97 Es300 Driver's Door Froze - Door Light On Continually

[total1]

1997 ES300

168.5K miles

In today's "frozen tundra" of the north, my driver's door was frozen shut so I entered the car from the passenger side and started the engine. Eseentially, I pushed the driver's door open, got in and drove to work. During the time to work the dash light for the 'open door sensor' came on and off a little. After about 4-5 miles of 40 mph driving/10 minutes, I stopped at a light to open/close the driver's door only to have the light display as 'on' continually thereafter. So, I left my Lexus in the parking lot with the dashboard light on and attempted to lock the car via the remote lock unit. The car gave the typical 'not all doors are locked' sound for a couple of seconds.

So I drove home for lunch and pushed the door plunger in and released it. The light on the door goes out when I depress the plunger but the dashboard door light continues to stay on. I still get the sound that 'not all doors are locked'.

Anyone have an idea on how to address this without a big expense? I may take the plunger off tonight once I return home and keep my ES300 in the garage. [i actually have three ES300's]. Is this just a matter of thawing out?

TIA

Total1

[total1]

The problem is solved! Evidently the driver's side door rear door was ajar and I wasn't aware of it so my focus was on the driver's door.

I did find out one thing: By removing the bolt on the driver's side plunger automatically disengages the door light on the door. Once the bolt was placed back in to the rubber housing the door light came back on. So, evidently, the bolt is a ground to the light or the display light.

1997 ES300

168.5K miles

In today's "frozen tundra" of the north, my driver's door was frozen shut so I entered the car from the passenger side and started the engine. Eseentially, I pushed the driver's door open, got in and drove to work. During the time to work the dash light for the 'open door sensor' came on and off a little. After about 4-5 miles of 40 mph driving/10 minutes, I stopped at a light to open/close the driver's door only to have the light display as 'on' continually thereafter. So, I left my Lexus in the parking lot with the dashboard light on and attempted to lock the car via the remote lock unit. The car gave the typical 'not all doors are locked' sound for a couple of seconds.

So I drove home for lunch and pushed the door plunger in and released it. The light on the door goes out when I depress the plunger but the dashboard door light continues to stay on. I still get the sound that 'not all doors are locked'.

Anyone have an idea on how to address this without a big expense? I may take the plunger off tonight once I return home and keep my ES300 in the garage. [i actually have three ES300's]. Is this just a matter of thawing out?

TIA

Total1