No Touching: Lexus RX Touch-Free Door

The 2016 Lexus RX offers many new features with the Touch-Free Rear Power Door being one of the most widely used.  With almost every new Lexus RX built for sale including this new feature, if you are a new Lexus RX owner or in the market for a 2016 RX, this article is for you!

Lexus recently released an Insider article explaining the operation of the Touch-Free Rear Power Door so we wanted to pass along a few tips so all Lexus RX drivers could take advantage of this new, convenient feature.  The Lexus Touch-Free Rear Power Door allows you to open the rear door from the outside of the car without having to touch the vehicle.  Lexus explains, “To operate, you simply place your hand near the top half of the Lexus emblem on the rear door, about 1-inch away, and then remove your hand once you hear a confirmation tone.  The power door will then open.”  Sounds pretty simple, but from our experience, there is a little more to it…

The sensor for the Touch-Free Rear Power Door is located inside the Lexus emblem on the rear door of the RX.  We have found that this feature works best when you place your fingertips near the top half of the Lexus emblem then remove your hand once you hear the confirmation tone.  You need to make sure your hand is cupping the top part of the emblem since the bottom-half of the same emblem contains a sensor that prohibits operation.  To successfully operate the Touch-Free Rear Power Door, you will need to angle your hand with fingertips toward the emblem and slightly up- as you see in the picture.

As long as you remember to keep your hands, fingertips, elbows, tablets or other small objects in the “activation zone” (the upper half of the Lexus emblem on the rear door) and away from the lower half of the emblem, you should be able to successfully use and open your new rear power door.

Top-half of the Lexus emblem is the “activation zone” you want.

The sensor will recognize an elbow, shoulder, phone, tablet and small objects- as long as you keep it on the top half of the Lexus emblem.

Once you get the hand of it– you’ll be taking advantage of this convenient feature in no-time!  Here are a few more tips and tricks for using your new Touch-Free Rear Power Door:

The Touch-Free Rear Power Door will work when the RX is locked or unlocked, when the engine is running or turned off.  It will not be operational when the RX is in-gear.

There are still multiple ways to open the rear power door.  You can touch and hold down the button on your key fob.

OR you can press and release the sensor pad located underneath your license plate garnish.

You can also open and close the rear power door from inside your RX by pressing the button located next to the driver’s knee on the left side of the dash.

Other Tips on Going Touch-Free with your Lexus RX:

• The key must be on your person- in your hand, pocket, bag, etc.  The Touch Free Rear Power Door will not operate if the key is inside the vehicle.
• Keep your hand steady.  To open the rear door- touch-free- it will only take about 1 second, but it’s important to hold your hand in place until you hear the confirmation tone.
• Keep your hand away from the lower half of the emblem.  If your hand is covering the lower half of the emblem, the Touch-Free Power Door will not operate.  It is best to angle your hand with your fingertips close to the top.
• Make sure the emblem and sensors are not covered in debris as this can lower the sensitivity of the sensor.
• IF the Touch-Free Rear Power Door is still not working, you may need to check the settings and make sure this feature is turned on.  Stop by Lexus at Dominion and we can check for you or, you can access your settings through the MID (buttons on your steering wheel).  When in “Settings” be sure to click “All On” to enable the feature.

For additional help on operating your Touch-Free Rear Power Door, you can watch the Lexus How-To Video on our YouTube page OR contact us at North Park Lexus at Dominion.

Manually close your rear power door by pressing the button on the back door.