Author	[Modern View]
Danny in CO 06-10-2012 19:32:54 99.197.188.117 Report to Moderator	Help! My son has a 96 Lexus ES300 and the passenger door won't open. He has had problems with it opening from the outside for a while. Now it won't open from the inside either. If we can get the door panel off we can fix the problem. But since we can't get the door, we can't get the door panel off. Any idea how do get the door open? Thanks, Danny [Reply]   [No Email]
ZANE 06-12-2012 04:59:33 98.83.21.75 Report to Moderator	Re: OT: Can't Open Lexus Door in reply to Danny in CO, 06-10-2012 19:32:54   http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZXmHYnMRVT0 Check this out on Utube. Zane [Reply]  [No Email]
Jon4020 06-11-2012 15:02:52 64.141.34.196 Report to Moderator	Re: OT: Can't Open Lexus Door in reply to Danny in CO, 06-10-2012 19:32:54   I had the same problem on my Roll Royce just last week...then I woke up. [Reply]  [No Email]
Caryc 06-11-2012 15:35:40 209.86.226.40 Report to Moderator	Re: OT: Can't Open Lexus Door in reply to Jon4020, 06-11-2012 15:02:52   Quoting Removed, click Modern View to see Well go back to sleep and see how to fix it, maybe you can help Danny. [Reply]  [No Email]
Danny in CO 06-11-2012 12:27:20 99.197.188.117 Report to Moderator	Re: OT: Can't Open Lexus Door in reply to Danny in CO, 06-10-2012 19:32:54   Thanks to those of you with helpful suggestions! Yes, the problems is not with the lock mechanism, it is with the latch. TOH, your's is a good suggestion. I will take it to a body shop and see if they can open it. Once we get it open we can fix it. Thanks again, Danny [Reply]  [No Email]
TheOldHokie 06-11-2012 10:07:22 71.176.128.186 Report to Moderator	Re: OT: Can't Open Lexus Door in reply to 36 coupe, 06-10-2012 19:32:54   Quoting Removed, click Modern View to see I found multiple reports of this problem on the ES series - the connecting clips that connects the latch bar to the inside and outside handles break under the repeated force of pulling the door open/closed. There is no real difference between a door lock bar and a door latch bar. A professional lockout kit will have "slim-jims" in a variety of configurations often with interchangable heads. One of then should be capable of snagging the door latch bar and tripping it. This is not an unusual problem and something a crash shop probably deals with on a regular basis. Just take it to a shop - worse case they will tell you they can't do it and quite possibly recommend someone than can. TOH [Reply]  [No Email]
Caryc 06-11-2012 10:16:23 209.86.226.57 Report to Moderator	Re: OT: Can't Open Lexus Door in reply to TheOldHokie, 06-11-2012 10:07:22   Quoting Removed, click Modern View to see Very good advice. It's like the shops in dealerships with their wall full of "special tools". Lots of cars have special tools made to do only one thing. For the shade tree mechanic trying to do something without that special made tool can drive one nuts. [Reply]  [No Email]
Caryc 06-11-2012 09:41:49 209.86.226.57 Report to Moderator	Re: OT: Can't Open Lexus Door in reply to Danny in CO, 06-10-2012 19:32:54   Seems that a bunch of you that are suggesting things like a slim jim are thinking along the lines that he can't open the door because it is locked and he can't unlock it. I see his problem as the actual door latch mechanism not working. My sisters Oldsmobile had an inside door handle (drivers side) that would not open the door. The outside handle worked ok. I removed the door panel and installed a new inside door handle that I got on Ebay and fixed it. The part where it connected to the actual door latch was broken. The OP said his outside handle was not working for a while and then his inside handle quit working. My sisters car had electric locks but the locks had nothing to do with the problem. So I'm thinking that his problem has nothing to do with electric locks. It would seem that his actual door latch mechanisms are both broken now. Unfortunately slim jims just allow one to unlock the lock mechanisms, they don't actually move the door latch, so I don't know how he is going to get that door open. My guess is that he would have to take it to an actual dealer that can figure how to get it open. If one had drawings of the actual latch system maybe one could figure how to open it with some kind of tool similar to a slim jim that would contact the actual parts needed to release the latch. This post was edited by Caryc at 09:52:28 06/11/12 3 times. [Reply]  [No Email]
