the battery is good. I mentioned that I could actually hear the door lock solenoids fire when I used the key with the battery connected. With the battery disconnected that didn't happen. With the battery disconnected, turning the key in the door lock cylinder only raised the door lock button and unlocked the drivers door. I'll post a link to the video. I uploaded it to YouTube.
#49
This thread brings up a related question, regarding an RX450h where the battery is in the rear hatch storage area. I've accessed mine when the back door was open, and not sure if you could access from within the car if the back door could not be opened
(EDIT - you can at least manually/mechanically open the back door from inside the cargo area, per page 148 of the 2019 RX450h manual).
So if your 4G RX450h battery dies, prepare to do some awkward crawling back into the cargo area!
(EDIT - you can at least manually/mechanically open the back door from inside the cargo area, per page 148 of the 2019 RX450h manual).
So if your 4G RX450h battery dies, prepare to do some awkward crawling back into the cargo area!
#50
We keep out 2021 RX450h F Sport in our Petaluma house which is 90 miles from our Los Gatos house. Petaluma is north of SF in the beautiful wine country.
Well, the battery was dead from sitting too long. I pulled the steel key out of the fob to unlock the door.
I couldn't turn it; it was too hard to turn. I used a pliers to gently unlock and then open the door.
I could feel it operate and then pulled the handle as usual.
I keep jumpers at our 3 properties and jumped it from the engine side using the post and an engine ground, since the battery is in the rear.
I have since purchased a NOCO 1 Amp battery maintainer from Amazon for $30.
I did crawl into the rear but was unable to open the rear hatch. There really should be a clearly visible lever to do so in case of an accident or fire.
Well, the battery was dead from sitting too long. I pulled the steel key out of the fob to unlock the door.
I couldn't turn it; it was too hard to turn. I used a pliers to gently unlock and then open the door.
I could feel it operate and then pulled the handle as usual.
I keep jumpers at our 3 properties and jumped it from the engine side using the post and an engine ground, since the battery is in the rear.
I have since purchased a NOCO 1 Amp battery maintainer from Amazon for $30.
I did crawl into the rear but was unable to open the rear hatch. There really should be a clearly visible lever to do so in case of an accident or fire.
Last edited by JeffKeryk; 01-13-22 at 03:15 PM.
#51
Thank you so much for posting this note. My situation is very similar to yours in that my RX350 sits on Long Islang about 60 miles from my home. My battery was dead and my car locked when I tried to open the door with the mechanical key. I could not open it and never thought to use a pliers. Instead, I thought that the mechanical key was not a mechanical at all but that the car battery was needed to open the door (since it is mentioned in the manual that it could also open the other doors and also that when it is said that the battery was depleted it was meant to be the remote battery). Well, next time I go to get the car, I will try to carefully use the pliers to open the door as you did and hope that it will work.
#52
Good luck. I would get a NOCO Genius or something similar. I can't wait to hook up the one I just got to wifey's RX!
By the way, I have used the fob key on other cars, so I was pretty confident it would work.
By the way, I have used the fob key on other cars, so I was pretty confident it would work.
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rc16 (01-15-22)
#53
Thank you so much for posting this note. My situation is very similar to yours in that my RX350 sits on Long Islang about 60 miles from my home. My battery was dead and my car locked when I tried to open the door with the mechanical key. I could not open it and never thought to use a pliers. Instead, I thought that the mechanical key was not a mechanical at all but that the car battery was needed to open the door (since it is mentioned in the manual that it could also open the other doors and also that when it is said that the battery was depleted it was meant to be the remote battery). Well, next time I go to get the car, I will try to carefully use the pliers to open the door as you did and hope that it will work.
#54
Don't use plain WD-40. Use WD-40 Silicone quick drying. It is really good stuff. It will lubricate, waterproof and protect from rust.
#55
I’m pretty amazed at the problems people are having. It sounds unlike Lexus reputation for quality. I would have been worried about breaking something by using pliers. Breaking either the key or the mechanism would turn into a far bigger expense.
#56
Racer
All mechanical parts need lubrication, the less used the more it's needed.
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jcg0324 (01-16-22)
#57
Good point Cocal. I will go out and lube that key spot today. I have some WD-40 "specialist" Silicone dry lubricant. Eventually all mechanical parts get corrosion and dirt and crud. Here is a simple and easy preventative maint. application.
#58
Racer
If you can get a can of KRONE rust proofing I'd spray that in the lock it will do even more than silicone to prevent corrosion & rust