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Well, my passenger door lock actuator finally started showing signs of wearing out, so I replaced it this weekend. As a DIY reference for instructions, see posts #15-19, 24, 29 & 38 in this thread with other useful information scattered throughout.
A few things for me to point out:
BGW's pictures in posts #15-19 & 24 & my instructions in post # 29 are for the driver's side door. BGW's video in post #38 is for the passenger side door. Keep in mind that the pictures (& maybe some of the DIY instructions) for the driver's side door will be mirror images for the passenger side. So the parts will not be exactly the same, but mirror images. (It can get confusing when you're in the thick of things and elbow deep into the door.)
When removing the white nylon screw receptor from the middle of the clear plastic sheet in the middle of the door, take note (or better yet, a picture) of which direction that it points. (Hint, it points downward.)
When removing the actuator from the door, note how it comes out. There's a brace that runs horizontal to the ground along the exterior sheet metal of the door, right in the middle and it will make your life difficult when attempting to reinstall the actuator.
When taking the actuator apart, take pictures so you can see where parts go together and fit together. It is not real obvious on a couple of the items, especially if you had to wait overnight to reassemble it. (See my note below about glue.) There's a hole in the metal interface that receives one of the pointed ends of the nylon three pronged piece attached to the black motor housing. Be sure to get it back in the right hole. (One hint there is to look where the grease is.)
Get glue that will FULLY cure in an hour. Don't use glue like I did that says it will cure in an hour on the front of the package and then on the back it states that it will FULLY cure overnight. (I learned that the hard way the first time and managed to wind up using the same glue the second time. Dooh! At least on the passenger side, I only had to glue it once.) Apparently the JB Weld that is gray, like BGW used works better than the clear JB Weld epoxy that I used curing time-wise. Do not hook the actuator back up to the connector before it is fully cured. If you do, it will likely pop the box open and you'll have to re-glue it. The torque from the motor will pop the box apart.
If you do have to wait overnight for the glue to cure or because you ran out of time, you might consider putting a trickle charger on your battery until you finish because the interior lights will be on the entire time. (You should turn off your map lights with the switch next to them but that still leaves a bunch of other lights still on.) This is especially true if you still have incandescent bulbs. (I changed all mine out to LEDs but still put the trickle charger on it overnight just to make sure and to make sure the battery doesn't get extra stressed by draining down too low.)
Over all, it takes about 3 hours, depending on your skill level and how many times you mess up and have to rework a few things. Make a printout of the written instructions, take pictures and have BGW's pictures and his video up on your computer so that you can run back for references.
One more thing to be aware of when doing the lock actuator.
If a new lock actuator is being installed in an SC430 beware. New actuators may have a "closed" instead of open hole in their tang rendering the old mounting screw effectively too long.
The screw will seem properly torqued, but not secure the forward tang of the actuator properly.
The loose tang is then free to rattle against the metal door frame. This can also be elicited by striking the metal door frame near the actuator or even tapping the plastic actuator housing with a finger. Result is a nasty rattle in door that can be difficult to diagnose.
Image of the problem & fix is below
Screw that should secure forward plastic tang of lock actuator was too long. The plastic tang’s round portion that accepts the screw is closed on the outside.
An overly long screw bottoms out in the tang before it can tighten against the metal door frame. Consequently, the lock actuator tang rattles loudly
against metal door frame.
Solved by running screw through a rubber grommet before putting screw into mounting hole. This effectively shorten the threaded portion of the screw and added a non-rattling cushion.
Also, add thin rubber sheet between tang and other side of door frame. Plastic tang of lock actuator is thus secured firmly, vibration isolated, and no longer creates buzzing rattle.
Last edited by Seattle SCone; 10-04-21 at 02:56 PM.
My new motors arrived, $1.95ea. Shipping a few dollars.
for the heck of it, I ordered 10 motors...$20, LoL
anyway, they are exactly the same motor I used on both of my door lock actuators and I ordered the extras just Incase I have another problem but mostly because I might have a local friend run into an issue.
this is such an easy fix...I put the old bad motor on top of the package.
hey BGW70......you know, I found your video on Youtube independent of seeing your post with your video here!!! That was excellent. By the way, I'm just north of Daytona, so not far from where you are. I did have a quick question for you...........I just ordered the motors from Amazon for $6.50 each,(FC-280PC-22125) but the key is that they arrive tomorrow and I'm really sick of having to reach over to open that door. I did have two questions for you..........you've fixed your motor and replaced your motor......which would you recommend in the end? My motor is making a noise, so guessing same condition as yours. Car has 25,000 miles. Do I fix or replace?
