braxtongg

Hello new community, hoping to achieve adequate status to post a vehicle for sale, which requires 30 useful/relevant posts to start, so taking a stab. Most recent post I could find about removing/reinstalling the armrest piece on the center console, but both a friend and recently myself have had the piece accidentally popped out, so thought I'd re-post the easy fix. They don't pop back in particularly easy at first try, though my friends dealer (TX) knew what to do with it, (though he didn't know what they did, so couldn't tell me). After a few weeks of not having the time and riding around with the console open, I finally took mine to my regular dealer, who had his guys futz with it for half an hour to no avail. As it turns out, if you just remove the two small screws on the underside of the armrest piece itself, the front portion detaches (the part with the handle and stubs that make it impossible to slide back into the guide tracks). With that part removed, the main portion is a breeze to insert back into the track, the once inserted, you can slide the main portion back and into the lift position, which allows easy access to replace the small screws that hold the handle/stub portion in place, then...well, works just like it never popped out.

And, for anyone in AZ, I'd not bothered trying to take advantage of of the Warranty Enhancement covering the dash and door panels, for no reason other than the blemishes on mine were pretty minor and I didn't think they would be sufficient to qualify. Not a dealer plug, but I don't know if they all have the same threshold, so this may or may not be unusual, but at the dealer closest to me, Bell Lexus North Scottsdale, evidently the threshold for replacement is simply ANY visible flaw/deterioration from new showroom floor condition, that's not obviously user caused. So, if you do happen to live in AZ and like me, hadn't taken yours in because you thought your blemishes were probably too minor. Give it a go, I was certainly surprised.

Last one I can think of at the moment. On my IS, and I know on many others, the original front headlight covers had, over time, come to look like they'd been sandpapered from the inside. It had reached the point where it was diminishing the functionality of the headlamps, vs. just looking crappy, so I'd resigned myself to having to replace them, which for what they are, is a surprisingly pricey option. Shockingly, my dealer actually downsold me to having them refinished. I was sort of skeptical it would just end up being a band aid option, but, it's been about a year, which was enough time for me to notice the beginnings of the "fogging up" when I originally purchased it, but it actually seems that whatever clear coat they applied works better then replacement. They still look brand new, and I don't recall exactly how much less expensive that option was, but I do recall it wasn't trivial.

I'm new, so if there was a better/different place to post this, please forgive the newbieness, and I'll note any suggestions for the future.

SeanO

iTrader: (1)

Make sure you seal the headlights after they polished them or they will get twice as worse twice as fast - especially living in a sunny state like Arizona..

Find a sealant that has UV protection - should be able to find some at your local parts store

braxtongg

Thanks Sean. I do recall the dealer explicitly mentioned that application of some type of sealant/clear coat was part of the refinish/refurb...which I imagine, to your point, is exactly why despite it having been about a year already, and having already endured a full summer in low elevation desert in AZ, they still look like the day they refinished them. Prior to the refinish, I'd notice a visible worsening by the end of every summer, including the first summer I had it, until, as mentioned in the original post, it got so bad it was materially impacting the proper light dispersion from the headlamps. But no change at all after this last summer. I love the car and the brand, so it's an oversight I have no problem giving them a hall pass for, but given how much of a difference it made, it makes me wonder why on earth they didn't roll out of the factory with an equivalent sealant already applied. A simple and inexpensive, yet very effective, solution to a material defect. Pretty "un-Lexusy". Though mine's an '06, so it was the first run of the gen 2 model. I imagine just about every manufacturer has kinks to work out of the first run of a brand new model, even Lexus. They have been absolutely exceptional, in my humble opinion, about identifying and rectifying defective parts/components. I've taken mine to my local dealer a number of times to have a factory recalled item addressed, and in all but one case, whatever the item was, in my particular car it was functioning properly, but replaced anyway, just because it was known to have failed in others. And in several of those cases, the component itself was relatively inexpensive, but somewhere deep within the motor that required substantial disassembly to access. Several instances of in excess of $1000 in labor cost to access and replace a $100 or $200 component, yet they do it anyway. No doubt a major part of why my wife and I keep buying them year after year after year. I just replaced her RX 400H, which had previously replaced her Sequoia, with a GX460, but I suppose that belongs in another forum.

doug355r

Thanks for the heads up on the dealer and the dash. I just got my 06 about 5 months ago and haven't taken it in. Its pretty bad and this summer I lightly bumped it with my thumb nail and it made a big gash.

I'll try Lexus of Chandler since I'm way down in Ahwatukee but its good to know that there is a dealer in town that will help.