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So today my wife took our GX into a 6 foot tall parking garage...almost made it, but the shark fin antenna got sheared off and for good measure caused some minor dents as it was pulled/dragged off the roof.
I am preparing myself for the worst when I take it into the dealer. The little dents are where the roof ends and the rear diffuser start - they are super minor, but also so look like they might be hard to get perfect... plus the new fin...
Anyone want to toss out some numbers so I don't get sticker shock??
Forget about the dents unless you can see them without standing on the truck. Please post pictures of the damage, especially the connector for the shark fin along with the wireing damage. It may be possible to replace it yourself with some silicone. I hit my garage door in my MDX and siliconed the antenna with no problem. Did the wire connection break or disengage from a clip? I am curious what is under the shark fin.
I agree about the dents. As long as the metal is just dented and not torn or paint is missing I wouldn't stress too much about getting it repaired. Also make sure you're getting a good seal on the antenna so you don't have to worry about water.
A replacement antenna is about $180. You're gonna have to drop the headliner, at least a little bit to replace the shark fin.
Here is a link where people have replaced the shark fin with a lower profile antenna from the corolla. The GX should be very similar if not the same.
The nav and satellite all work fine - so it looks like the electronics survived. I have since plastic wrapped then duck taped the exposed circuit board until I get it replaced. The fin itself is cracked so I don't think I will be able to re-use it.
The dents really just bother me knowing that they are there and the truck has less than 5,000 km on it! They may also impact if I can get a flush seal on the replacement fin.
It looks like right before the rear spoiler the dent cased the paint to crack. So at the very least if I don't repair the dents it will need a little touch up paint and a good buffing to get the scrapes out.
Here are some pics. I am going to take it to the dealer later in the week - will update when I get some more info!
Definitely take it to the dealership, if there is not a good seal around the antenna water can get it and damage your headliner. I had to take my GX to the dealership because the headliner was getting wet, and sure enough the seal around the antenna was not water tight. It cost 2k to replace, luckily it was covered by the warranty.
Our sharkfin was just lopped off when my wife was backing out of the garage while the door wasn't all the way up. I retrieved the cover but the plastic where the screws go in were broken at every point, and the antenna base is a little bit bent but none of the circuitry was damaged. I am going to try removing the rear dome light to see if I can reach the bolt holding the base in place.
Our sharkfin was just lopped off when my wife was backing out of the garage while the door wasn't all the way up. I retrieved the cover but the plastic where the screws go in were broken at every point, and the antenna base is a little bit bent but none of the circuitry was damaged. I am going to try removing the rear dome light to see if I can reach the bolt holding the base in place.
We ended up just taking it to the dealer. They ordered a new cover, pulled the dent and did some light paint work. In the end I think it came in under $1K - but it was over a year ago so my memory is a bit foggy....
I accidentally damage the shark fin cover with the door garage. The headliner still in place and didn't came off but the cover did. Dealer wants to charge me $ 1,200 to fix it. Can I just glue the part of what to do?
Also I can find the part of the fin to replace it?
Thanks!
As I was driving my new 2019 GX 460 out of my garage .. my wife hit the wrong garage door opener button ( please don't even go there ).
The door hit the roof and retracted. Unfortunately, it damaged (cracked) the Shark Fin cover. Thankfully the only other damage I can see is a few minor scratches,
which I buffed out, and a very tiny dent in the roof just in front of the Shark Fin. The GPS works fine.
The outer cover of the Shark fin cracked. It appears that the remaining parts are slightly lifted off the roof, and do not fit flush with the roof.
I am hoping that can be corrected by "tightning ? ) whatever holds it firm to the roof. Does the headliner have to be removed to do that?
I can see the gasket between the base of the Shark Fin and the roof. I don't know if that is lifted away from being flush with the roof or not.
The metal roof is very thin/pliable and I doubt it would take much to damage it.
(See attached) The GPS works fine. I have an appointment with Lexus this week, but before I talk with them I would like to hear from
those of you offering, wisdom, experience or just plain caution or ???
05-06-16, 05:21 PM
Shark Fin Repair
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