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BTW, the plastic in the rear storage area also very susceptible to scratching and worse.
I know that the material on the black plastic stepping pads and the pads on the top part of the rear bumper are very soft and that they scratch very easily. I looked at the link that you shared and I see only the aluminum/steel door sill scuff covers. I’m not looking for door sill scuff covers. I’m looking to find something if there is anything available that I can put over the soft plastic stepping pads on the running board to cover the stepping pads to protect them from getting gouged and scratched any further. I don’t know if anything like that exists for the GX460. If not, then I will look into the products that were recommended above in the posts that have black coloring in them to see which one will be the best alternative to at least cover up and color in most of the deep scratches on the black stepping pad. I understand that I will have to live with these scratches. I just want to try to make them less noticeable to the eyes. That’s all.
I used the heat gun method per members' here recommendation. It worked great. After I used the heat gun method, I sprayed 303 and the plastic was back like new
My 23 GX460 has some scratches on driver’s side black plastic stepping pad from someone not being careful with their shoes while getting in and out of the vehicle. It looks like they ground their shoes into the plastic stepping pad causing these scratches. Some of the scratches are lighter than others. But there are 2 or 3 scratches that are bad and they look like they’re deeply embedded into the plastic.
Is there anything that I can put on the stepping pad to make these scratches much less noticeable? I know that with time that this particular piece will get scratched from usage. However, I myself do not step on the stepping pad when I get in and out of the vehicle. I am 6’ feet tall and I have no problem sliding myself in and out of the vehicle when I want to get in or out of it. Hopefully there’s something that I can put on these scratches to make them less noticeable or to even make them disappear. I do not want to replace the stepping pad and would only like to make it look less noticeable if that’s possible. I don’t want to take it to the dealer or to any body shop either and have them make things worse by scratching something else on my vehicle. I would rather try to put something on it to make it less noticeable. What’s out there that you recommend that I can use to make the stepping pad look more presentable and nicer looking than it is right now. I greatly appreciate it.
I’ve attached pictures of the scratches for you to view. Feel free to magnify the pictures to see the damage.
I think that you should simply ignore it and not blame passengers for “not being careful enough” when stepping on a step. There is no way you are going to keep things like the step pristine unless you keep the truck in a bubble and never drive it.
I used the heat gun method per members' here recommendation. It worked great. After I used the heat gun method, I sprayed 303 and the plastic was back like new
You literally used heat to pull the oils out of the plastic to the surface. This has longer term issues, I would not recommend this to anyone.
I think that you should simply ignore it and not blame passengers for “not being careful enough” when stepping on a step. There is no way you are going to keep things like the step pristine unless you keep the truck in a bubble and never drive it.
I am blaming the jabronis who prepped my vehicle for delivery at the Lexus dealer. These scratches were made by the prep crew on the day that they were getting my brand new $68K GX460 prepped and ready for delivery. What they did was unacceptable. If anybody is to put scratches on my brand new vehicle, it's ME. NOT the prep crew and not on the 1st day when I'm supposed to pick up my brand new vehcile from the Lexus dealer. The prep crew did NOT follow the orders of the salesman when he told them 100 TIMES TO BE CAREFUL AND TO NOT SCRATCH THE BLACK PLASTIC STEPPING PADS on the running boards. They did not listen to the salesman's instructions which were given to them 100 times. You don't know how pissed that I am. I picked up my brand new XG460 with these scratches on the running board. It's unacceptable. The prep crew are all non English speaking. They however have an English speaking foreman/manager who speaks their language so they were all told to be careful. It obviously went through one ear and out another. I'm not happy about this.
I am blaming the jabronis who prepped my vehicle for delivery at the Lexus dealer. These scratches were made by the prep crew on the day that they were getting my brand new $68K GX460 prepped and ready for delivery. What they did was unacceptable. If anybody is to put scratches on my brand new vehicle, it's ME. NOT the prep crew and not on the 1st day when I'm supposed to pick up my brand new vehcile from the Lexus dealer. The prep crew did NOT follow the orders of the salesman when he told them 100 TIMES TO BE CAREFUL AND TO NOT SCRATCH THE BLACK PLASTIC STEPPING PADS on the running boards. They did not listen to the salesman's instructions which were given to them 100 times. You don't know how pissed that I am. I picked up my brand new XG460 with these scratches on the running board. It's unacceptable. The prep crew are all non English speaking. They however have an English speaking foreman/manager who speaks their language so they were all told to be careful. It obviously went through one ear and out another. I'm not happy about this.
that wasn’t clear in the opening post. (I may had completely missed it). I agree you are due some form of compensation for this then. My apologies for being flippant.
