Lexus detail - any experience with this issue? (mechanical)

Bates Detailing

Bates Detailing

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Hey guys - spent nearly 8 hours on a NASTY Lexus interior a few days ago. This one of those jobs that I quoted before seeing and made very little on after the amount of time, product and labor used. Not a big deal - quality turn around and was happy to be done. Well the next day the owner called and says her back door won't automatically open. It opened before we detailed it, but now it wont open - so it must be something we did. So I called two mechanics who both said that it would be highly unlikely that detailing it the way we did would have created this issue.

Facts :

We used steam, but not on any of the buttons on the dash or door - only on carpets and to get melted candy off of leather seats.

This was only a full interior, engine was not touched

The button (as well as all other buttons on interior) was cleaned using APC on brush - not even directly sprayed on surface...... then wiped.

Lady was very nice and very happy with the turn around - but she looked shocked when I told her the comments that the mechanics gave me and how I felt that we were not the issue here. If for some reason we did create this issue I would be more than happy to own up to it - we have serviced 100+ Full interiors this year and not had an issue like this yet - have any of you guys on here had something like this happen?!?!?!? If so what did you do?!?!
 
I've not had that happen but I did have a car where the power seat didn't work after the detail and the customer there was really nice about it but was sure that it worked before the detail. Turned out that after a closer inspection, while vacuuming under the seat I knocked off the power connector for the power seat motor. As a result of that job, I now check all that stuff before and after working on the car.

I'd suggest keeping in contact with the customer and see if maybe there was moisture in some component of the wiring for that door. Who knows...it may start working again in a few days. I assume you checked the fuses right?.. Very well could have been a wire partially skinned under the carpet somewhere and the moisture from the carpet cleaning was just enough to cause it to ground out. Stranger things have happened I'm sure.
 
tuscarora dave said:
I'd suggest keeping in contact with the customer and see if maybe there was moisture in some component of the wiring for that door. Who knows...it may start working again in a few days. I assume you checked the fuses right?.. Very well could have been a wire partially skinned under the carpet somewhere and the moisture from the carpet cleaning was just enough to cause it to ground out. Stranger things have happened I'm sure.
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One of the mechanics gave me a list of fuses to check - I will go check them today...... The other mechanic said the only time he has seen something like that happen is when a sunroof was left open and the vehicle got rained in, moisture got in the ECU, and he said 2 days later it dried up and started working again. Maybe the moisture from the steam was enough - I hope not! If that is the issue - I will need to compile a list of moisture sensitive rides and find a new method of cleaning them :eek:
 
Constantly improving one job at a time, that's the name of the game.:props:
 
Unless you introduced excessive moisture, I am thinking that it was a freak occurrence. Moisture will play a role when exposed to electronics (i.e. switches, contacts etc). It should resolve itself.
 
Is it possible that on the inside/back section of the door that a "childproof" switch that keeps the door from opening was flipped during cleaning? It keeps the little buggers from opening the door from the inside......just a thought.
 
:whs: I ended up hitting a button in the glove box on my car and for a week I couldn't figure out why my trunk wouldn't open with the remote or the exterior button on the trunk lid. Only way to open it was to hit the button on the door panel. Flipped the switch and I was back in business.
 
There is a button/switch either on the left side or the right close to where your knees would be if sitting in the drivers seat you must have hit

Look for a button that has a pic of the rear door ;)
 
A quick thanx to all of you! In and out of office, or else I would respond more thouroughly - but seriously thnx guys. Here's what I sent her :

Hello Dr. Dar,

This letter is in reference to the issue that arose with the back door of your Lexus RX330 not opening automatically after we detailed your interior. I would like to let you know that customer service is the backbone of B & B Detailing and that we take pride in offering our customers top notch service. As mentioned yesterday, I contacted 2 mechanics in Middle Tennessee whose expertise is working on foreign vehicles such as your Lexus. They informed me that the cause of the door not opening automatically is highly improbable that it was caused by detailing the interior. Although I felt that this was not created by our company, I do feel that the coincidence shouldn’t be overlooked. For that reason, I asked detailing professional’s if this has happened to them in the past and these are the responses I received :

“ Unless you introduced excessive moisture, I am thinking that it was a freak occurrence. Moisture will play a role when exposed to electronics (i.e. switches, contacts etc). It should resolve itself.”

“Is it possible that on the inside/back section of the door that a "childproof" switch that keeps the door from opening was flipped during cleaning? It keeps the kids from opening the door from the inside......just a thought.”

“There is a button/switch either on the left side or the right close to where your knees would be if sitting in the driver’s seat you could have hit. Look for a button that has a pic of the rear door.”

From what I gather from all experts, mechanical and detailing wise, I believe the first step is to allow any component that may have received excess moisture to dry for a couple of days. The door may very well be operable after this period. If the door does not work by Saturday the 4th, please contact me and I will do my best to find a solution. I do apologize for the inconvenience and hope that we can help in anyway.

Sincerely,


Anthony L Bates – President B & B Detailing, Inc.
 
Anthony,

Are you talking about when she disarms the vehicle via remote or turns the ignition key off. Lexus has a bunch of door lock settings that can customized.
 
when you say won't automatically open, do you mean unlock?

as in touch the handle with the key in your pocket or press the unlock button on the remote and the doors unlock, except one of the back doors?

hope it's not the actuator. Those things are getting so cheap that my boss has had all 4 replaced on his camry. Apparently, they are also getting so over engineered that it is virtually impossible to replace them yourself in a Lexus.
 
SonOfOC said:
Anthony,

Are you talking about when she disarms the vehicle via remote or turns the ignition key off. Lexus has a bunch of door lock settings that can customized.
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embolism said:
when you say won't automatically open, do you mean unlock?

as in touch the handle with the key in your pocket or press the unlock button on the remote and the doors unlock, except one of the back doors?

hope it's not the actuator. Those things are getting so cheap that my boss has had all 4 replaced on his camry. Apparently, they are also getting so over engineered that it is virtually impossible to replace them yourself in a Lexus.
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There is an actual button on her keychain that opens the door - and a button on the lower left of the dash that opens the door. The door opens fine manually but she is concerned about it not opening automatically with the push of these buttons.

Thanx again everyone for your help here - any other insight is more than welcomed. I think I like detailing beaters more than these computer systems.
 
Can't you have the customer bring it Lexus and ask them why won't it open? They won't charge unless you want them to have it fixed.
 
B&B Tennessee said:
Thanx again everyone for your help here - any other insight is more than welcomed. I think I like detailing beaters more than these computer systems.
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That button might be up in the center of the console below the air vents, or could be on the drivers door panel by the window switches. If you wanna know for sure, call the Lexus dealer and ask. My memory might be wrong but I don't think so
nerd.gif
 
Well he did asked his mechanic about it, there may be some problems with Rx350s. When I worked at Lexus we always had a meeting every month to discuss any recall or defects that has been brought to us from head quarters. Most of the time they will fix these problem at their cost because it was computer problems/recalls.

I would have them and bring it and not mention it was recently detailed. They will tell you what wrong/need to be replaced.
 
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I realized that I freak out when I think the customer isn't happy lol. She was very pleased about the detail but was upset in a nice way about the door. Either way I loose sleep over stuff like this ----- I think we all like to have or keep a great record.
 
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