In this article I am going to list out the steps you should take to turn-off, turn-on, or change the automatic door-lock feature in a Lexus. I performed these steps in my 2002 Lexus ES300 successfully.

Auto-Door-Lock Feature – Lexus

You don’t need to go to the dealer to set the auto door lock feature, the instructions are in your manual. Here I’ve listed them out, along with a few tips, in order to make it more convenient. Hopefully this is helpful to you (if it is, leave me a comment! Thanks!).

Before You Begin…

A couple of things to be aware of before starting:

  • In these instructions, you often need to hold a button for a certain amount of time. The tolerances on this are rather tight! So, if it doesn’t work the first time, make sure you are using the correct times specified, and use a stopwatch if necessary.
  • For each of these settings they toggle. So, performing the steps once turns the function on. Performing the steps again, turns the function off.

Door Locking Options

You have 4 options to choose from when selecting your auto-door lock setting. These options are:

A. All the doors automatically LOCK when the vehicle shifts out of “Park.” (Default)

B. All the doors automatically UNLOCK when the vehicle shifts back into the “Park” position.

C. All the doors automatically LOCK when the vehicle reaches a speed of 12 MPH or higher.

D. All the doors automatically UNLOCK when the driver’s door is opened after the car is turned off.

Step-by-Step Instructions

  1. Close all the doors.
  2. Turn the ignition to the “On” Position.
  3. Must start the steps within 10 seconds after turning the ignition to ‘on’. (This means you need to start the process while the car is still beeping for you to buckle up!)

Then, for Option A:

  • With the gear shift in the “Park” Position, Press and Hold the Front of the driver’s-side power door lock switch for 5 seconds.
Press and Hold the Front of the Button for 5 Seconds

For Option B:

  • With the gear shift in the “Park” Position, Press and Hold the Rear of the of the power door lock switch for 5 seconds.
Press and Hold the Rear of the Button for 5 Seconds

For Option C:

  • With the gear shift in the “Neutral” Position, Press and Hold the Front of the driver’s-side power door lock switch for 5 seconds.
Lexus Door Lock Press Front
Press and Hold the Front of the Button for 5 Seconds

For Option D:

  • With the gear shift in the “Neutral” Position, Press and Hold the Rear of the of the power door lock switch for 5 seconds.
Press and Hold the Rear of the Button for 5 Seconds

Confirmation

Once you are done setting one of the 4 options, all of the doors will lock and then unlock once you release the power door lock switch. This is your indication that the function has been set.

If you finish and the doors do not click locked and then click unlocked, something went wrong. Go back and try again from the beginning making sure that the timing is correct (use a stopwatch if necessary).

Conclusion

Good luck!

(Personally, I set options B and C.)

I hope you are able to successfully implement one of these options in your vehicle.