CRB

First let me say, that this thread absolutely has the stench of a troll.

I mean if this guy is serious about suing he isn't a Drivers School Candidate, he is a Rubber Room Candidate.

Cosmetic damage is not something that any manufacturer covers, unless they do it as a customer service issue. For instance, if some idiot takes a Scotch-Brite scrubber to clean his new stainless steel SubZero 'fridge it is his tough luck.

IMO, vacuum hoses dragged across interior trim falls into this same category.

tqlla3k

iTrader: (1)

Man, everytime someone complains, people say they are a troll. The IS isnt perfect.

spwolf

not only it is real wood, but it all wood in the vehicle comes from the same trunk and is computer matched with each other to get most similar wood grain.

cmusic

I stand corrected.

I went out to my IS250 and popped off the panel on the front passenger door and took some pictures.

Here's the top side:


By looking at the bottom of the panel the plastic is wood colored.


By looking at the side it still looks like one piece of plastic.



By looking at the end of the panel, you can finally see the aluminum and wood veneer.


By looking at the panel from the second and third picture I completely thought it was an entire piece of plastic just painted with a wood grain. With a closer look I can see I was wrong.

John Perry

The first scratch on a new car is always the toughest one... after the first, you realize it's just normal wear and tear.

Insomnia

Did the specialist call you back yet ? If so, what was the outcome?

CRB

A first post that starts a thread containing both:

1.Threats of lawsuits over a scratched piece of interior trim including an admission that he dragged a vacuum hose across the thing.

2. A rather dubious "dealer quote" of 5% the total cost of his car for a single piece of interior trim?

And I'm not claiming that the new IS is perfect by a longshot.

However, if it lives under a bridge and eats billy goats... then I have to "calls dem the ways I seez dem"

jlin101

cmusic, just curious, how do you remove the door panel? The IS does not have any visible screws on the doors.
Never mind--I see you only popped off the window control button and not the whole door panel.

encore888

So it is a thin piece of wood veneer on top of plastic. Real wood though.

Good enough for me...probably lighter too. And not as bad for the trees, lol.

06LexIS350

Wow,
Very interesting set of comments from my posts.

So, thanks to all those in support and to those not in support I hope you don't have a IS350 with wood because if you do and you are not in support you will be soon as your wood will deteriorate into something that is not as nice as the car.

As for the comments on the dubious nature of the 5% remark, please allow me the opportunity to clarify further the math.

You see, the dealer quoted a price for the piece of wood trim that just covers the part of the gearshift. This runs from the heated seat buttons to the back arm rest. It is probably 12 inches by lets call it 5 or 6 (just my rough guess). Now for that piece to replace, the dealer quoted $1900 plus the cost of install.

Now, if the car is lets say $44,000 at retail...then the simple math is $1900/$44,000 which is equal to 4.318%, Now, I originally did the math quickly in my head and rounded up to 5%, my bad....I fess up...it is 4.318% of the cost of the car. Now, this is for a thin piece of plastic or wood veneer. To those who said they need the parts to add up to the cost of the car, I say...I have a bridge to sell you cause there is no way a small part like this should equal 4.318% the cost of the car. The car has thousands of parts most expensive of which are the engine, the electronics, the braking etc. If this piece was really equal to the 4.318% then the sum of the cost of the other parts would make the car cost like a billion dollars (very big exageration but you get the point).

BTW, Sure, I am pissed and sad. The car has 370 miles and was 48hours old and has an obvious design defect. You would be (and will be once your wood gets the worse end of it) pissed too. I also did not cause the damage by taking home lumber from Home Depot. The plastic hose was not hard surfaced at all...It was soft. There were no rocks in it or dirt that causes an abbrasion. Trust me if you are hitting me on my comments and you own the car with wood...be careful as it will turn ugly quick and scratch. If you just have comments and are not in the same situation, then fine.....slam me away!

I do love the car. There is a reason why I bought this one vs. the new BMW 330i. The car is fantastic and has all the latest electronic bells and whistles. I think die hard BMW people will force themselves to by the BMW, but, if you are comparing the cars side by side there is no comparison...LEXUS wins. It feels faster (when putting the shifter in power mode), it has a better internal and external industrial design, and the inside features such as Nav, Bluetooth, climate control, instrument cluster etc are all far better and better looking then just about any car I have sat in.