Second question.......I know you used JB Weld. I've got epoxy and a few other glue options. Reading through the thread, seems everyone is going with the epoxy. With that big bag of motors you ordered, do you expect that you can open that black box again if the motor goes out? I'm guessing if mine is gone in 25,000 miles, I'll likely be doing this again in the future and would like to avoid the big expense of the entire actuator when we know it's a $6.50 motor. Now I interpreted your post to read that you only "spot" glued it along a few edges and maybe didn't run the glue along the entire seam. Have you had any experience splitting an epoxied box or do you anticipate you could split one in the future if required??
Thanks to all the contributors of this thread for outstanding information.
hey BGW70......you know, I found your video on Youtube independent of seeing your post with your video here!!! That was excellent. By the way, I'm just north of Daytona, so not far from where you are. I did have a quick question for you...........I just ordered the motors from Amazon for $6.50 each,(FC-280PC-22125) but the key is that they arrive tomorrow and I'm really sick of having to reach over to open that door. I did have two questions for you..........you've fixed your motor and replaced your motor......which would you recommend in the end? My motor is making a noise, so guessing same condition as yours. Car has 25,000 miles. Do I fix or replace?
Second question.......I know you used JB Weld. I've got epoxy and a few other glue options. Reading through the thread, seems everyone is going with the epoxy. With that big bag of motors you ordered, do you expect that you can open that black box again if the motor goes out? I'm guessing if mine is gone in 25,000 miles, I'll likely be doing this again in the future and would like to avoid the big expense of the entire actuator when we know it's a $6.50 motor. Now I interpreted your post to read that you only "spot" glued it along a few edges and maybe didn't run the glue along the entire seam. Have you had any experience splitting an epoxied box or do you anticipate you could split one in the future if required??
Thanks to all the contributors of this thread for outstanding information.
Great questions…Like Harold said in the other thread, JB Weld epoxy or any epoxy is fine and when it breaks again in 15 years, just use a Dremel cutting wheel to open it up.
These OEM motors seem to fail faster in hot climate cars.
i don’t think it’s miles but time, heat and cycles.
i can tell you the replacement motors I installed seem to have more power vs OEM.
they have a crisper snap when actuating the door locks.
I don’t remember if I spot glued or glued around the entire edge…probably the entire edge.
Just do it and forget about it. ;-)
OK, got this one knocked out. Absolutely HUGE shoutout to Mr. Bgw70 and Mr. Harold57. You guys were absolutely amazing for first, posting all of the information, and second, for responding to the newbie's questions. Bgw70's video was particularly helpful and so were the extra hints from Harold57. Job went extremely quick and that would not be the case without your guidance. Door panel was off in 15 minutes and it took me about 45 minutes after that from actuator removal to reinstall. So although I had the actuator reinstalled in the car, I used one of Harold57 suggestions....wait for your epoxy to cure. The next day I knew it had cured as the blob of leftover epoxy on the workbench was solid.
So day 2 I tested it, and had a problem. I did not get the tab on the white plastic piece from the black box into the proper hole on the locking mechanism. (I'm going to include a picture below of the proper placement) I watched Bgw70's video very closely and saw where that plastic was before he disassembled. That guided me to the fix and I reinstalled the actuator. Once that actuator was reinstalled, it took 29 minutes to button up the door. So total working time, without my goof up.......about 90 minutes. Of course, I had to add 24 hours for the glue cure. All in all, fun and interesting job.
Many many thanks again you guys...... so the door actuator, front side markers, and VSC / VSC Off lights are now all repaired.....total cost of $27. Love this site..
OK, my two cents.........
When removing your "black box", watch this white plastic piece. As you can see, there are two holes in the metal lock mechanism and that white plastic tab can fit into both. The orientation shown was the proper way for mine. When I split the case open, I found a little shaft laying in the grease and of course, I did not see where that came from. Well, you can see it's the shaft that the plastic gear rides on. Take care when you reassemble your black box to make sure that's properly seated in both sides of the case. as Harold57 pointed out, pay attention to the orientation of the cables. I took a picture so I could refer back ....white on top, green on bottom.