That being said, I’d demand some form of compensation from Lexus or the dealer, and move on. (Not much, fill my tank a few times at most). The boards will acquire scratches from wear over time. New wear will cover the old wear and you won’t notice it. This isn’t worth fixing IMO since this is normal wear.
if they chose to ignore you, wait until Jan 20th and call the federales
that wasn’t clear in the opening post. (I may had completely missed it). I agree you are due some form of compensation for this then. My apologies for being flippant.
That being said, I’d demand some form of compensation from Lexus or the dealer, and move on. (Not much, fill my tank a few times at most). The boards will acquire scratches from wear over time. New wear will cover the old wear and you won’t notice it. This isn’t worth fixing IMO since this is normal wear.
if they chose to ignore you, wait until Jan 20th and call the federales
No problem. I think that the best thing to do is to leave the stepping pads alone. It's best to not touch or tamper with them or open a can of worms. The plastic stepping pad is very soft and it can get scratched very easily.
I'm 6' feet tall, so I don't need to step on the stepping pads to get inside or out of the vehicle. So I'm going to try to keep them as nice looking as possible. And also, I really don't put anyone in my vehicle either. I have been the only one driving it since I brought it home at the end of last month.
You are probably right saying that the stepping pads will acquire more scratches on them over time if anyone steps on them or scrubs their sneakers or shoes on them. I'm mostly worried about the service department and the service technicians putting more scratches on the stepping pads when I bring in my GX460 at the Lexus dealer for an oil change or for services. I will tell the service advisor to tell the mechanic in a nice way to be extra careful when he gets in and out of the vehicle so he doesn't scratch or scuff the stepping pads or the plastic running boards and the plastic below the driver's seat that holds the seat. Many technicians don't care and that worries me. Anything that's plastic on these GX's can get scratched very easily if one is not careful. Lexus used to make the plastic more durable and from a much harder material back a few years ago. They've cheapened out everything on these newer vehicles with cheaper materials.
It's a catch 22. The harder the material, the lower the coefficient of friction and more likely you''ll slip and injure yourself. The primary purpose of those pads is to prevent slipping and injury. Secondarily to protect painted surfaces. I'd be pissed too if they were scratched when I picked it up. I likely would have told the dealer to replace them before I took the car, but ultimately they will scratch. I use 303 to protect them.
No problem. I think that the best thing to do is to leave the stepping pads alone. It's best to not touch or tamper with them or open a can of worms. The plastic stepping pad is very soft and it can get scratched very easily.
I'm 6' feet tall, so I don't need to step on the stepping pads to get inside or out of the vehicle. So I'm going to try to keep them as nice looking as possible. And also, I really don't put anyone in my vehicle either. I have been the only one driving it since I brought it home at the end of last month.
You are probably right saying that the stepping pads will acquire more scratches on them over time if anyone steps on them or scrubs their sneakers or shoes on them. I'm mostly worried about the service department and the service technicians putting more scratches on the stepping pads when I bring in my GX460 at the Lexus dealer for an oil change or for services. I will tell the service advisor to tell the mechanic in a nice way to be extra careful when he gets in and out of the vehicle so he doesn't scratch or scuff the stepping pads or the plastic running boards and the plastic below the driver's seat that holds the seat. Many technicians don't care and that worries me. Anything that's plastic on these GX's can get scratched very easily if one is not careful. Lexus used to make the plastic more durable and from a much harder material back a few years ago. They've cheapened out everything on these newer vehicles with cheaper materials.
They’re called running boards. They are made to assist shorter drivers and passengers to enter an SUV. They are especially needed in body on frame vehicles like the GX. They are rarely seen, or needed on “cute utes”, that are simply jacked up sedans. Keeping that in mind, you probably will reduce your blood pressure as well as the anxiety of your passengers. (That’s if you actually allow any.) You may want to tell yourself 100 times to chill out and enjoy your GX. Why get SO incensed about scratches on areas that were designed to be stepped on, and are so light that they must be magnified in order to be visible? I’m pretty **** about my vehicles and have them professionally detailed annually, but running boards are not gonna be show quality perfect.
I understand what you mean. I try to not look down at the stepping pad on the driver’s side when I get in my GX. You can see the scratches from 5 feet away. They’re noticeable in 3 areas on the driver’s side because there are 3 scratches that are engraved deep inside the soft plastic. The other scratches that are on there are lighter scratches but nevertheless you can see them if you look down at the running board. The majority of the scratches are on the edge of the black plastic near the edge of the running board like it shows in the pictures that I posted above. I’m trying to not think about them and am trying to live with it. I don’t want to replace the pads and scratch anything on the painted running board and open up a can of worms. I’m better off leaving it alone. I will probably try putting something on them and go over them with something to try shine them up to make them less noticeable whenever I wash the vehicle. This really sucks that the prep crew were not careful when they were prepping my brand new vehicle with only 3 miles on it for delivery. Not good.
02-10-24, 06:05 PM
