Moderator Edit: There is DIY information starting on post #4 and post #73 of this thread.

I'm replacing the LH and RH windshield moldings on my 2009 IS250 because they have gotten real bad from the hot Florida sun and the dealership won't do it under warranty. I got the repair document(below) from Lexus but they don't elaborate on how to remove the molding or what molding removal tool is needed.

I'm prepared to replace the clips but don't want to damage the pillar or windshield. Any help would be appreciated.

Thanks!

 

Ah, yes that is totally covered for warranty work. They are messing with you. I've had mine replaced under warranty before with no problems or questions from them. And by they way they fuc*** the installation up so they had to order another set and install for the second time. Don't let them push you around its all covered under the bumper to bumper warranty.

 

Anyone have any instructions on exactly how to remove the moldings?

 

I just finished installing the driver’s side molding today and it is pretty easy. If you buy the new pieces you can pretty much tell how the molding is held on to the front pillar. There are 5 clips (75545-53010 $3.98ea) and the molding piece RH (75551-53020 $37.13) or LH (75552-53020 $37.13). Both of the pieces are not made to be installed and removed they are pretty much one time use parts so when you are removing them don’t worry about breaking them. After you remove the molding and clips make sure you clean the track between the windshield and the pillar to get the small broken pieces out so the new pieces can be seated cleanly. You need to make sure new clips fit all the way down when you reinstall them you may need to trim some of the original window glue that may have squeezed out into the clip area. After everything is clean and the new clips have been installed you can install the new molding piece by locating the hook (this is the part that is usually broken) into the lower edge of the body down by the lower corner of the windshield and then just work your way up the molding piece. I have had the driver’s side molding piece break every winter, I think because of the cold. I am tired of bringing it to the dealer to fix and this will probably keep happening so I figured I better figure out how to fix it to save having to pay the dealer. It really is pretty easy to do, I took some pictures when I was doing the fix but I can’t figure out how to load them into this post. If anyone wants to give me the 411 on that I will get them loaded up. Good Luck.
Greg

 

glad to know its not that hard to change the molding

 

Im glad that you posted this because mine are in that same shape right now, btw would be even more helpful if you made a DIY thread


toHn

 

My windshield glass was replaced, but the old molding was used with new clips & it seems like the molding was damaged and one of five clips doesn't fasten as it should and on high speed I hear wind noise from right side of my windshield.

I want to buy new molding, five clips and replace them. Can it be done without removing the windshield itself? How the clips are fixed on the car body?

 

The stripping around the windshield was replaced without removing the glass so it is possible. Since the dealership did it, I wasn't there to observe how the clips for the molding are mounted.

 

Mini-DIY here:

https://www.clublexus.com/forums/5332462-post4.html

 

I'd get whoever you paid to fix it. You are SOL if you mess up your windshield...

 

lol, I'm thinking the same thing. Or just tell them to replace it but you will pay for the part... that should work. Just show your dissatisfaction with the turn out

 

My insurance didn't cover the molding, just the glass, glue and installation... thats why dealer had to install the old molding, of course they are *******s because didn't warned me about that, but it the the best lexus dealer in the city, all others are much worse.

 

Just wanted to post an update on my experience with this windshield molding trim issue:

I bought my 2007 IS350 2 months ago with 56k miles on it, out of factory warranty but it was Certified, however the Certified warranty doesn’t cover wear and tear items like this. The molding was already failing on the car when I bought it, even though it had undergone the Certified inspection which clearly stated no cracked or worn molding, weatherstripping, or trim. Clearly the techs had missed this or ignored it.

I noticed that the cracked windshield molding was only getting worse so I took it back to the dealer I bought it from, explaining the above – mainly, that I knew this wasn’t covered by the CPO warranty but it should have been fixed before I bought it. I also presented my service tech with the below attached document, which I created from multiple different threads on the issue on CL. It shows pictures of other peoples’ exact same issues, and shows all the threads dedicated to this one issue on only one forum (clearly there are similar threads on other forums). I just took screenshots of the first posts of each thread because printing out 5 threads at 10 pages per thread would have been overkill. I explained to him that this was not a normal wear and tear item, but was poor quality materials and poor quality workmanship. Clearly the parts chosen by Lexus for this application were low quality. In addition, many IS owners are having this same issue (which is the main point I wanted to communicate with the below document) and they’re from all different climates, all different mileages, and it doesn’t matter whether you garage your car or not; simply stated, the parts are bad.

The tech was very impressed with this document and asked to keep it and to show to his manager. In the end, they ended up replacing the molding for me free of charge. Now before anyone gets too excited, I should make clear that the dealership covered this cost and did it for me out of goodwill. They contacted Lexus to try and submit for warranty, but Lexus didn’t approve it because it wasn’t covered by the CPO warranty. The dealership didn’t push at all nor did they contact me, they just went ahead and did the repair. If they hadn’t been willing to just goodwill it and they’d called to tell me it wasn’t covered and I’d have to pay for it, then I would have gotten involved with the Lexus reps, shown them the research, etc.

So long story short, my windshield molding got replaced out of warranty by the dealer I bought it from out of goodwill, not on warranty. But if you’re having this same issue out of warranty, I recommend you print the attached Word document and bring it with you to your dealer and make the same plea I did. The total cost for the parts is under $100, and install is a DIY, but it’s more out of principle; Lexus states they don’t cover weatherstripping, but that’s because usually it comes down to a wear and tear issue, but in this specific case this is just failed parts.

 

Bump. @mISteRED (or anyone else for that matter): Do you have pics of the window trim install?

 

having mine replaced under warranty