Interesting update is Len (a Lexus specialist) called me this AM. He is very professional and is taking this inquiry very seriously. I spoke at lenght to my trouble and he will be in discussions with the dealer. I bet I am not the only one complaining at this point. If Lexus stands by this error and makes things right I will be a Lexus advocate forever. Let us hope they do

BTW, I am not trying to get someone to pay for my error. I just feel the threshold of damage is far too low and that is why I consider it a design defect. This is a car not a museum and you should be able to use it in a "resonable" way. The wood scratches far too easily...it does...and when it scratches it makes a bad looking scratch...(photos on Friday)

cmusic

First, I am not condoning anyone without proper automotive repair experience to just start taking his or her car apart. I’ve been doing car stereo installations for almost 15 years as a hobby, and I have experience in interior and door panel removal from several different brands of manufactures. By all means if you feel this is above your abilty, please take your car to the dealer or a professional car audio installer.

The reason I had my door panel off was to check what sizes of speakers I could install in my IS250. While the standard CD/radio and factory amplifier are very high quality, the standard speakers are only of average quality. One day I plan on replacing the speakers with ultra high-end speakers like found in high-end home systems.

1. Take a small flat screwdriver and wrap the end in one layer of electrical tape. The tape will help prevent any scratches the screwdriver might cause. At the rear-side edge of the switch panel, gently slide the screwdriver under the panel and lift up. The panel should pop up easily. Using the screwdriver again, put pressure on the tabs holding the wiring going into the switches. The wiring should slide right out of the switches.

2. With the same small screwdriver pop out the plastic panel behind the door handle and lock lever.

3. With the same screwdriver pop out the red rear door light at the bottom back of the door panel. Slide out the wiring by putting pressure on the plug tab, similar to the way the switch wiring is removed.

4. Using a Phillips (4-way) screwdriver take out the bolt-screws behind the door handle and the switch panel. The screw behind the switch panel can be seen in my pictures above. It has a backwards “R” next to the screw-bolt.

5. Starting with your hand around the front portion of the door panel, gently pull it outward with a slight tug. Work your hand around the bottom and finally to the rear of the panel, tugging the panel out of its mounting. The tweeter assembly at the top is attached to the door panel, but gently tug on it because it has a mounting clip also. When all the clips are unsecured lift the panel upward. The top portion of the panel along the window should slide upward. The panel should be 4”-6” clear of the door metal now.

6. Reach behind the panel and pop out the two rods going to the door opening handle and the lock switch. Remember which rod goes to which spot. I think one rod has some green on it to differentiate it between the door opening and door locking rod.

7. To put the panel back in place, reverse the above steps.

I’ve got some pictures at home with the door panel completely off. I’ll try to remember to post them to this thread tonight.

jlin101

Thanks for the detailed instruction.

jlin101

All jests aside, we do feel your anguish and appreciate your warning. I do have wood trim in my IS and have had wood in other vehicles--knowing their vulnerability, I've always taken extra caution in not laying anything on the console, and not letting my wife bring her jewelry into contact. It is normal for the sum of any merchandise's parts to cost much more than the whole, although $1900 is outragious (if you've ever had the misfortune of seeing an ITEMIZED hospital bill, you will get the same disgusted feeling--of course insurance companies just pay the hospital a set amount that's way less, regardless of the bill). I don't know if Lexus's wood is any more scratch-prone than other makes, and I hope I never find out. Please keep us updated.

kensteele

can't wait the see the pictures on friday. i think that will tell the whole story.

you've seen mine. they're not that bad because once i figured out scratches were becoming visible, i took steps to minimize and i don't think i will have that problem in the future. scratches don't just appear in seconds, they happen over time (wear and tear). if over time means 1 or 2 days, that is probably unusual wear and tear and perhaps that is a warranty problem. if it happens over 1 or 2 years, it probably means the parts are not very good (cheap).

if you've had a "traumatic" event and you came out of it with "destroyed" parts, lexus might be there to help you...and they should be. but i doubt all of us can make that visit in july to get ours replaced for scratches that appeared over time. we won't end up in a lawsuit with lexus and trying to make them feel our pain. we have respect for our car parts and we treat them accordingly.

scratches that appear by simply looking at the parts, chrome that flakes simply by touching the parts....you exaggarate a lot, we can see this from your posts. you might have a good case with your car but at first you didn't explain it very well, i just hope you approached this differently with len the lex specialist so he can actually help you.

tqlla3k

iTrader: (1)

I think my plastic was scratched by the buttons on my jacket. It doesnt take much, I dont remember doing anything harsh around my center console. Luckily, I think the plastic that comes on the base doesnt show as easily.

Better watch the buttons on your jacket and make sure to tell your passenger to not wear a watch.