Wood trim 2003-07 versus 2008-09
09-21-14, 08:59 AM
#1
Driver School Candidate
Thread Starter
Wood trim 2003-07 versus 2008-09
In my search for the right GX, I have noticed a difference in the color and quality of the "Golden Birdseye Maple" wood trim of 2003-07 GX470s versus the 2008-09s.
I have not yet seen an 08' or 09' in person, but it looks noticeably darker and "dare" I say, fake as in faux wood or plastic?
Can someone confirm?
I have not yet seen an 08' or 09' in person, but it looks noticeably darker and "dare" I say, fake as in faux wood or plastic?
Can someone confirm?
09-21-14, 05:51 PM
#2
I don't think Lexus would ever skimp on the wood trim and swap it out with fake stuff. Cadillac pulled that in the 70's and people still laugh at them for it. Seems like they wouldn't make the same mistake
09-22-14, 04:24 AM
#4
I think there is some type laminant over the wood. My 04 has a crack in the door panel too and you would think it it plastic, but based on the price I would like to believe it wood.
09-22-14, 06:12 AM
#5
Driver School Candidate
Thread Starter
I was at the Acura dealer the other day and notices the MDX with a sticker of $50K had leather but all faux wood trim.
BTW, I have seen some 1970s Chevy's with original vinyl.... and it still looks pretty good
09-22-14, 06:16 AM
#6
Pole Position
The only real wood on mine is around the shifter. The steering wheel, the dash & door trim, and the parts that are on the sides of the radio, are all plastic. Probably hydro-dipped.
Agree on MB-Tex. It lasts a long time and looks "close enough" to real leather.
Chip H.
Agree on MB-Tex. It lasts a long time and looks "close enough" to real leather.
Chip H.
09-22-14, 07:08 AM
#7
Lead Lap
First, the marketing information from Lexus refers to "real wood trim", "wood steering wheel and shifter trim", etc. Also, I recall, at the time when I bought my GX in 2005, reading marketing information from Lexus where they boasted of "hand selecting" the various wood pieces so that grain patterns and color were consistent throughout the vehicle.
Next, when vehicle manufacturers talk, for example, about seat materials, they often refer to leather "seating surfaces", which translates into saying that the parts of the seats that you sit on are leather, but the sides, backs, etc. might be some form of simulated leather. I would assume, for similar reasons, that, if there was a mixture of real wood and fake wood, there would have to be some similar statement describing that trim.
Also, if the trim on the doors or the dash were fake wood, I would expect that the grain patterns of all GX vehicles (of the same year) would be identical. But that is not the case. The grain patterns of the trim on the doors and dash vary considerably from one GX to the next.
I know that the wood is actually quite thin and that there is a very heavy coat of polyurethane protecting it, but I think that it is all real wood, and it does, upon close inspection, look different from the fake wood used, say, on the interior of a Toyota vehicle.
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09-22-14, 08:16 AM
#10
Pole Position
For a number of reasons, I'm not that is correct.
First, the marketing information from Lexus refers to "real wood trim", "wood steering wheel and shifter trim", etc. Also, I recall, at the time when I bought my GX in 2005, reading marketing information from Lexus where they boasted of "hand selecting" the various wood pieces so that grain patterns and color were consistent throughout the vehicle.
Next, when vehicle manufacturers talk, for example, about seat materials, they often refer to leather "seating surfaces", which translates into saying that the parts of the seats that you sit on are leather, but the sides, backs, etc. might be some form of simulated leather. I would assume, for similar reasons, that, if there was a mixture of real wood and fake wood, there would have to be some similar statement describing that trim.
Also, if the trim on the doors or the dash were fake wood, I would expect that the grain patterns of all GX vehicles (of the same year) would be identical. But that is not the case. The grain patterns of the trim on the doors and dash vary considerably from one GX to the next.
I know that the wood is actually quite thin and that there is a very heavy coat of polyurethane protecting it, but I think that it is all real wood, and it does, upon close inspection, look different from the fake wood used, say, on the interior of a Toyota vehicle.
First, the marketing information from Lexus refers to "real wood trim", "wood steering wheel and shifter trim", etc. Also, I recall, at the time when I bought my GX in 2005, reading marketing information from Lexus where they boasted of "hand selecting" the various wood pieces so that grain patterns and color were consistent throughout the vehicle.
Next, when vehicle manufacturers talk, for example, about seat materials, they often refer to leather "seating surfaces", which translates into saying that the parts of the seats that you sit on are leather, but the sides, backs, etc. might be some form of simulated leather. I would assume, for similar reasons, that, if there was a mixture of real wood and fake wood, there would have to be some similar statement describing that trim.
