Lex Luthr

I just had my truckinto lexus to get a bunch of things fixed. Lexus covered a new battery, belts, squeeky door hinge, broken trunk handle, and the overhead rear view compass.

They did not cover the front license plate braket. My braket had the two bolts rusted badly with pne of them broken completely off. The fix cost me $140. 120 labor.

I wonder why Lexus does not cover this fix and if you guys think that I should appeal the charge.

Does anybody else have/had this problem?

bob2200

I've had the plastic dealer-advertising front license plate border replaced for free several times by the dealer. The valet drivers replace them on request.

I guess you could try calling the Lexus 800-telephone number and asking if the dealer should have charged.

Maybe the dealer felt that the front license plate frame damage was related to parking damage, or maybe the rationale was that the front license plate frame is dealer-installed (although the frame comes with a new car). The reason I say that is that my mother lives in Florida (no front license plate) and the bracket came with the car (in the trunk in a plastic sealed bag).

I seem to recall some previous forum discussions on the warranty of dealer-installed items.

Tammy

Your location rusted the bolts ... with the road salt and snow

Lil4X

My RX 300's front license plate bolts rusted badly, such that the dealer had to drill them and back them out with an easy-out, after the valet stripped the Phillips heads. (I was trading the car in and needed to move the EZ-Pass (toll road RFID) to the new 330. Three years later, I had to change EZ-Passes on the RX 330 last week, and the bolts came out easily with no signs of rust. Lexus must have upgraded the bolts and captive nuts in recent years to something a little less rust-prone.

Anyone with an RX should check those bolts occasionally, and if they are difficult to remove, replace them while you can still get them out. A little lubricant like WD-40 wouldn't hurt either.

miniround

I live in Boca Raton, FL...right near JM Lexus...and I have a 2000 RX way over its warranty, but aslong as i have that JM Lexus plate thing on the back, I get a discount. So I just put it on when I need it and then take it back off when I don't need service because I don't do advertising.

bob2200

My mother uses JM Lexus and bought her car there. What kind of discount do they give you?

miniround

I pay for the less expensive part of the bill. If the labor is more than the part, I pay for the part and vice versa...but you have to get to know some people, haha.

SilverSprt

Wow that just sucks. I had a similar problem with the bolts on my front license plate experiencing rust. I live in Cali so we only get rain and shine here. The bolts were easy to remove though and didn't sound nearly as bad as yours. My dealer replaced the bolts for me free of charge and changed out my rear license plate holder and placed theirs on there to advertise =].

Lexmex

That is insane. I had a front plate until I got to Mexico (no reason), but the front plate also had rusted screws. How is everyone's rear screws?

Lex Luthr

My rear screws are perfect...they are stainless steel....I wonder what they used for the front bolts?

Tammy

Carbon steel rusts, stainless steel doesn't ... as it contains nickel.

Carbon steel is harder than stainless.

miniround

It actually depends on where you originally bought your car from...The front license plate screws are put on by the dealer if/when they installed your license plate. So if you bought your car in FL you might not have ever been given the front 2 screws. I know for me, it was in NJ, but after i moved to FL i took the screws out because they started to rust.

aren't things just so awkward sometimes?