Lex01_430, can you tell me where you purcahse your aftermarket door actuator kit? Thank you.
Perhaps it's none of my business, but I continue to wonder why people that drive the finest cars on this planet begrudge the price of parts. Usually, it is after years and thousands of miles of troublefree service that one of our cars needs something. All of the sudden, people become bargain shoppers.
I find this attitude particularly irritating in my shop where removing the aftermarket crap that people "improve" their cars with is a weekly occurence.
That being said, Toyota products have been designed with the utmost care and attention to detail. Often, replacing a seemingly simple part with another which was not specifically designed for the purpose, will lead to more problems down the road. More often than not, it is more trouble in the end than if the part would have just been replaced with the proper one. If you value a continued, virtually trouble-free relationship with your car, do it and yourself a favor. Do it once and do it right.
On a related note...
There is (was?) a service campaign having to do with some 1998 model GS300 & GS400 models for the rear door latches. Under the campaign, affected cars will have the rear door latches replaced and the front latches inspected and/or replaced. The cited problem is that the interior lamp may not illuminate when a door is opened. The switch is in the latch assembly. So I suppose, if your car falls within the affected VIN range and you are having a door locking problem....and you just happen to nitice your interior lamp does not always illuminate...ahem...you may have a chance of getting it fixed under the provisions of the campaign.
Thanks, but perhaps you shouldn't jump to a conclusion so soon without knowing more. How do you know I am keeping the car for another 5-10 years? You don't know that. In fact, I am planning to sell my 98 GS300 soon, so paying $300 to fix the door lock actuator problem doesn't make sense for me, but I do need to get it fix before selling the car. Besides, if you read the Lexus SSC carefully, you will realize it only calls for a new door lock if necessary. The direction describes removing the original/old door lock actuator (see page 41) and installing it on the new front door lock. I do appreciate the article though since it shows exactly how to replace the door lock actuator. BTW, do you know of any SSC for defective telescopic steering wheel that no long extended (but up and down still works)? Thank you.
