I'm the original owner of an '01 IS300. The following is something that just started happening last summer. When I try to lock the car after driving the car for an hour or more during a sunny, hot day, the car doors will not lock (using the remote). The lights do not flash and there is no "beep" telling me the car is locked.
I did some observations and noticed the following:
1. When using the remote to lock the doors, the actual interior door lock buttons appear to "stick" and are not being moved completely to the "locked" position by the door lock actuators. This situation happens mostly on the left front (driver's) door and left rear door (both at the same time).
2. If I lock the doors manually (when the door lock buttons "Stick") using the door's interior lock buttons, then hit the lock button on the remote, the lights flash and the "beep" is heard indicating the car is locked.
3. There appears to be no problem unlocking the car with the remote.
4. This problem always occurs when the car is in the sun and the interior gets hot.
5. If it is REALLY hot out (I live in Arizona) and I have the A/C on, the car's doors lock just fine using the remote.
I am hoping someone might have encountered this before and has an easy fix (short of "going to the dealer").
Steve
Mesa, AZ