Also, if the trim on the doors or the dash were fake wood, I would expect that the grain patterns of all GX vehicles (of the same year) would be identical. But that is not the case. The grain patterns of the trim on the doors and dash vary considerably from one GX to the next.
I know that the wood is actually quite thin and that there is a very heavy coat of polyurethane protecting it, but I think that it is all real wood, and it does, upon close inspection, look different from the fake wood used, say, on the interior of a Toyota vehicle.
Chip H.
09-22-14, 08:51 AM
#11
Lead Lap
I've had a lot of those pieces out of the vehicle, and they are indeed plastic (they resemble an orange-ish bakelite). Now it's possible that they put a very thin (*very*!) piece of veneer on there (instead of a hydro-dip), but I didn't see a seam or anything on the side indicating that.
Chip H.
Chip H.
When I bought the GX in 2005, the dealer had about a half dozen GX vehicles in their inventory, and I distinctly recall how different the grain pattern was in the trim from one of those vehicles to the next, and part of the reason why I chose the specific GX that I did was because the grain pattern in the one I bought appealed to me more than the grain patterns in the other GXs that they had in their inventory. Again, if the trim was only some sort of manufactured plastic, I would expect that the trim pieces would have been identical from one vehicle to the next.
I don't question the possibility that those pieces might have a plastic base or that the actual wood is very thin and covered with a heavy layer of polyurethane, but I would still question the thinking that there is not a layer of (thin) wood in them.
09-22-14, 10:28 AM
#12
the 08-09 came with darker wood trim, as far it being real wood trim and not plastic, after seeing the back of the panels, I would guess they are fake wood plastic, i dont think it is thin wood veneer imo
09-22-14, 01:37 PM
#13
Driver School Candidate
Thread Starter
My guess is that they found the plastic to be much cheaper. That real wood trim is way more expensive( and perhaps less stable) to mill, stain, coat etc... versus plastic injection.
09-22-14, 02:00 PM
#14
Lead Lap
I hear what a few of you are saying, but I am still skeptical about the assertion that the trim is plastic.
I keep the window stickers from all of my vehicles. On the window sticker for the Toyota 4 Runner that I owned, it says "simulated wood-grained trim". On the window sticker for the GX, it says "golden bird's-eye maple trim", and it says the same thing in the manuals (which I also still have) for both vehicles. And, if the GX and the 4 Runner both have plastic fake wood, Toyota/Lexus found a way to make that fake wood look a lot better on the GX than they did on the 4 Runner. With the 4 Runner's "simulated wood-grained trim", it looked clearly like pieces of plastic.
Also, on my GX, the trim piece right behind the door handle on the driver's side door has some of the polyurethane worn off for about 1/4 of an inch right next to the door handle from, I'm guessing, 10 years worth of rubbing my hand against it when opening the door. If you look at the strip where the polyurethane is worn off, it would be hard to say that it is not real "unfinished" wood., and I'm guessing that I would come to the same conclusion if I used some sandpaper to remove the polyurethane from the rest of that trim piece.
Also, I'll bet that, if everybody who has posted in this thread were to post pictures of the trim on their GXs, those pictures would show differences in the grain pattern from one GX to another. Again, if it were plastic, they should all have the same grain pattern. It may well be that the real wood is only a very thin veneer on top of plastic, but I'd still be willing to bet that there is real wood on all of those trim pieces.
I keep the window stickers from all of my vehicles. On the window sticker for the Toyota 4 Runner that I owned, it says "simulated wood-grained trim". On the window sticker for the GX, it says "golden bird's-eye maple trim", and it says the same thing in the manuals (which I also still have) for both vehicles. And, if the GX and the 4 Runner both have plastic fake wood, Toyota/Lexus found a way to make that fake wood look a lot better on the GX than they did on the 4 Runner. With the 4 Runner's "simulated wood-grained trim", it looked clearly like pieces of plastic.
Also, on my GX, the trim piece right behind the door handle on the driver's side door has some of the polyurethane worn off for about 1/4 of an inch right next to the door handle from, I'm guessing, 10 years worth of rubbing my hand against it when opening the door. If you look at the strip where the polyurethane is worn off, it would be hard to say that it is not real "unfinished" wood., and I'm guessing that I would come to the same conclusion if I used some sandpaper to remove the polyurethane from the rest of that trim piece.
Also, I'll bet that, if everybody who has posted in this thread were to post pictures of the trim on their GXs, those pictures would show differences in the grain pattern from one GX to another. Again, if it were plastic, they should all have the same grain pattern. It may well be that the real wood is only a very thin veneer on top of plastic, but I'd still be willing to bet that there is real wood on all of those trim pieces.