When taking the actuator apart, take pictures so you can see where parts go together and fit together. It is not real obvious on a couple of the items, especially if you had to wait overnight to reassemble it. (See my note below about glue.) There's a hole in the metal interface that receives one of the pointed ends of the nylon three pronged piece attached to the black motor housing. Be sure to get it back in the right hole. (One hint there is to look where the grease is.)
If you do have to wait overnight for the glue to cure or because you ran out of time, you might consider putting a trickle charger on your battery until you finish because the interior lights will be on the entire time.
.
Pay attention to these hints. I missed the first bullet here, and had to pull the actuator back out to fix. See my pic on this. Maybe take pics before and during your disassembly.
My battery went dead. But I'm thinking it should not go dead for one night of running interior lights. Getting that checked tomorrow.
Thanks DPlainview, I'm glad that it worked out for you.
Yeah, if you still have incandescent bulbs in your interior lights, it can run your battery down, especially if it were already a bit low. Definitely worth checking out if you have other power drains though.
Someone tried to steal my car the other night and drilled a hole in my Driver Side door handle, so now I can't lock my car without being locked out with no way in Dealer quoted $700 to fix, so my next option was to buy a key that has the door unlock and lock function. I found someone to do it for $185 but with my terrible luck, of course it didn't work because there was something wrong with the locks. This post & related post looks to solve my problem for a couple hundred less than the dealer.
I am very thankful to all who contributed . I will try this weekend. Hopefully it will get me by until I have the funds to order the door lock cylinder from the dealer for my keys.
TIP
One think I can add after reading the whole post is that, another common issue is not being able to control the passenger side lock from the driver side control. Replacing the door control module ($40-50)on the drivers side should fix this! looks to be in the same location as the above fix so would be wise to do it a the same time, if you also have the same issue.
Someone tried to steal my car the other night and drilled a hole in my Driver Side door handle, so now I can't lock my car without being locked out with no way in Dealer quoted $700 to fix, so my next option was to buy a key that has the door unlock and lock function. I found someone to do it for $185 but with my terrible luck, of course it didn't work because there was something wrong with the locks. This post & related post looks to solve my problem for a couple hundred less than the dealer.
I am very thankful to all who contributed . I will try this weekend. Hopefully it will get me by until I have the funds to order the door lock cylinder from the dealer for my keys.
TIP
One think I can add after reading the whole post is that, another common issue is not being able to control the passenger side lock from the driver side control. Replacing the door control module ($40-50)on the drivers side should fix this! looks to be in the same location as the above fix so would be wise to do it a the same time, if you also have the same issue.
Someone tried to steal my car the other night and drilled a hole in my Driver Side door handle, so now I can't lock my car without being locked out with no way in Dealer quoted $700 to fix, so my next option was to buy a key that has the door unlock and lock function. I found someone to do it for $185 but with my terrible luck, of course it didn't work because there was something wrong with the locks. This post & related post looks to solve my problem for a couple hundred less than the dealer.
I am very thankful to all who contributed . I will try this weekend. Hopefully it will get me by until I have the funds to order the door lock cylinder from the dealer for my keys.
TIP
One think I can add after reading the whole post is that, another common issue is not being able to control the passenger side lock from the driver side control. Replacing the door control module ($40-50)on the drivers side should fix this! looks to be in the same location as the above fix so would be wise to do it a the same time, if you also have the same issue.
I replaced a key when my door locks were weak and not cycling right for the reprogram. You just need to manually flip the drivers lock switch if I remember correctly. It should be in this thread somewhere. Where are you located?
Hi@soulsmileinc,confirming what model Lexus you have? Says sc430 on your profile but the picture doesn’t quite look like what I remember the sc430 door looking like[/size]
Hi@soulsmileinc,confirming what model Lexus you have? Says sc430 on your profile but the picture doesn’t quite look like what I remember the sc430 door looking like
I saw the door and automatically replied thinking it was a GS.
10-03-21, 12:13 PM
Dealer quoted $700 to fix, so my next option was to buy a key that has the door unlock and lock function. I found someone to do it for $185 but with my terrible luck, of course it didn't work because there was something wrong with the locks. This post & related post looks to solve my problem for a couple hundred less than the dealer.
