philwojo

What does everyone think of adding on the body side moldings to a 300h to help protect the doors from dings in parking lots? We have them on both our Hybrid Camry and Prius now, and we like the look. But I don't want to make the NX look crappy.

Thanks,
Phil

philwojo

Here is the picture of it from the Lexus web site:

Joeb427

iTrader: (1)

The design of the NX is busy enough.
Body side molding just adds more.
The moldings look bad,IMO..

JasDmw

Something I add to all my vehicles. Judging by the "dents" in the ones on our RX, well worth the money. Doesn't completely eliminate the idiot dents, but certainly makes a difference. This appears to be something the manufacturers have deleted over the years to increase margin; used to be on all cars. I found an aftermarket manufacturer in Detroit that makes them; good quality, absolute colour match and great fit. When I price the NX or an RX, it's always in my selection. Would try to negotiate them in on the deal.

philwojo

Thanks for the feedback so far. Yes, since this is such a new car and they aren't coming off the MSRP we are hoping to get them to throw in some of the other stuff we want, like these. They have saved our current two cars a few times, but I don't seem them often so i was just looking for feedback. I know visual appearance is a subjective thing, I guess i am more looking for input from others on if they feel they work, like JasDmw posted.

Phil

Husker4the

I don't like how they look on the NX for all I can tell and I am generally a BSM guy. The straight lines of the BSM don't jive with the curved lines and intentionally unbalanced nature of the shapes and curves of the NX.

JellyBean

You won't notice them after two days. I installed them on our RX350 and GS350 and you'll only notice them while washing the car. The RX moldings show a few chips, so it's apparently effective.

miop4000

OMG that's ugly.

TorontoIS

I don't like how they look but appreciate the fact that they might reduce some of the dings/dents from doors.

corradoMR2

I don't like the look on any vehicle, including the NX. If you have them on two cars and like it, don't let our opinions stop you. Go for it especially if they've prevented a ding or two.

Btw, if anyone noticed, those are the optional 19" F-Sport wheels in the above pic.

Dreamlab

There is an after market company that sells body side moldings and I would look at what they have to offer before going with the factory ones - since the look pretty whimpy to me...

If you toggle through the NX accessories, I see they also have the lower Steps, but do not show one mounted, the step (if it sticks out enough) can also provide some good door protection, I had a 1998 4-Runner Limited and that lower Step protected the doors awesomely.

Next: Look at the above sideview of the NX, there is a body crease that starts low and rises at an angle as it flows to the back of the vehicle: the horizontal body side molding clashes with this angle. I would like to see the Body side molding parallel at the same angle of this feature, NOT horizontal.

There is a Mercedes SUV (don't know which one) that has it's Body Side Molding at an angle, I think this "might" also look good on the NX, and would check it out before going with the Factory one.

Also the after market company I spoke of (above) sells different Body Side Moldings for lots of different vehicles and since they custom paint each one, you could search for one that provides optimal coverage and still have it match your color.

corradoMR2

This actually points out a practical risk with the factory body side moldings on the NX in the horizontal placement. Essentially, the lower sculpted portion of the door protrudes significantly more than the middle portion and the risk here is whether the bottom portion will take the impact before the side molding does...

So your idea of a side step might be the only practical solution for flatter doors hittting the NX, but if a more sculpted curved door swings open impacting more the middle portion of the NX's door, the body side moldings may still be needed. If the OP likes both, he should get both for "maximum" protection.

Pics below for Lexus UK (Second one is a chrome strip not really intended as a ding guard but here to provide a visual on a "molding" along the rising crease line)

philwojo

Corrado, you forget though that most cars now days don't have straight doors either and the tops of the doors are almost always out farther than the bottoms so they will hit toward the upper portion of the door long before they even come close to the bottom. Obviously that is not all cars and all doors, but a significant portion it seems at least.

They have seemed to help on our two cars now, and it seems they have helped at least a few others here as well. My wife wants them, and since this will be her car we will probably end up with them. I don't hate them from the picture, but we will see. I would rather scratch a $200 piece of plastic than my entire car door if at all possible!

Thanks for all the feedback though, i do appreciate it all.

Phil

Mehul1456

Thats exactly why I am buying them!

jalford999

I purchased my NX300 today and ordered them thru the dealer with installation. Cost of over $400 but could buy them for $13x.xx from Sewell parts in Dallas. I did not want to mess with finding a good detail guy to install them. Will put all the pressure on Lexus dealer.