trukn1

Wow,,that is something then. I thought you were only talking about just 1 spot on the hood, not a whole series of spots all over the entire body since you only mentioned the front grill area and the lower front door panels . In that case, I agree that Lexus needs to step up and take responsibility for this one. to upload your pics from your comp, you need to first send them to a host site (photobucket, image shack etc.), then right click on the pic to get the properties. Copy the properties and then paste them here in the Insert image box (icon is second from right in the response box here). Make sure that there is only 1 HTTP listed, since the box pops up with HTTP already. Repeat for each pic, up to 10.

LinDarLex

Hood



http://i255.photobucket.com/albums/h...g?t=1237771641

Hatch


Passenger Front Door



Obviously the hood was a definate... but when I noticed the small pin ***** spots I thought it was dirt. I took the car down to the car wash (usually my husband makes me wash it myself he doesn't like car washes but it was 30 degrees and Im five months pregnant! plus we were out of soap) After I got out of the car wash I parked the car and inspected it and sure enough the small pin ****** were rust spots. I would never have noticed any holes in the paint there on hatch and front door panel if it wasn't for the small rust spots. Even when I run my finger over them I don't feel an indentation as if there was a nick (sp?) I truly feel there is something up with this paint job.

trukn1

I am no expert at all, but it reminds me of a similar case that I had with a Toyota Camry years back. Had pretty much the same symptoms, but mine hadn't got to rust b4 I noticed it. I took it in to have it looked at by a toyota tech and he found my problem to be something called "Solvent Pop". This is where there is too much solvent in the paint mixture, which is used to thin it out and spread evenly, and after awhile you will get "bumps" on the car which will eventually pop. The paint never has a chance to properly adhere to the body of the car as it should otherwise. It is a defect in the manufacturing paint process. By looking at your pics, it does look like some of the ones around the hood could be caused by rock chips, but some others like the first 2 pics you loaded can be caused by what I mentioned. See how in the first 2 pics, it looks like the paint has come to a point and then popped at the peak? This is why it reminded me of my case. The rust is, of course, due to the environment and the bare metal being exposed and untreated.

Like I said, I am def no expert. I do not do bodywork, am not a mechanic or anything by any other means. The above comment is just my opinion of what I think. Your pics just reminded me of a similar case that I had with a Toyota Camry some years back with the same type symptoms.

LinDarLex

THanks I appreciate it... I will ask about this being a possibility. The more ideas I can gather then the more questions I can ask tomorrow night and then hopefully we can find the true problem and find some sort of solution.

LinDarLex

And the diagnosis? Rail dust possibly or perhaps metal shavings from snow plows...
The Solution... Clay bar... and at first they wanted us to do it ourselves which I told the was not going to happen. I've jumped through hoops to get this appt at the service dept to get this issue looked at. I made two trips to the Dealership this week to only find that my appointment was never on the books and that the director who was the only one authorized to look at it was not in that day. So this has been part of my frustration with Lexus. After finally meeting the Director tonight let me tell you we were not impressed. He took one look at it and said it's rail dust. My husband asks him how he came to that diagnosis... and the director started to explain that he sees it all the time and that the solution is clay bar. We just need to take clay bar to the spots and it will come right off. After disagreeing with his diagnosis ( especially since he flipped between rail dust and metal shavings from plow trucks not once but twice) we decided we needed to speak to someone else so he got the sales manager and at this point we were very frustrated after all we had been through to atleast get this problem solved. (which by the way... Lexus says this issue is VERY COMMON for their vehicles especially within a year, but if it makes you feel any better.. Lexus still believes to have the highest quality standards. Which maybe they do but I would not claim this car as one of the best that rolled off factory.)

So after talking with the Sales Manager for quite sometime we kind of came up with an agreement. They will rub out the rust with the clay bar. ( I dont believe they are willing to touch up the paint) And in six months to a year when the rust comes back.. then "we have a case" to present to Lexus. So that is my answer... I dont know what to think about it.

> I really am disapointed in this vehicle. This is the third quality issue we have had with the vehicle itself within a year. In this crappy economy I get remarks day in and day out about the car I drive when my friends are driving used fords, gmc, chevy's... And at this point I'm embarassed by the car and the problems we've had. It's hard to face the "I told you so"

trukn1

Rail dust?? HUH??? that doesn't even sound right to me. Did he put his prognosis in writing for you? Did they do ANYTHING to the car tonight but look at it? If they have not, don't let them touch it until you do something else first. Is there another Lexus dealer anywhere close to you that you can take the car and have it looked at there? If not, then take the car to a reputable bodyshop that you trust, or call a Mercedes, Audi, Porsche dealer etc., and ask them who they recommend for their bodywork and paint. Have the car looked at and assessed there first BEFORE you let Lexus clay bar your car. You can even take a trip to a local Toyota dealership, since Lexus IS a Toyota product, and have the car assessed there. Your very first pic shows chips and actual HOLES in the paint itself and NO amount of claybar is gonna remove that. Some of the other stuf shown in the other pics MAY come up with the clay process, but honestly I think you are dealing with a BAD dealership. This is getting me mad for you just reading about this. Get second opinion first, before you let that dealership do ANYTHING.

trukn1

Also call the dealership in the am, you need not identify yourself if you choose not to. Ask for the name and number for the ZONE REPRESENTATIVE, this guy is somewhat of a district manager and most dealerships hate it when he has to intervene, and make him aware of your proceedings after you get your second opinion from an independent shop.

