Loose Front Bumper From Canada

[RXSF]

Originally Posted by DNC

This kind of statement leaves me speechless.

lol. diffferent strokes for different folks.

while quality ranks pretty high up there, the thing that makes you notice a car is its looks. Thats what makes your heart rate speed up when you see it on the street. And the need for technology in the car is another.

Those who make quality their number 1 priority closely mirrors those who choose their cars based on functionality and a "point A to point B" mentality. But to me, there is much more to a car than just reliability. Quality doesnt make you want to drive it, it just makes you want to keep it.

[Stormforge]

Originally Posted by DNC

You are correct that these kinds of things happen with other brands, but there is a very definite decline in quality with Lexus. Just spend some time on this blog and others. This bumper issue should have already been address by the company. With issue like this Lexus is becoming like the rest you mention.

i totally understand what you are saying, and i've been on this board for awhile now. so i know the issues that are involved intimately (at least for my GS).

i'm not disagreeing with your statement about decline in quality with lexus; from what i've read on this board, it's probably all too true. front bumper problem, it's probably an oversight from the design team, or perhaps the factory employees were not instructed or trained properly to install bumper clips to prevent the bumper from falling (i'm guessing here). whatever the root cause, human error has crept into the equation.

all i'm saying is let's not throw out the baby with the bath water just yet (ie: don't white wash the entire company or a specific model with the same defective/poor quality brush stroke); currently there are 2 known defects (front bumper, headrest). if that is all that is wrong with the 2010 RX, that's not bad at all.

if lexus can come back with fixes and prevent future defects like these, then it's been successful, don't you think?

[DNC]

Originally Posted by RXSF

lol. diffferent strokes for different folks.

while quality ranks pretty high up there, the thing that makes you notice a car is its looks. Thats what makes your heart rate speed up when you see it on the street. And the need for technology in the car is another.

Those who make quality their number 1 priority closely mirrors those who choose their cars based on functionality and a "point A to point B" mentality. But to me, there is much more to a car than just reliability. Quality doesnt make you want to drive it, it just makes you want to keep it.

I think you are being very honest with your opinion. I guess there are some who would not admit what you describe. For me I only get the increased heart rate when writing the check.
I experience all the excitement and ownership desire when I know something is well made. Quality is everything to me.

[Stormforge]

Originally Posted by The G Man

One thing Lexus is really good at is to repeatedly contacting the customer until a the customer say he is satisfied, it’s almost to the point of borderline harassment. So does Lexus really have higher initial quality or is it just the fact that Lexus will bent over backwards to make sure the customer will give them a very satisfy rating.

can't it be both? if lexus bends over backwards to fix the problem, customer is satisfied and lexus is satisfied (another happy customer is a repeat customer). imho, i'd rather have lexus 'harass' me and listen to my complaints (if i have any) than pretend everything is rosy.

[afpj]

Originally Posted by KC001

Something to note here is that when I took the 2010 to the dealership for this gap issue they did not count it as a defect. They tried to tell me that I caused it after 100 miles. Not a mark on the bumper that I can see and they blamed it the owner. They did not charge me to repair it, they knew better. But it was not counted as a defect. One way to get those high quality ratings, I guess.

KC001,
Wondering if their fix was satisfactory...does the seam look as good as when on the showroom? Ours was not as bad to begin with (1/4 inch vs your nearly 1 inch) so the "fix" has an 1/8 inch gap on both sides. It's symmetric, and better, but not as good as you'd expect from Lexus/Toyota, and certainly not flush as when it was on the lot/showroom.
Well, it will be reflected in the survey...
Off topic, where can you get touch up paint? Dealer wants $14 for that little tube.

[KC001]

Originally Posted by afpj

KC001,
Wondering if their fix was satisfactory...does the seam look as good as when on the showroom? Ours was not as bad to begin with (1/4 inch vs your nearly 1 inch) so the "fix" has an 1/8 inch gap on both sides. It's symmetric, and better, but not as good as you'd expect from Lexus/Toyota, and certainly not flush as when it was on the lot/showroom.
Well, it will be reflected in the survey...
Off topic, where can you get touch up paint? Dealer wants $14 for that little tube.

