Gs450H Drivers Door Card Extortionate Price

mr2lad · June 4, 2012

If you read my previous post you'll now my drivers door deadlocked on me and NO combination of key fob key etc etc would open the door.....put car into the Toyota/Lexus garage in Aberdeen for them to try and fix...just got a phone call to say they can't get door open via computer, key,fob etc etc and they need to get door card off and this is going to get pretty damaged and a replacement door card alone is going to cost ............£2100 ....yes you read it correctly £2100 for a door card...what the hell are these things made of to cost that ammount plus the labour charge and replacement lock total price around £2700 just for a locked door....the mind boggles.....really detest my GS now ... Not a happy bunnie:-(

dave1 · June 4, 2012

If you read my previous post you'll now my drivers door deadlocked on me and NO combination of key fob key etc etc would open the door.....put car into the Toyota/Lexus garage in Aberdeen for them to try and fix...just got a phone call to say they can't get door open via computer, key,fob etc etc and they need to get door card off and this is going to get pretty damaged and a replacement door card alone is going to cost ............£2100 ....yes you read it correctly £2100 for a door card...what the hell are these things made of to cost that ammount plus the labour charge and replacement lock total price around £2700 just for a locked door....the mind boggles.....really detest my GS now ... Not a happy bunnie:-(

For a door card??????? Are they trying it on???

dave1 · June 4, 2012

I think I would be going back to the garage owner for a conversation about why he sold it as a private sale. It may have been his own car but it would probably have been registered for tax purposes as his business car. Must be worth trying to get at least a contribution from him..

bubba1 · June 4, 2012

surely Lexus would be prepared to get involved and cover at least some if not all of the cost?

This is a serious safety issue and as a recent owner of a low mileage gs450h i am very dissapointed that something of this nature should fail so early.

I would have thought that for locks to be "fit for purpose" they should last 10 years if not for the life of the vehicle.

I appreciate the electronic element could fail earlier but surely you should still maintain manual operation for safety reasons alone.

Good Luck

mr2lad · June 5, 2012

Good news..kind of....

Just got phone call from garage and they've got door open....via taking exterior door handle off and managing to get access to lock...total bill now will be in the region of £625 give or take this is for labour a bit of door trim and lock. Door card is slightly damaged but I can put up with this for time being and will replace from USA at $1236 which in £s is less than a grand....give garage there dues they kept me informed and aren't billing me for all the labour and service manager did his utmost to keep costs down..

I will be contacting Lexus uk and discuss this safety feature and see if anything can be sorted out...like bubba1 says the should be some kind of option to manually open door and on a 4 yr old car this is just so wrong

steve2006 · June 5, 2012

Just looked on Toyo.com and the door card price is about right, well not right for what it is if you know what I mean.

Had a look on Fleabay but none being broken and with around 12 different colours not much chance of getting one 2nd hand.

There is a GS450H 2008 with one owner and FLSH on there for 11,495 so how do they justify that price just for a door card!!!!!

Just remember you may get hit for VAT and import duty if you buy from the USA have you considered contacting ACLex for a quote?

mikeyv · June 5, 2012

Depending what the damage is, maybe a good coach trimmer could repair the panel.

The cost to replace is ludicrous.

mr2lad · June 5, 2012

Could get custom made door cards all round for cheaper I bet ya

Might just go along the lines of seeing a coach trimmer...well done that man..hadn't thought about that

donmar · June 5, 2012

another opption is smash door glass and you should be able to get down to lock i think anyone no if this is possible? this would save buying door card and get window fixed on insurance

GOLO · June 5, 2012

another opption is smash door glass and you should be able to get down to lock i think anyone no if this is possible? this would save buying door card and get window fixed on insurance

Good news..kind of....

Just got phone call from garage and they've got door open....via taking exterior door handle off and managing to get access to lock...total bill now will be in the region of £625 give or take this is for labour a bit of door trim and lock. Door card is slightly damaged but I can put up with this for time being and will replace from USA at $1236 which in £s is less than a grand....give garage there dues they kept me informed and aren't billing me for all the labour and service manager did his utmost to keep costs down..

I will be contacting Lexus uk and discuss this safety feature and see if anything can be sorted out...like bubba1 says the should be some kind of option to manually open door and on a 4 yr old car this is just so wrong

First, sorry to read of your problem, second, how did they get the handle off from outside?? surely they would need to get the door card off? just thinking that could be a security issue.

Hope you get it sorted.

The Editor · June 5, 2012

............ how did they get the handle off from outside?? surely they would need to get the door card off? just thinking that could be a security issue.

You beat me to it !!

mr2lad · June 6, 2012

Unsure as to how they got exterior door handle off....car still in garage till parts arrive on Thursday or Friday but I will ask about that...and let you guys now...if its a security issue I'll pm yous.... instead of giving all toe rags the way to break in

As for breaking glass to gain access to lock ....no not a idea I would even contemplate

steve2006 · June 6, 2012

Another method of opening a locked door when all else fails is to carefully cut through the U shaped door latch mounted on the door pillar.

Obviously the required skills are needed with a mini grinder or air saw to avoid damage to the paintwork but once this is cut the door will open and it is then only a matter of replacing the bracket after carrying out the lock repairs.

ihpj · June 6, 2012

I've been following this saga with interest; glad the OP got it resolved without too much hacking and chopping. A reason why, when I own these cars, would never consider running them without a Lexus warranty. The sub-£1000 cost of a warranty suddenly becomes quite palatable when considering how the cost of these types of repairs can mount and blow out of proportion for what is in effect a minor issue.

And when people debate the cost of a Lexus warranty (or not) this type of eventuality should be a serious consideration.

mr2lad · June 7, 2012

Steve....think about it doors locked shut so how can you get to U shaped door latch when doors locked??????????? Just a thought :-)))

mr2lad · June 7, 2012

Had some company phone me up last week ....trying to sell warrantys so let them do there talk then asked them if it covered door locks etc and the hybrid system no I don't think so he said ...I hung up

Seriously thinking of getting rid of the GS as this has just pee'd me right off...yeah ok it's all about to be sorted and it's not a GS or even Lexus common fault but just disheartened now.....like I said in a earlier post I was torn between getting a ls460 or the GS ...so think I might go for the ls460 with a warranty ( lol )

We'll have to wait n see I suppose :-D

steve2006 · June 7, 2012

Steve....think about it doors locked shut so how can you get to U shaped door latch when doors locked??????????? Just a thought :-)))

It was something I read once but can I find it now, could have been a dream! lol

mr2lad · June 7, 2012

Did think of something along that lines of the U latch but no way of accessing it or the bolts that hold it on.....

Got phone call off garage this morning to say its ready ...but as I'm a lorry driver can't get it till tomorrow...my company's going to get me to finish work in Aberdeen n I'll pick it up then ...I live 69mls away from garage so that's a bonus lol

I will quiz them into the security of the car as in the way they gained access and see if it's anything to concern everybody with....total bill £624:46

mr2lad · June 8, 2012

Got car back now and you wouldn't know anything had been wrong with it...no damage at all to door card woohoo

As for the security issue mentioned earlier on ....the is nowt to worry about and the mechanic said he's never come across a car with such good security...I'm not going into how they did get car open but needless to say NO NEED TO WORRY ON THE SECURITY ISSUE ...