hey just wanted to let people know.. as you all know i recently bought a brand new ls460 SWB which now has 500 miles on it and i noticed a hair line crack the other day under my PWR<SNOW switch and went to the dealer. found out the piece was a $1000 but they are replacing it just wanted to ask if it has happend to anyone else? i put no force on the trim piece what so ever and dont know how it happend. i never out anything there. the crack goes from the left side all the way to the bottom left corner of the cup holder.

jesh

 

Just curious if they intend on replacing all of the wood!!! Their advertisements says all the wood on the car comes from the SAME tree in order to ensure matching tint and grain

 

Yeah that would be a potential problem if wood trims are somehow damaged.

I wonder if they have catalogged wood pieces from the same tree in their manufacturing process, so there might possibly be some spare pieces from the same tree saved that can be used for replacements if needed.

I do think that even if a replacement piece is not from the same tree, it's going to be so close that few if anybody will notice the difference if you don't tell them.

 

i believe this is the case

 

wait wait.. is that one tree thing work for the black trim also? do they have black trees?

ok.. i am a little slow.. sorry..

 

No, not black trees.

The wood is stained black and then highly polished and glossed.

All wood from a single LS come from one tree source, no matter what the color.

 

I don't think they have any cashmere cows either. I'm pretty sure the cashmere is from a dye process applied after the cow and it's skin are separated.

 

Does anyone but me think that $1000 is an outrageous price for a single piece of trim wood?

 

No not at all. Remember this is an extreamly low volume car compared to a Camry. Also its real wood and I'm sure there is some hand work involved.

 

I think I recall seeing a whole set of wood trims for the LS430 at $7K +

 

What was the end results to the wood grain replacement?

 

Come on guys..give your head a shake...matching wood trim from the same tree. I am a woodworker and the only way to match wood is from the same piece of wood. You can match the same type of wood, but the wood in any given tree will not neccessarily match a piece from another part of the same tree. This is all advertising and another way to justify $1000 for a small piece of 1/32 inch wood veneer that most likely cost $1.

 

You beat me to it!

Every part of a tree will take the stain differently. You can take 1 single board from a tree and see many different colors in it. Besides species, the stain batch is the most important factor in match wood.

Car wood trim manufacturers usually use a Analine Dye stain to ensure a consistant color.

I am in the furniture business, and deal with high end, Solid Oak, Cherry, Mahogany, and maple. If they change their sanding technique, that will also alter the color. There are many variables when it comes to getting a good match, but wood from the same tree is not one of them.

 

Jeshie7, This exact same thing happened to me. I have an 08 LS460 SWB, the other day I got in my car and started using a can of dust off to clean up the interior cause there was some ash and dust along the middle panel. Everything looked good so I was driving along casually, and all sudden I'm at a red light, I look down and there's a horizontal hairline crack along my middle console going from the right side behind the cupholder all the way to the Power/Snow mode button..Ive had the car for about a month and have barely even touched this part of the wood, and since I had just cleaned this piece I know for a fact it happened while I was driving because it wasnt like that when I was dusting it..so weird..and very annoying. I notice this post is from 07...so it's 7 years later..
Did you ever fix it?
Did Lexus charge you at all?
Did they take the blame?
I'm curious if this happened due to all the single digit temperatures weve been having in New York?
I'm clueless. If this is going to cost a ton of money to fix I wont even bother because after all I'm the only one who even notices. I'd like to know your scenario before I spend the time bringing it the dealership. By the way my car is still under CPO warranty.

 

Greezy, Jeshie7 hasn't posted here in over 3 years. I wouldn't hold my breath for an answer. Although I guess you could try a private message.

Based on 2007 prices, I would say it would cost a bundle to replace. More than even the low temps, I would say it is the low humidity that may have had a hand in the wood contracting (plus if there wasn't a provision for the wood to expand and contract).