Looked almost perfect right after the repair. Now on the driver side about an 1/8 inch or a little less gap is apparent. Passenger side is still tight and aligned, where the original gap was noted (similiar to the pics posted a few days ago). Appears we have to live with this, until Lexus decides to do something.

Seems like you push on one side it pops up on the other side. Also the 2010 bumper is very flexible even more so in the hot sun. An observation.

Anyone else have a repair story for this problem?

[Cruiter]

Originally Posted by KC001

Looked almost perfect right after the repair. Now on the driver side about an 1/8 inch or a little less gap is apparent. Passenger side is still tight and aligned, where the original gap was noted (similiar to the pics posted a few days ago). Appears we have to live with this, until Lexus decides to do something.

Seems like you push on one side it pops up on the other side. Also the 2010 bumper is very flexible even more so in the hot sun. An observation.

Anyone else have a repair story for this problem?

I have the 450h, currently no problems. Produced in May so one of the 1st. Also the bumper and fog light assy is slightly different on the (h) model. I don't know if that makes the fitting different or not but like I said, currently no problem.

[rxets]

Originally Posted by KC001

Looked almost perfect right after the repair. Now on the driver side about an 1/8 inch or a little less gap is apparent. Passenger side is still tight and aligned, where the original gap was noted (similiar to the pics posted a few days ago). Appears we have to live with this, until Lexus decides to do something.

Seems like you push on one side it pops up on the other side. Also the 2010 bumper is very flexible even more so in the hot sun. An observation.

Anyone else have a repair story for this problem?

Did they put the new bumper on? Or just tightened up!?

Thanks.

[RXSF]

probably didnt give him a new bumper, that would be too generous and cost inefficient. Probably just snapped the clips back into place

[htn]

Our dealer was very nice about the situation. Expect the car back tomorrow. I will let you all know the out come.

[KC001]

Originally Posted by rxets

Did they put the new bumper on? Or just tightened up!?

Thanks.

Just tightened it up.

[rxets]

Originally Posted by RXSF

probably didnt give him a new bumper, that would be too generous and cost inefficient. Probably just snapped the clips back into place

Originally Posted by KC001

Just tightened it up.

Thanks. I guess my dealer is going to do the same...

[afpj]

Unfortunately, we have not had much luck with our dealer. They tried once to fix it, and it's back to where it was as posted in the previous pics (1/4 inch looks pretty bad when everything else is smooth fitting). They offered no more fixes. It sucks having only one dealer for hundreds of miles. 1 800 lexus customer service is a joke. Hope everyone else has had better luck. It seems that pushing in the bumper just below the lateral most portion of the front grill area causes those sides to flex out. I wonder if these "defective" units have a deficiency in the support material just under the front bumper cover...thinking of just shoving some extra Styrofoam under the plastic cover in front to prevent the flexing of the sides. Just thinking out loud. I sure am open to any ideas. Unfortunately, I doubt the lemon law applies since this is only a cosmetic issue.
Would appreciate knowing what other dealers did to fix the problem....

[Stormforge]

Originally Posted by afpj

Unfortunately, we have not had much luck with our dealer. They tried once to fix it, and it's back to where it was as posted in the previous pics (1/4 inch looks pretty bad when everything else is smooth fitting). They offered no more fixes. It sucks having only one dealer for hundreds of miles. 1 800 lexus customer service is a joke. Hope everyone else has had better luck. It seems that pushing in the bumper just below the lateral most portion of the front grill area causes those sides to flex out. I wonder if these "defective" units have a deficiency in the support material just under the front bumper cover...thinking of just shoving some extra Styrofoam under the plastic cover in front to prevent the flexing of the sides. Just thinking out loud. I sure am open to any ideas. Unfortunately, I doubt the lemon law applies since this is only a cosmetic issue.
Would appreciate knowing what other dealers did to fix the problem....

you need to escalate your complaint with lexus; it's amazing how fast people will jump if you threaten to talk to BBB, local and regional news, etc. like i said before, talk softly but carry a big stick!

[rxets]

I'm due to the 5k service this weekend. Will post the update.