Here ya go. Rust on line too. I'm not worried about it. It's pretty superficial and just surface rust.

 

Thanks, roadfrog. That brace looks almost exactly like mine. Do you plan to sand off and paint with rustoleum?

Even if it is superficial, it's weird to find rust on an exposed price inside a flagship car. I am sure there is also some rust on the metal hardware underneath the front seats, but they will never be seen.

 

$80k car to have rusting (no matter how severe is) inside the cabin - unacceptable!. Speaking of how quality is getting compromised......... I will check on ES/GX to see any similar internal metal shows rusting, I bet it won't, but will confirm. I will take this up with Lexus when I do my next service.

On applying rustoleum, just make sure its rated for interior use, don't want to inhale any fumes/gases since this metal brace is inside the cabin.

 

Agreed that any exposed steel on the interior should be at bare minimum plated, but please do keep in mind that this is purely surface.

With that said though, I agree with satiger that it is strange that this is even occurring.

I was doing some reading yesterday (not having anything to do with this thread), but it ended up being a subject matter in similar relation, and I thought about this thread.

There was an instance sometime ago, when a town had decided to re-commission a water tower that had been out of service for a number of years, and had assigned some utility men to go inside the tank and perform multiple types of testing, consisting of air and material analysis.
When the first gentleman went inside the tank from the top, he wasn't too far into the tank before he lost consciousness and fell to his death.
A second worker had observed what happened and went in after him and the exact same thing happened.
It was the third worker who thought something must be wrong and did not enter the tank and notified the proper authorities.

What had happened was due to the tremendous amount of oxide (surface rust) that had accumulated over the years on the interior of the tank, it completely depleted all levels of oxygen, hence the two utility men initially passing out, but perishing due to impact sustained from falling off of the ingress ladder and landing on the floor of the tank.

This obviously is a heightened, extreme example displaying the effect a copious amount of rust can have, however, not having ANY rust INSIDE of your vehicle would be the ideal circumstance.

 

I will take a look at mine and report back

 

We are batting 1000 thus far (4/4), so you better go over that brace with a microscope and make sure to report rust, or else ....

 

Great point. Wouldn't it be nice if Lexus takes this seriously, even though it appears to be a cosmetic defect, and provide some remedy for affected cars? If a lot of our cars show extreme surface rust, we should make a concerted case to Lexus corporate office to look into this. I am sure they will be embarrassed to learn that their flagship is rusting from within. How scandalous!

 

Any car I've dived into (such as inside door panels, under seats, etc) I've seen varying degrees of surface rust on stamped steel parts, such as this. I don't intend to paint mine, but it's certainly an option for aesthetics. As for odors/off-gassing in paint, I don't recall anything in the last few years having an offensive odor....especially a brush on water-based paint which Rustoleum now makes and advertises as "low odor": http://www.canadiantire.ca/en/pdp/tr...-0489200p.html

In short, I don't think this particular rust compromises the structural integrity of the parts. Be rest assured though, that if I could "see it", I'd be all over it like an OCD maniac.

 

No rust on mine, but remember mines not even 2 years old yet...

 

Thanks, Steve. My car is only 3 years and 3 months old, and my brace looks pretty crappy. BTW, you missed that rust spot over by the hole behind the carpet

JK..... Clearly, time could a factor. Or who knows, maybe the part was rust-proofed in 2015+ cars, or yours may have come from a different supplier. I also wonder if there is a North-South divide in rusting of this part.

 

I just wanted to reiterate...

"Steel and its various grades are actually my area of expertise, and I can assure you that its all surface and the part will not suffer from any internal loss of integrity.
Likely it is a steel structure that is low in carbon, possibly low alloy content meaning not much surface corrosion resistance."

I will say though, its strange the varying amount of rust on the braces, especially given the age, however there is a potential explanation for that as well, but I wont get into it.
I'm curious to know what Lexus will say.

 

Thanks CRowe, I hear you. Glad to know the car is OK. I agree this could be a cosmetic defect, and yes, the brace is largely concealed. Nevertheless, given Lexus' famous "Relentless Pursuit of Perfection", a rusty brace in the passenger compartment is a no-no!

 

My guess is it has to do with how much humidity is in the footwell of the car, mine stays pretty dry.

 

don't look that bad. odd that's on such a new car though. ive yet to see an LS460 with crumbling rust on the body.

 

While not "crumbling" rust, I have had bubbling rust on my rear wheel fender lip/arch. The shop I used cut it out and welded in a new piece of metal,