jrs21c

Hello, everyone.
I have a question to ask this forum.
My mom purchased a new 2008 RX350 in late 07.
The car is in Green pearl bamboo color. A great car. Easy to maintain, great power, and smooth ride and all.

Anyways, to make the long story short, we've spotted a paint problem from a few years back (probably 2 years or so). The paint is peeling off on the side view mirrors. And only the side view mirrors... It's getting worse and worse every year. I tried to search how we can fix the problem, maybe a year ago, and found that warranty on the paint was 3 years. So stopped searching any deeper.

When I came to my parent's place yesterday, she brought it up again, and I went out to check the paint problem again.. and I wasn't very happy about it.

I am guessing I could contact the dealership first.. but the dealership she goes to (or I take her car to) isn't a kind place.. I was wondering what kind of actions I could take with these types of problems. Or if these were common problems on the same color or same model. Maybe contact directly the Lexus headquarters?

I've searched it before, and I saw one short description of a similar problem. But I couldn't find an appropriate guide to solve the problem.

I am including pictures I took today.
Driver's side is a lot worse, and passenger side is better, but it is only a matter of time to be like the other side.

I'll start with the passenger side.






Driver's side






Thanks for reading, and any comments or advice are greatly appreciated.

mandyfig

Bring it in to the dealer. Good luck.

Rainbird

The Bamboo Pearl color seems to have a paint problem. See these forum postings:

https://www.clublexus.com/forums/rx-...ease-help.html

https://www.clublexus.com/forums/rx-...t-peeling.html

jrs21c

Thanks to both of you.
I am just afraid that the dealer will say 'there's nothing we can do'.
And I will have to waste my time bringing it to a dealer..
Well, in the worst case, I can just repaint it.. but that means the car won't have side mirrors for 2~3 days..
Anyways, I'll still take it to a dealer and see what they say.
Thanks everyone.

RX330inFL

You did a good thing in taking pictures to document the problem. Would not hesitate to drop a letter to Lexus Customer Service after dealing with the dealership, either way, to complain about the paint problem. This is not an isolated incident as you can see in the forums here.

By going to the dealership you will at least have a chance to do several things. One, you will be able to find out who does the paint work for Lexus in the area. You do not want to just take it anywhere as it is a three step process. You will also find out how much this will cost. Any other problem areas on the vehicle? What about the door handles?

Second, you want to meet with them face-to-face. Be nice at first to see what they have to say and how you are treated. Later, you can tell them to shove it when they tell you there is nothing they can do if that is the case. Some satisfaction there. Be sure to let them know you will be sure to tell everyone you know. If they have a Google review page, Yelp page or a Facebook page it also helps to post there as well to get their attention. Anything that can hurt sales is sometimes the only way to get a company to act responsibly in such matters.

Look for a local Toyota or independent shop to perform your normal vehicle maintenance. No need to continue going to the dealership once you are out of warranty and especially if they are not very helpful.

MrBruin09

a body shop should be able to paint it for around $100 dollars.

neilaz

I would be afraid if body shop said $100

MrBruin09

what do you mean? Is that too expensive?

RX330inFL

Too cheap for a three step process paint job with proper prep.

MC5Wes

Just a quick question.

If you saw this problem 2 years ago on a 3 year old car. Instead of taking pictures. Why didnt you take it back to the dealer when you first saw it?

jrs21c

When we first saw the problem, it was barely fainted, and didn't know it would get this bad. We instead tried to wash it. I clearly remember that.
When it started peeling, and the problem was a bit more obvious, I thought it was out of warranty.

I talked to the dealer this weekend, and the guy I talked to suggested me to talk to the service manager on Monday (he/she wasn't there).
I'll let you know how it goes.

Jin

mandyfig

What needs replacement is just the cover. But dealers would rather replace the entire assembly. That's what you will get when you get lexus to honor the defect.

eyezack87

iTrader: (4)

Potential solution would be to buy the LED mirror replacement covers from one of the vendors. I believe they sold them painted

mandyfig

Yes you are on the money. It is not expensive but some labor required.

stevies30

Mandyfig is right, that's what I did. If you're going to pay for new mirrors you might as well get some nice LED signal mirrors and do the upgrade at the same time. The color is Bamboo Pearl and peeling paint on the outside mirrors and/or door handles is a known issue for that particular color.