Lust4Lexus

Lexie was in for a quick check up and to have a rattle taken care of at the dealer. The tech that worked on my car was very nice, and very diligent at taking care of the rattle. However, he accidentally left me with a little something extra. He somehow chaffed my steering wheel and left a nice scratch along the very area that my hand sits while driving. I brought to the attention of my service advisor, and he said he will take care of it, "no matter what it takes".

Firstly, I must praise him for taking ownership of the issue. This is why it is important to establish a relationship with your dealer. They will always do the right thing. They are real gentlemen.

They are going to try to refinish the area first, and if "I am not satisfied, they will take it to the next level" which I am assuming is a new wheel. The affected area is a series of "flaps" of leather, which you can feel very easily as you slide your fingers against the wheel while driving. Not sure how their "leather guy" will attempt to fix it. My service rep says the guy is excellent. Just what is the process that a leather repair person would take to correct the wheel? I can understand mending a cut in the leather, but what about a chafe/scratch? There are two areas like the one in the picture, and the picture actually does not give it justice. It just feels awful against your hands. Obviously, I hope the refinishing will get the job done.

I will have to make an appointment to be there when the leather guy is around, I suppose. My service rep said that he would take care of it the next time I'm there. His word is good and I trust him. I'm just not sure of the logistics. Anyway, do you think that this damage can be made perfect again?

LexyISF

They can sand it back, re-color, then re-seal. That should be pretty easy to do actually.

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iTrader: (17)

I hope they use some good products. At the old place I worked at, I had the interior repair guy fix up some minor blemishes on my mom's old 2000 Avalon. He fixed the leather steering wheel, the leather shift ****, and some other things. The dye he used (or whatever product it was.. I am not sure) was really sticky and it came right off after the first interior wipe-down using a dedicated (diluted 10:1) interior cleaner that I have used for a long time with no issues. So it looked like new initially, but that crap would stick to your hands in the summer heat and I ended up just wiping it all off (it was easy in my case... it seemed to not bond well at all).

So, the moral of the story is, if they do fix it, make sure this quick fix is a solid fix and not the type of crap I had to deal with. If they do to you what they did to me, I would definitely bring it to their attention and demand something more permanent.

Lust4Lexus

I hope they do too!

just got a call back from my service rep and he told me that they will take care of it on Friday. I explained that I wanted this to be a permenant solution. He assured me that this guy was the real deal and he does tours to the dealers in the area and his methods are approved by lexus in the reconditioning of their Certified Pre-owned cars. He said that the wheel will be like new and that there will be no sticky "leftovers" He also said he will also put a note in my cars file to make sure that the issue will be resolved no matter what. I'll let you guys know how it comes out!

This is one good thing about going to the dealer, most likely if I was at a private shop, I'd be SOL and have to deal with it.

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iTrader: (17)

Good luck with it my friend.

Lust4Lexus

Hmmm, got the wheel refinished. Not very happy. At first I thought I was, but overall, it kinda sucks because The area that was done, was far more than needed, and while the color matches perfectly, the area has sanded down and now it's smooth, with no grain.As well, there are areas of valleys where it's just dull like the topcoat is gone. Maybe this was a bad idea.....a new wheel is 850 bucks, I feel bad, but I think the wheel is actually worse off! I know my service advisor will do the right thing, but now I feel sheepish. :-(

jamodeo

iTrader: (1)

Don't feel bad, you had absolutely no wrong doing! The dealership will just get the wheel at cost from the factory and eat the rest of the cost... They are the ones who messed up your car, and its not like its coming out of somebody's individual paycheck (well I wouldn't assume so). Have them make it right. If they are more than willing to help then don't just let time go by. You will regret not having them replace it. I hope all the best for your situation.

-Joe

Lust4Lexus

Thanks Joe,

They are replacing the wheel. Lets just hope that they put it on straight!!!

IS_Sunny

iTrader: (1)

This EXACT same thing happened to my IS350 when I brought it in for servicing... same spot and everything.

I left before noticing it, got about 2 miles down the road and just like you I could feel the "line" as I gripped the wheel. I immediately called the dealership and told the service manager about the issue (didn't want too much time to pass).

He had me come back and they brought in a leather re-conditioning specialist that fixed the wheel by the next day. It's pretty much as good as new now... I can't even really tell where the mark was.

At first I thought it was from the tech's ring or something, but I've since done this to my own wheel and here's how it happens: On either side of jeans (and some shorts) there is a little metal button / "nub". When you get into the car, if this touches the steering wheel... you'll get exactly the mark you show in your picture.

fwiw