Pokayoke

I have a 1998 ES300 and the black door pillars have peeling paint. The paint is about 1/2 gone. This is the trim between the front and back door windows. I thought this would be an easy piece of trim to replace. I asked the local Lexus dealer. He said it would have to be sent to the body shop for repair and it would cost over $200.

Is this correct? Does this trim not come already painted?

If this is true then is there an easy way to make it peel the rest of the way? It is a dark grey color underneath so it does not look bad. Maybe I could order the unpainted trim and replace it myself?

Thanks for any advice...

MASH835

I also have the same thing. I don't know what cause it!

The local dealer also said the same about how to correct it. I think the grey color is not ok with the color of my ES, so may be I'll have to do it..

MCV20

dam.. mine get that too... mine is about 1/2inch long...on the passager side...

flipspeed

same here

Kohinoor

iTrader: (22)

its the clear coat peeling.. shouldnt be too expensive to repair

markman

I've heard that the side pillars are available from www.newlexusparts.com, they are under the "pillars rocker and floor>Exterior trim>pillar molding" and they cost $39.61 each. (Thanks, Jason.)

I decided to just try sanding mine down to make it all match. WallyWorld had an assortment of 3M Imperial Wetordry sandpaper with 220, 400, 800 and 1000 grit in the automotive department. I had tried using just 800 grit at first, but it wasn't taking off the remaining clear coat quickly at all. After 10 or 15 minutes, I got impatient. So I finally shifted all the way to the 220 and removed all the remaining clearcoat. Then I continued with the 400, then the 800 and finally the 1000 (all used wet). Then I used Meguiar's Mirror Glaze Clear Plastic Cleaner #17. The cleaner slowly brought back the shine, but it took a lot of rubbing. In the end there were a couple areas with scratches from the coarse grit paper. I wish I'd spent longer with the finer grit sandpaper after getting all the clearcoat off.

Anyway, it isn't nearly as shiny-black as the original clear coated pieces, but if you don't know what it's supposed to look like, you'd never know. It's pretty much what the areas without the clearcoat look like.

FWIW, I thought about trying to paint them myself, but after spraying some clearcoat spray paint on a piece of scrap black plastic, I decided against it. Spray cans just don't make smooth finishes.

The only thing I'm not sure of is the right way to remove the trim pieces. I broke 2 of 4 little white plastic tabs on each side. They seem well enough held in place with just the 2 remaining ones, but I might see if I can order some next time I need some real Toyota parts.

I didn't have any before pictures before, but attached is one after. You can sorta see the clouds reflected.

Mark

lexusk8

Excellent write-up Jason on your efforts in repairing the peeling of the door pillar. I also used to have the same problem on my '01 ES, and I ended up buying a new door pillar piece from the local Lexus parts dept since the item comes factory painted and clearcoated (and costs a lot cheaper than getting it repaired by a body shop). I also broke 2 of the 4 plastic clips on the door pillar, but that was on the old piece which I didn't mind. Installed the new piece in a snap, and now it's looking good as new

Ice350

iTrader: (1)

I had the same problem with my 99 ES. The dealership replaced them free of charge because it is common problem on the ES's. I didn't even ask for it. Took the car in for an oil change. When they brought it back out the pillars were changed. They told me it was approved by the manufacturer to replace them.

lexusk8

You definitely lucked out on that one. Around here in CT, dealerships are hungry for money, and there's hardly a thing called a "free lunch". But I do my best, what with the Internet and all..