Belmondo

I have to replace both steering wheel button clusters. They work fine, but looks like they are half-melted, and the black finish is peeling, revealing the white rubber/plastic underneat. (Actually, they could be melted---I live in the desert, and the interior temperatures can get pretty high.)

Anyway, the local Lexus dealer wants something over $400 to replace them. That seems pretty brutal for essentially a cosmetic item, but I have to do it. I can't stand looking at them the way they are now.

Also, the 3rd to 4th-gear transmission flare has really gotten bad since I had the transmission serviced a couple weeks ago. I took the car back to the dealer to have the service rep road test it, and of course it wouldn't do it then. Today, just driving around town, it was worse than ever.

Do you really think these cars don't know what's going on?

pestleman0

Get video of the flare then show them. Mine flared the most after sitting over night in cold weather.

Dave Mac

Your dealer doesn't sound too accomodating but Lexus knows those steering wheel buttons were bad and has replaced many as warranty or goodwill items so I would certainly ask - I assume you may be out of warranty on miles. If you are going to pay you might inquire about the 2010 style buttons which don't have that problem. I don't know that they will work but they might.

Dave Mac

NJLEXES

On my 07Es350, I had my steering wheel Audio Control Pod replaced under warranty.
I was getting toward the end of warranty & had a feeling it would be expensive to replace beyond the 4yr/50k.
Same type of bubbling on the finish...looked crummy. As I recall the service writer mentioning, believe he said Lexus even had a TSB bulletin on that particular issue as well. My phone control looked fine though...guess because it got used alot less than the Audio Control.

Is the car still under warranty?

Belmondo

No, I have almost 114K miles on it. It's been bad for a long time...I just didn't squawk loud enough when I first noticed it, I guess.

miniz

Consider yourself lucky to only have the steering wheel buttons peeling. If this were a BMW, every button you touch would be peeling.

YotaCarFan

As you learned, the steering wheel buttons will only be replaced free of charge if you request it during the warranty period. I made the same mistake of not complaining about some defects until too much time had passed to get them corrected for free. I'm no longer so shy about getting them documented by the dealer ASAP even if they claim it's "normal" and don't fix it, to improve my chances of getting a free repair later when they get a TSB stating the problem is real.

The 3-4 transmission flare only occurs when the engine is cold, and occurs 1-2x. If you're feeling multiple thunks while driving after the car is warmed up, it's likely the torque converter. This is another known issue with that car, where if you lift off the gas and then press down on the gas while driving ~25/35/45 mph (I forget the exact speeds), there will be a jolt/shudder. The TSB for this issue directs replacement of the torque converter if and only if the customer can reproduce the issue for the dealer. However, since the repair is very expensive, don't expect Lexus to acknowledge there is a problem and fix it.