When you click on links to various merchants on this site and make a purchase, this can result in this site earning a commission. Affiliate programs and affiliations include, but are not limited to, the eBay Partner Network.
To make matters worse, I am 99.9% sure that Lexus Canada would not even apply the service Bulletin stating that Lexus USA and Lexus Canada are 2 separate entities and there is NO WAY Lexus Canada would invest time and money to address the bumper separation on the 50 IS 500 they sold since 2022 (lol)
Is that all we've sold here? LOL. Consider ourselves lucky they even bothered offering up a rear-wheel drive car with summer tires out of the block.
As someone who owned a 3 series and not a particular brand loyalist. Actually... I never would have considered a Lexus other than the 500 or a used GSF...
I feel that the m340 is in a weird spot. If I were to ever get another BMW it would be an M3 or M4 (when I'd be able to afford it.) The pre LCI G20 3 series imo has the best exterior in class. But the interior felt cheap to the touch compared to my older 3 series and the IS interior. For all the additional sportiness it seems to lack character and comfort, it seems like the 340 is more for bragging rights that it's a faster sportier car, but very few people are going to utilize that power and manueverability, and the people who are going to make use of it bought an M3, M2, M4.
I'm with you on that. For me, to replace the IS500 would have to be an M3, or M5. Those are iconic. Whilst I haven't driven an M340, I can envision how its like based on my wife's 330.
For a newbie cross-shopping, can't go wrong with either IS500 or M340. Both great cars. Comes down to what attributes you value the most.
Got the new bumper bracket blocks from @cyfi66 , our shop foreman wants to install them tomorrow. We’ll see how that does!
the packaging is super professional for just test parts.
Got the new bumper bracket blocks from @cyfi66 , our shop foreman wants to install them tomorrow. We’ll see how that does!
the packaging is super professional for just test parts.
cyfi66 - I will say it again, the fact you did this work for all IS 500 owners is appreciated beyond words!! You gave many owners a sense of relief knowing there is hope that this issue can be laid to rest once and for all. I know that Lexus tried with their service bulletin but while I was skeptical, I wanted to give it the benefit of the doubt until proven otherwise, and it certainly didn't take long to validate what everyone felt would happen. The reason I have so much confidence is that you took time to identify the issue, understand what would be required to prevent the sagging and developed a customized part to address the issue. I am positive the outcome will be positive and I am looking forward to see what Pittsy's dealer will find once they install it.
Again, a big THANK YOU and please, put my name down as a customer who will buy these from you (once you are ready to sell them).
Pittsy - Thank you also to you and your dealership for being a beta tester on the service bulletin and now this - You are allowing al IS 500 to benefit from these repairs and make it easier for all of us who don't have such opportunities.
^^ So I need to display a picture of my package professionally wrapped to get an awesome kudos from you? Noted (lol)
I agree though - I hope cyfi66 realizes how much he is appreciated by all of us. My issue is minimal, and barely noticeable but I want to have a way to fix it should it ever separate in the future.
Seriously thanks for all the support though! I've been making things like this for myself for a while and decided I should start sharing some of it with the community. The IS500 has been a dream car of mine since it was announced even though I haven't ended up with one. I really do love these cars and it made me sad to see what Lexus came up with on the TSB, The main reason I gravitate to Lexus is because everything is built with quality. I want to be able to make something complete so even someone that doesn't know much about working on cars can use the detailed instructions to do it themselves or just give it to their mechanic. Glad to hear it's appreciated, can't wait to see how the first trial goes.
Got the new bumper bracket blocks from @cyfi66 , our shop foreman wants to install them tomorrow. We’ll see how that does!
the packaging is super professional for just test parts.
This is awesome in every way possible. Lexus should be ashamed.
^^ Trust me, if this works, I am planning on writing Lexus Canada and shaming them for this!! I am not a rude person but I am not afraid to express my feelings/opinions on stuff like this
I got a hold of a drivers side bumper mounting bracket and have a prototype of the bumper support block.
I'll do my best to explain what I think the problem and solution is.
The bumper cover itself has a tab that engages with a clip in the bumper bracket. For whatever reason there is an excess amount of tension on the tab/clip on the IS500 and it keeps pulling itself out of the clip on the bracket.
The TSB attempts to increase the amount of "grab" by bending the bumper support bracket clip closer to the bumper cover tab to "squeeze" it more. The problem is the bumper cover has no support underneath it and since its flexible plastic it just bends out of the way and releases (hence the TSB not working). In my opinion it might actually make it worse since its bending the tab on the bumper cover more which would cause the clip to be less engaged. You can even see in the photo from the TSB how the tab is bent down as if it bent into the unsupported area.
I've designed a small plastic block that slides into the bumper support bracket and will act as a support under the bumper cover tab. This in theory will keep the tab from being able to bend out of the way and release as easily. The upper bumper bracket clip is semi/flexible so it should just be a firmer "snap" to get the bumper in.
The block:
- Snaps in place, no modification needed to bumper or bracket
- Easily removable with no damage to the car
- Bumper is still removable just will take more force to pop it loose (which is a good thing)
- Made from 3D printed ASA which is basically the same material the bracket itself is made of (ABS) so it is temperature resistant and strong.
The question is who wants to give it a try because theory is just theory and it means nothing if it doesn't work. And I don't have an IS500 to test it on
I'm impressed, like truly impressed you put this much thought and effort into this especially considering you don't even own an IS500. I spent like 7 months going back and forth with Lexus for an attempted TSB fix, which we can see wasn't exactly ideal 😅.
If your fix works, you'll be an absolute savior to the IS500 community, and I really hope you make these in kits and sell them to recoupe your R&D costs.
There's not much I could say besides thank you, and let me know when and if you do get yourself a car and I'll send you a set of my carbon mudguards on me.
Originally Posted by Pittsy
Got the new bumper bracket blocks from @cyfi66 , our shop foreman wants to install them tomorrow. We’ll see how that does!
the packaging is super professional for just test parts.
Please give us an update on the forum and the Facebook groups when you're done the install!
The packaging and documentation is really going to go a long way to get a tech to take this seriously. Great job on that!
One though I had while looking at the cutaway - one aspect of a snap joint design may be for it to prefer popping out rather than stressing either side past the load capacity of the material. See the a' angle here (called retention face angle sometimes):
Any mistake in the calculations of the snap joint or changes in material or geometry after design will also affect its ability to carry a load. Heat increases will also let the plastic flex more and pop out more easily. The expected tensile load plus the expected operating temperature is part of the material choice and the exact geometry. I have seen changes made to plastic blends in production (to make the moulds flow better) that causes all the math of the snap fits to change.
I'm pretty hopeful that cyfi66's bracket blocks would stop the clip from popping out under most cases - the flip side, is that if enough force was put on this clip, it would simply rip off the tabs from the bumper bracket, or shear off the tab on the bumper cover itself. The point of failure might go from being "clip popping out" to "plastic being removed". cyfi66, you have better info than me on this. Changing the material to TPE might be a compromise.
Just speculating more on the cause of this bumper issue - the worst possible scenario for the original issue would be:
1. High ambient temperature + soaked engine transferring to body
2. Mechanical shock from hitting a big bump in the road
3. Twisting of the car frame from the engine torque? (possibly, since it only happens on 1 side)
4. Repeated retention failure (the clip popping out, which causes wear on each mating face, making it pop out easier next time)
Just some thoughts. I'm not a professional or anything, just blundered around consumer plastics production for a while now.