RX300 2004 Mk2 went to open my car and nothing happens?

[PJ Murphy]

I have left my car for a couple of days and went to open with the remote today and whilst the light comes on the key nothing is happening and the car is not opening?

I do not have a second key as I only recently bought the car and have arranged for a second key to be cut and programmed in a weeks time. I went to lexus locally and had the key Battery changed but still no response. All was working well previously.

Can anyone help with any ideas please, I have tried a search on the site but nothing has come up. 

If I unlock manually will the alarm go off and if so how do I stop it? (my car manual is in the glove box!) can I manually unlock and still drive the car or is there an immobiliser that will stop me?

Thanks for taking the time to read this thread and any advise would be appreciated.

Thanks 

[Delphius1]

Hi,

Once you open the driver's door with the key manually, if the alarm sounds, then you put the key in the ignition and switch the ignition on to silence it. 

Then it's down to finding out which Battery is flat: the keyfob Battery or the car Battery. 

The security system will detect your key in the ignition is the correct key. That part of the key doesn't rely on the fob Battery.

 

 

[PJ Murphy]

I have just seen that the door control receiver is in the back nearside top of the bodywork where I have just got a leak so if the receiver was wet I guess this could be the issue? does anyone have experience of this and could I buy a secondhand unit if so will it plug and play or need programming?

Thanks 

[PJ Murphy]

3 minutes ago, Delphius1 said:

Hi,

Once you open the driver's door with the key manually, if the alarm sounds, then you put the key in the ignition and switch the ignition on to silence it. 

Then it's down to finding out which battery is flat: the keyfob battery or the car battery. 

The security system will detect your key in the ignition is the correct key. That part of the key doesn't rely on the fob battery.

 

 

Hi Thanks for your reply, I believe the car Battery is fairly new and I've changed the key Battery but will give it a go in the morning. Should the car start or be immobilised? Thanks

 

[ColinBarber]

38 minutes ago, PJ Murphy said:

Hi Thanks for your reply, I believe the car battery is fairly new and I've changed the key battery but will give it a go in the morning. Should the car start or be immobilised? Thanks

It will start. The immobiliser will detect the key in the ignition to allow it to start. The alarm and immobiliser are essentially separate systems.

[PJ Murphy]

19 minutes ago, ColinBarber said:

It will start. The immobiliser will detect the key in the ignition to allow it to start. The alarm and immobiliser are essentially separate systems.

Ah thank you I will try in the morning!

 

[PJ Murphy]

Well here’s an update so far, car opened with key, Battery in the car was absolutely flat ( car was bought three weeks ago from private seller) it had only recently had a new Battery so I am going out to buy a Battery for my digital analyser to check if the alternator is charging. I think this is the likely problem as it started and locking worked when Battery pack connected. I did get the roof rails off today and fit new seals to the mountings ans also found a crack in the weld so added silicone so hopefully the leak will be addressed. Checked with Lexus and new alternator is £736.93 with club discount so may just change the brushes if it’s not charging.

[Herbie]

16 minutes ago, PJ Murphy said:

Checked with Lexus and new alternator is £736.93 with club discount so may just change the brushes if it’s not charging.

If it's not charging but it's not the brushes, why not just have your own alternator refurbished? It's got to be cheaper and it'll be like brand new again.

I live local to these guys and I know you can send it to them. They do an excellent job but I'm sure there should be someone local to you if you didn't want to send it.

[PJ Murphy]

Thanks good call as I am sat here thinking do I buy non genuine or refurbished existing unit? I would prefer to keep the original unit if it is just the brushes. I have refurbed units myself so I may we’ll add another post to see what other members have done. Thanks 

[PJ Murphy]

Alternator checked and charging was inconsistent also down to less than 8 volts at times so decided to change the brushes. Ordered the brushes from Hedge End at around £26. The worst part of the job was removal of the alternator once undone! The brushes had reduced in size by about 10mm over the cars 93000 miles. All back in and jump started and 13.9 to 14 volts registered. 15 mile run and Battery all charged up so hopefully no more issues. One thing I didn’t know was that I had to reprogram the drivers door window buttons so I could remotely wind down the passenger windows.

[Herbie]

Good job Paul, glad to see that it's sorted.

My only 'concern' is why you would go and order new brushes from a Lexus dealer for £26 when you could have got a set from eBay for less than a fiver? There's nothing 'Lexus-specific' about alternator brushes.