ZANE 06-11-2012 09:11:14 98.83.13.214 Report to Moderator	Re: OT: Can't Open Lexus Door in reply to Danny in CO, 06-10-2012 19:32:54   I have a 95 Camry and the driver's door has done that to me twice. I never lock it anymore for anything. Problem with the locks is they are totally electric and the solenoids that move the locks are covered with plastic bubbles and impossible to get with a Slim Gim etc. The last time it happened to me I made a long drill by welding a long rod to a 1/2" drill bit and then with the window rolled all the way up and with a plastic wedge to make a gap between the window bottom and the window opening I began to drill everything in sight till I had removed enough material to open the door. Then you can get the panels off and remove what is left of the locking mechanism so you can replace it with a used or new lock. After that never lock it again and leave your Roolex on your wrist and not in the car. If anybody wants in the car to steal something you won't get any broken windows. Zane [Reply]  [No Email]
Charles H. 06-11-2012 08:57:33 69.111.14.163 Report to Moderator	Re: OT: Can't Open Lexus Door in reply to TL (Va), 06-10-2012 19:32:54   Danny in CO said: (quoted from post at 03:32:54 06/11/12) Help! My son has a 96 Lexus ES300 and the passenger door won't open. He has had problems with it opening from the outside for a while. Now it won't open from the inside either. If we can get the door panel off we can fix the problem. But since we can't get the door, we can't get the door panel off. Any idea how do get the door open? Thanks, Danny Danny, Have your son look into where the switch that unlocks that door is and see if using the alligator clips and bypass the wire, or use a screw driver to jump the posts. That is what the Audi Dealer did so they could change the parts. That Audi 5000 may be different from your son's car. This post was edited by Charles H. at 09:00:57 06/11/12 2 times. [Reply]  [No Email]
TheOldHokie 06-11-2012 07:23:20 71.176.128.186 Report to Moderator	Re: OT: Can't Open Lexus Door in reply to R Geiger, 06-10-2012 19:32:54   Quoting Removed, click Modern View to see Ignore the guys/gals with a chip on their shoulder. A quick Google search suggests this is a pretty common problem with that vintage of the ES series. Root cause is usually a broken clip on the linkage inside the door itself. I'm guessing a slim-jim type tool that you run down inside the window will get the door open. Take it to a body shop, garage, or towing service that has a lockout toolkit and have them pop it for you. Shouldn't cost a lot :roll: TOH [Reply]  [No Email]
Gaspump 06-11-2012 06:52:56 72.40.147.47 Report to Moderator	Re: OT: Can't Open Lexus Door in reply to Danny in CO, 06-10-2012 19:32:54   It's a Toyota, you may look for a Toyota forum for pointers. [Reply]  [No Email]
welding man 06-11-2012 05:29:36 76.9.225.76 Report to Moderator	Re: OT: Can't Open Lexus Door in reply to Danny in CO, 06-10-2012 19:32:54   I couldn't afford to buy the door handle off a Lexus,much less the whole vehicle. Leave it parked in the wrong neighborhood and I'm sure it will be open real quick like. [Reply]  [No Email]
Ultradog MN 06-11-2012 04:27:23 70.56.166.182 Report to Moderator	Re: OT: Can't Open Lexus Door in reply to Danny in CO, 06-10-2012 19:32:54   Interesting replys. Have you looked around the net for a forum for Lexus? There are forums for just about everything under the sun so probably Lexus too. Or bring it to the dealer. I'd like to have a Lexus, or Toyota or Beemer, Buick or whatever. But I'm stuck driving 3/4T pickups for the rest of my working years so no nice road cars for me. Good luck. [Reply]  [No Email]
