As long as you're not looking under their aprons, I won't tell. 🫢

 

Bless it, walked right into that one. I usually have to watch out for @wthrman2 and his antics! 😂

 

My failed attempt to repair my separated apron.
So I decided to take mine apart and inspect the separation to see if I could remedy the situation.

The failure is related to this piece circled, in the right is mounted to the rear of the vehicle, the left is the one that separates.



In this photo you can see I added some plastic by melting different plastic to the bracket to increase the surface area to hold onto the bumper photod below.

It's beautiful as a first born I know.



Once I reassembled the front apron the results were promising, the gap was closed and even looked great!

unfortunately the added plastic broke away from the bracket and once I made it home from my 14 mile commute the separation had started again..

Ill be ordering a new bracket in hopes there is truly a manufacturing defect and the two molded parts will be the same front to back (circled in photo 1). Time will tell, I'll post the results once the part arrives. If this fails I'll give the dealer a chance to resolve this.

Though I don't see a new bumper cover being the answer.

 

that seems like a logical solution if you can get the plastics to weld together. Please keep us informed.

 

Not to deter you but if you try to fix it yourself and make permanent modifications, Lexus could technically deny coverage if they ever come up with a real solution.

Of course that's a real d**k move but I could see it happening.

 

Agreed on both points.

If Lexus does argue that then point out that you were under a separate legal obligation to mitigate further future damages if easy enough to do so and not costly. For example, hail storm causes a hole in your roof, insurance company doesn’t have to pay damages caused by subsequent rain events if putting up a $5 was safe and easy enough to do.

In this situation he’s probably very worried about the bumper as a whole dislodging while being driven and causing 20x the damage, so he’s actually saving Lexus money by doing an easy fix pending their permanent solution.

 

So I am at my local coffee shop & noticed this current-gen Mazda CX-9 with a front right Apron Issue. Is this common in the entire industry?

 

It is extremely common on older cars, but not newer cars much less a Lexus. FYI the bumper on that Mazda has been repainted so that's probably why its falling off. It doesn't match the fender.

 

I think in most cases with other cars it’s a lot with how people park too. In our family we’ve had two Corolla’s that the front bumper started separating and in one case it went as far as cracking at the clip area. I always wondered why it was always the case with the cars my dad drove. Then I got in with him and immediately realized that in the case of the Corolla it had an aero flap on the underside that would catch on the parking stops if you got too close. And my dad would go all the way into the spot and when he reversed you would hear that aero piece which is attached to the bumper, drag on the parking stop. Now I tell him I rather he not fully park all the way in than do that and destroy the bumper, but he still does it

 

While I do agree that in this case it looks like it’s had some body work done, 99% of bumpers do not match fenders because of the difference in materials. They are also painted at two different points in the assembly line so the color is always somewhat off.

 

Pittsy,

Which dealership in AZ did you take yours to? My 2023 at 3400 miles has the separation issue on the driver's side. Most likely related to the AZ heat. I'll be taking mine into Bell Lexus of Scottsdale soon. Just don't want to run into any pushback or given the run around. Thanks. .

 

Bell Lexus, Im an employee there. I was the first person who brought in a 500 with a complaint about the issue. Bring it in, have it documented. Right now, Lexus is telling dealers to just replace the bracket behind the bumper, but obviously it is a case by case basis. No real solution exists of now. My separation is back already, but it's not the dealers fault. They can only do what Lexus instructs them to do for the time being.

 

Ah that sucks. Makes me not want to ask them to replace the bracket if it isn't the solution. I guess the real question is will they ever come up with a fix for it. Regardless it seems the best thing we can do right now to fix it is nothing.

 

The thing is, if people aren’t bringing up the issue, it won’t ever become big enough for Lexus to figure out a solution.

 

Appreciate the help!