Are you satisfied with the finish of the light bar?

 

Looks great! I'm going to echo ESh and ask, how's the fit and finish? Any fitment issues near the backup camera like LS500 had?

 

Wow! Looks really nice.
Also interested in finish and fitment comments.

 

For me, the biggest problem would be the part where the trunk meets the rear fender.

 

Agreed, although some Dremel sanding (on the part) will probably help with this.

But after watching the video I would also worry about two other things:

1. There's no rubber gasket sealing the unit to the body. I once had an Accord Coupe with a similar gasket issue, and it allowed water into the trunk during heavy rain or car washes. Definitely something to keep an eye on as it will allow more water and dirt behind the lights.
2. Reliability, especially considering the installation process. One of my four budget logo projector puddle lamps failed after just 1.5 years. Luckily, I had a 4 extra identical units from the same seller/batch ready, so the replacement was quick and easy. But having one side fail on this, or the complete unit, will make the OCD in me crazy trying to find a matching replacement or going to the full buy/install process again; and I'll not buy two of this at the current pricing. żDoes an original Lexus part number exist for the new '25 China model? żDoes it have the same animation? Maybe, żexpensive but more reliable?

Still, it looks really good and gives the ES a much modern look.

 

But my understanding is there is already no rubber gasket on the OEM part in the first place, correct? I think some silicone can help seal up any holes. I ordered one on Ali so in the coming weeks I can share my own experiences as the weather gets cooler for me. You're right about it failing, though. Who knows what the quality of the electrical components are like in there and if they have any real longevity. Which means I'm going to have to hold onto the OEM trim indefinitely in case it has to be swapped. Also, the aftermarket turn signals are powered inline with the existing turn signals, so if those fail, looks like your tail light might have issues?

Luckily Aliexpress allows a 90 day return, so if it sucks, I'm just going to return it. Just need to be careful not to manhandle anything while assembling onto the car.

 

Based on the excellent DIY video posted by @LS500Fan apparently it does. At 17:13

 

Good catch. Maybe some generic gasket/ rubber piece can be used. My guess is it would probably get destroyed or its effectiveness reduced trying to remove it from the original part, but that's just an assumption.

 

Hi Peter!

It wasn't my place to post your results but I was hoping that You'd see this and post up your results to share how things came out. You did a Fantastic job and I think that your car is Very Impressive and You ended up building the car that Lexus should've built.

Thanks again for sharing it!

 

Geez, did not get an alert that they were follow up questions. Regarding the fit and finish, my light bar fits perfectly snug against the truck lid and lines up with both left and right side turn signal trim. I’ll add photos below. I was considering buying one off of AliExpress that only had one harness. I can’t stress to you enough the importance of getting the one that has the three electrical harnesses unless you are skilled at automotive wiring and splicing. If you don’t know what you are doing and screw up the wiring, not sure who you would go to to get it fixed. Certainly not a Lexus dealership. Maybe an audio shop or trim world. However, it won’t be cheap.

 

Chrome trim lines up perfectly

 

 

No issues with backup camera

 

Exit animation wire connected to 12 V battery in trunk. No electrical drain from battery after car is turned off.

 

BTW, I WAS able to transfer the rubber seal from the OEM tail light section to the new tail light pieces. Just have to be careful “peeling off” the rubber gasket and reapplying to the new piece in the rubber grooves of the gasket. Had no issues with this at all. Of course, can’t see the gasket very easily once you put new sidelights in place.