mugbudquad 06-11-2012 03:50:53 50.44.15.142 Report to Moderator	Re: OT: Can't Open Lexus Door in reply to Danny in CO, 06-10-2012 19:32:54   Trade it for a Ford ,Chevy or a Chrysler your problem will go away, I promise. [Reply]  [No Email]
ShadetreeRet 06-10-2012 22:03:04 184.4.18.44 Report to Moderator	Re: OT: Can't Open Lexus Door in reply to Danny in CO, 06-10-2012 19:32:54   One of those doohickeys that locksmiths use to unlock the doors might work. Just a thought. [Reply]  [No Email]
leej 06-10-2012 21:59:05 63.133.135.162 Report to Moderator	Re: OT: Can't Open Lexus Door in reply to Royse, 06-10-2012 19:32:54   From the same JA es that bombed us in 1941...........tell him to blow the door open with C4!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Buy American!!!!!!!!!!! [Reply]  [No Email]
Bruce (VA) 06-11-2012 06:35:04 24.125.80.178 Report to Moderator	Re: OT: Can't Open Lexus Door in reply to leej, 06-10-2012 21:59:05   I'll be willing to bet that he bought that Lexus from an American dealer. BTW, at what point does "buy American" apply? Must every component be American made? Or, can the components come from another country as long as they are assembled in the USA? What about my Ford F-150 pick-up? (The engine came from Canada) I guess if the country was ever at war with us, we shouldn't be buying vehicles from them, huh? So, no Mercedes or BMW's or MG's or Rolls-Royces either. [Reply]  [No Email]
36 coupe 06-13-2012 05:25:21 66.186.169.176 Report to Moderator	Re: OT: Can't Open Lexus Door in reply to Bruce (VA), 06-11-2012 06:35:04   My 96 Ford F150 came from Canada.Its full of metric fasteners.The front brake hoses are 95 Ford, not the parts mans fault if you get the wrong parts.New gas tanks are from Canada,wheel cylinders, brake drums and spring hangers are from china.Toyota says their trucks have more US parts than Ford trucks.The US has been at war with every country on earth. [Reply]  [No Email]
Gaspump 06-11-2012 07:51:18 72.40.147.47 Report to Moderator	Re: OT: Can't Open Lexus Door in reply to Bruce (VA), 06-11-2012 06:35:04   I for one like driving vehicles that are at least a high percentage of American parts and labor. To see if the car is American or not one easy clue would be to look at the data plate on the vehicle. If no language other than english appears you could be looking at an American car. Also look for Corp HQ,s without an overseas address. NAFTA would be considered inclusive of "American" as in "North American" Free Trade Act. Not that I fully approve of it but we can thank Willy and Algore for that. On the dealer level a Lexus dealer may be American but the monitary profit and control of Toyota is indeed in Japan. In these perilous times we as Americans should all be extremely careful and do our best to support American business and buy American whenever possible. At least I'm certain my old Ford Tractors are American. [Reply]  [No Email]
rustyfarmall 06-11-2012 09:00:00 67.55.162.174 Report to Moderator	Re: OT: Can't Open Lexus Door in reply to Gaspump, 06-11-2012 07:51:18   Quoting Removed, click Modern View to see Interesting to note that you mentioned Toyota, which is the parent company of the Lexus. So in reality, the Lexus is nothing more than a Toyota with a few luxury touches and a jacked up price tag, and yes, the corporate headquarters are NOT in the U.S.A. [Reply]  [No Email]
mike in wis. 06-10-2012 21:22:38 184.20.120.55 Report to Moderator	Re: OT: Can't Open Lexus Door in reply to Danny in CO, 06-10-2012 19:32:54   Try calling a Lexus dealer. Never had a stuck door on my 8N. [Reply]  [No Email]
JimQc 06-11-2012 05:16:35 69.156.206.100 Report to Moderator	Re: OT: Can't Open Lexus Door in reply to mike in wis., 06-10-2012 21:22:38   Hey Mike in Wisconsin , you said it for me too. [Reply]  [No Email]
Charles H. 06-10-2012 23:51:15 68.126.248.77 Report to Moderator	Re: OT: Can't Open Lexus Door in reply to mike in wis., 06-10-2012 21:22:38   Had that problem with an Audi 5000 I had from new to 21,000 miles on it, traded it for a Mustang GT, the problem left that day never returned. [Reply]  [No Email]