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Thought I would post my resolution. Lexus was unwilling to cover the entire repair, even after escalation to Lexus in California. They did agree to cover the labor; the dealer was willing to match the online price for the part - with tax it came to about $285. I have stopped using the automatic seat movement (was only going part way back) as that was increasing the frequency of my leg rubbing against that panel. I still think it is a poor design choice of materials - my 2002 Avalon had no interior wear issues after 240K miles!!