prophecywhiteis500

Agreed. When I read the material list and saw super glue and epoxy (and even zip ties), I was like... "oh no they did not..." This is a luxury brand manufacturer fixing their defect, not some back yard mechanic repairing a 20 year old car bumper falling off with epoxy, glue and zip ties yet here they are using that technique on the IS 500 no less. I can't believe this was approved. What a joke if I'm blatantly honest.

jsch222

Zip tie, super glue, and JB weld - truly incredible that this is acceptable.

macmaster

I think this is actually an acceptable TSB, if they did their due diligence and tested this solution on multiple cars, and it actually works. Even if it's not the engineering you imagined, it is still engineering. My only gripe is that there's nothing at the end of the TSB that instructs them to test it out or drive it at highway speed for a while. They just kind of assume it works, and we all know it comes back sometimes.

Longwaldo

My view really is, at least there is a TSB. It puts us in a stronger position over the issue and gives an acknowledgement.

ljerr2

nooooo wayyyyyyy......................................is this a joke?

So gluing the bumper on? But using small "beads" of superglue to secure the bumper to the brackets so I assume you can still remove the bumper for potential subsequent repairs, etc if you use sufficient force?

Is this 100% confirmed as a legit TSB and not someone pulling our legs?

jsch222

You are literally cutting up zip ties and super gluing them to the retainers. Applying eppoxy to create a surface for more bite. This will hold to exactly mile 50,001 or 4 years 1 day - when you're outside the warranty period.

TipsyTonio

Exactly. This is putting makeup on a pig or a bandaid on the problem. Here’s another important aspect, will Lexus reengineer the bumper for a subsequent production run? Are they going to apply this zip tie fix in the factory? What if someone has an accident and needs to get the bumper replaced? Are we supposed to just sit there and tell the body shop with a straight face “oh don’t forget the zip tie and JB weld!” Absolutely pathetic for a multi billion dollar company to consider this a fix on a LUXURY vehicle. This doesn’t give me much hope for the recall on my Highlander for the bumper falling off.

Benibiker1558

Yeah, looks like the zip tie piece is just a spacer to add more tension to the retainer to keep it from popping out. My concern is the super glue, that stuff is too brittle and doesn't hold up very well in the elements. I can see having to go back in there to reglue the spacer/zip tie over and over again. I thankfully I don't have any issues with separation... yet

ljerr2

If this was April 1st...............................there would be no way I'd believe this.

ljerr2

Is there going to be a 2025MY? I was going to sell or trade my 23 IS350 to get an IS500.............I might just wait to find out. If there is another model year, surely they would make the necessary tweaks to the bumper molds and brackets.

jsch222

Don't forget the zip tie BRO!

ILikeBlue

I know on paper using a piece of plastic Ziptie and some epoxy sounds like a janky fix, but functionally speaking there's no reason it shouldn't work fine.

Our bumper is made up of plastic, so is the retainer. Without a complete redesign of the retainer and bumper, this is a functional fix to add more surface area to hold up the bumper tabs.

Is it ideal? No.
Is it pretty? No.
Will it hold? Most likely so.
Will take now take responsibility for it? Absolutely.

We have a super low volume car, probably less than 6,000 units sold over 3 model years. The higher ups at Lexus genuinely have better things to do and other cars that make them more profit. The fact that they even answered the phone for us, let alone take the time to complete a real repair and own up to the mistake, is honestly way more than anyone could've bargained for.

Most manufacturers in this situation would've told us to kick rocks because this isn't a safety concern. They did something, it's functional, and I'm sure it'll suffice for 95% of owners with zero issues.

The other 5% can install turnbuckles I'm sure.

wthrman2

To me, i would rather this fix than having a new bumper that needs to be repainted at the dealer and such.

My only concern is where mine is just a small separation, i dont want them to try this if it doesnt work. I will watch out for people that have this done and see how it holds.

Answer was ahead of the tsb with his device and while some said it was not a good approach, he was on the right track

ILikeBlue

And a side note, the bumper isn't being directly glued to the retainer or the car. The glue on the underside of the bumper tab is being allowed to dry, creating a lip of plastic material. The piece of plastic ziptie is being glued to the retainer clip, which is replaceable. These two will function like an additional bumper tab.

And the 15mm Ziptie will have two drops of plastic/composite bond between it and the bumper, which is basically what OEMs use to glue some panels on cars. Those added drops I'm assuming are just for insurance that the assembly doesn't wiggle itself apart and shouldn't really affect removal of the bumper.

If you think this fix is that bad, you should see how companies fix helicopters 😅. I know from first hand experience. I've seen 25 million dollar helicopters fixed with epoxy and zipties. If it works, it works.

ljerr2

It'll be interesting to see in a few months if the affected parts have superseded part numbers...............and the TSB "features" will be part of the replacement parts. Or if Lexus just says takes a position that most owners won't notice or experience the gap so they'll just TSB them if they do.