Hi,

I bought a new 2011 Rx 350 and the hood gap on the passenger side is about 1mm wider on the passenger side than the driver side. It doesn't sound like much but looking at it is very obvious and annoying. I've brought it back to the dealer, but they say it's within the spec and won't fix it. The service guy also walked around to show me that my car is not the only one have problem. There's 1 other car also has it. Yesterday I brought it into another dealer for 6 months maintenance and they also said they won't fix it.

Is there anyway to adjust the hood so that it's lower on 1 side or move to the passenger side by 1mm?

This is my first Lexus and this really put a damper on the pursuit of perfection bs.

Thanks,
Trip

 

Can we see the picture of how 1mm difference? I will pay more attention to detail if 1mm makes the differences.

 

thats interesting and sorry to hear. I thought Lexus was a stickler on panel gap distances and consistency. is it on the side of the hood or on the front by the headlight?

 

1 millimeter = 0.0393700787 inches ... seems like a pretty small adjustment, I can understand why they may be reluctant. I once owned a car where I took off the hood and reinstalled/aligned it ... it wasn't that difficult ... no idea about the RX.

 

I adjusted the fender panels on my first 2010 RX. It was pretty easy. You have to get all that black plastic out of the way and you will see the bolts that hold the fender on. There is a little play but not a lot. If it needs to go up or down you can use shims or bend the support tab a little. BE CAREFUL. Don't use to much effort or force as the sheet metal is thin and put protection on the fender.

Somethings just aren't worth it.

 

Lexus fit and finish on the exterior is surprising disappointing. All the current generation RX's, including the hybrid (yes made in Japan) that I have seen up close, maybe more 20 by now, have body panel gap inconsistency. This is especially true with the front fender panels leading to the doors; the passenger side gap is conspicuously wider than the driver's. I'm going to try to adjust my wife's 2011 RX350 front body fender panels this weekend; thanks MEP7557 for the suggestion. Even the GX's that I have seen up close show the same gap inconsistency for the hood and front body panels (less noticeable than RX's).

 

Sorry for the blurry pictures. This is the best I can do with my garage's lightning at this hour and my pocket camera. If you look to the left of the ruler, you'll see that one side is a notch larger than the other side. This also happen to the rear hatch as well, but the hood is what catches my eyes every time I go into the garage so it's more annoying. I guess I'm being ****, but it is an expensive car and this shouldn't be a problem for a Lexus. None of my cheaper cars have this kind of problem.

 

Thanks for the pictures. Hmmm I'll check my car when i got out of work. Will definitely mention that to the dealer when the next oil change coming up if i see this. It actually looks diff with 1mm.

 

On my first RX, the one I adjusted the panel on, it was the drivers side that was larger. I walked the lot and noticed the gaps were all over the place. I was lucky with this second one, the gaps were more consistent, no adjustment needed. I think all the Manufactures are cutting corners, as much as they can get away with before customers start to complain. So hopefully Lexus is getting back on top of this issue.

 

WOW, sure looks the same to me. The ruler isn.t placed the same in the second picture which makes it look off.

 

I feel the OP. I just checked out the CT200h at the dealer and I don't see any un-even gap like this. My friend's 2010 Buick enclave has the un-even gap on the hood too. Hope the Lexus dealers can step up for the issue.

 

Last week took the RX in for the 10K service and asked the service advisor to check out the front passenger side door gap to the adjacent fender panel. Service advisor called and said there's 4mm difference versus the driver's side. Took the car to the dealer' body shop and the manager inspected and stated that the door is installed too far back. He assured the work would be covered under warranty after I made the repair appointment. No idea why Lexus quality control let such big tolerance out of the factory. Nonetheless, I'm impressed with dealer professional service

 

that not 2bad i got my car fix after the accident and all of my windows look like they got permanent shine.......over spray.....