LinDarLex

Oh I forgot to mention that the Director and Sales Manager said the hood was from Stone chips and there was nothing they could do about it. They would clay bar the rust as "favor" for us but basically we did not take care of our vehicle. Which is interesting because now that I think about it... The director looked at the hood and thought only the hood was the issue and thats when he presented us with his Rail dust/metal shaving diagnosis... and thats when I proceeded to tell him that it was all over the car. Another reason why were so frustrated because we know we are having are A**es handed to us and not even on a silver platter.

LinDarLex

We didn't let them do anything tonight. They werent equipped to do anything anyways. The director scheduled my appointment ( without asking me) for Monday night at 7:45 pm which I knew was a joke because they close at 8 pm but I figured what the hell I've made two trips there and got now where when I myself scheduled the appointment so if I keep them after hours its not my problem and thats exactly what I told the Sales manager when he explained that "obviously we can't do anything for you tonight" I told my husband I didn't want anything done with the car until after I got a second opinion so you and me are on the same boat with that one. There is a really nice body shop that the Audi dealership used in the next city over when we had body work done on our old Audi. So my husband is going to call there tomorrow and ask if they will be willing to take a look at it and give a diagnosis. I just need an unbiased opinion. Thanks you've been a help!

LinDarLex

Is the Zone Rep the LExus Rep.. The Sales Manager offered to let us wait for when the Lexus rep would be in next which should be in a few weeks and let the lexus rep look at the vehicle. I opted for that but my husband said it wouldn't be necessary and the Sales Manager said that because we were being so "difficult" that he would feel more comfortable with the Lexus Rep looking the car over. Right before he mentioned it though he made a suggestion which my husband would be willing to agree with which was clay bar/protective sealant and a written up document that if it comes back within a reasonable amount of time ( 6mos-1yr) than he would file up a report with Lexus. You have no idea how confusing this all is already... LOL I'm still trying to process everything but we are definatly not doing anything until someone else looks at the car.

trukn1

Ok,,if you were satisfied with the results of that bodyshop and you def trust their opinion then by all means YES, have it looked at there. Unbiased opinion is def gonna be the best plan right now. Like I said, you can also drop by a Toyota dealership that you trust for the same thing. Can't hurt to have the opinions of more than one unbiased party. The Lexus Rep is the zone rep, and you MOST CERTAINLY want to see him ASAP. Still call in the AM to get his name,phone number contact info and when EXACTLY he will be in that dealership so you can be there when he gets there. Let him know about your situation and most definately make him aware that HE, as well as the dealership, has a VERY UNHAPPY customer on his hands NOW. DO NOT,,repeat DO NOT let your husband accept the clay bar treatment until the rep gets a look at your vehicle FIRST HAND. I HOPE that your dealership was dumb enough to put their analysis in writing, and if they did not please ask them to put their written proposal of what they are willing to do for you as well as their "findings" after looking at your car tonight in writing for your consideration. They need not know what you have in store for this info. Have this infor the the Lexus rep, along with you other independent appraisals when he comes as well; since they will most certainly try to backtrack their stories in his presence. Also use the power of CL. Let them know that you DO belong to a Lexus enthusiast site, and that you WILL be more than happy to post your experience with their handling of this matter; be it POSITIVE of NEGATIVE. Trust me, the last thing that ANY dealer wants is gonna be negative, widespread publicity so it would be in their best interest to resolve this issue. Me personally, I would be raising cane for another truck period, or at least a significant discount on a 2010 RX; say for the same price as what you currently owe on yours now. LOl!! Please, don't let this nightmare of a horrible experience reflect on your impression of Lex in general. I know that they are ALOT better than this. I think that you are dealing with a horrible dealership period.

bronz

wow this rusting thing is weird, my mom has an 08 lexus rx and it has some paint chips marks on the hood but there is no rust and it has been like that with the paint chips for a while but still no rust.

LinDarLex

I'm curious Trukn what you did to resolve the issue with your toyota camry?

LinDarLex

I'm going to do everything you mentioned... Im not too sure about this Lexus Rep though since the Sales manager was all about having the Lexus Rep look at the car but at that point he said we were being difficult so maybe he just didn't want to deal with it.
Thanks for all your help.. I'll update tomorrow.

trukn1

In my case, because my problems didnt start to show up for 2 years after I had bought the car, we had to come to a mutual agreement for my consideration. My Camry was a 91, last model for the box style, and I bought it used in 93. So my problems didn't make themselves known until 4 years after the car had been produced; 2 of those years in my ownership. After ALOT of phone calls, and alot of negotiations, Toyota made me a very fair offer to cover 1/2 of the cost to repaint the entire car. They sent me to their recommended bodyshop, which in my case was another dealer down the street who did IN HOUSE bodywork and paint. This dealership was not a Toyota dealership, but a Mercedes/Porsche/Audi dealership. I was just impressed with the fact that they did their repairs/paint in house and did not contract it out(kinda rare). Anyway, went to see them, bodyshop guy looked at Toyota's assessment and pretty much came up with the same analysis. Gave me an estimate to give to Toyota to have the car done RIGHT(emblems stripped off, car sanded, reprimed, repainted, re-clear coated, wet sanded, etc[ the process as it should be]). Unfortunately it was STILL too much for my pockets to even swallow 1/2 of the cost since the estimate was $5800. I eventually woud up just trading the car in and upgrading to a newer model Camry, which I wanted anyway.