I have a 2014 LS460; 18 months old with just over 23K miles on it. The vertical door trim at the bottom rear of the driver's door opening is badly worn (down to the green undercoating) where my leg rubs against it when I get out of the car. (See pictures attached - they are sideways - this is vertical trim)

So far, Lexus has been little help. Only offer is to cover $150 labor to replace while I pay $380 for the part. I escalated a couple of levels in California with no joy - Lexus is maintaining that it is not a "warranty" item because it is not a "defective" part. This seems pretty unreasonable on any car - but especially one that costs $75K.

I would like to know if anyone else has experienced this problem on their LS and, if you have, has Lexus been any help in resolving.

Thanks in advance for your assistance.

 

Wow!!! It's hard to believe that is happening on a new car. While I would say that this issue must some how be caused by something you are doing, it could be some type of defect. I have never seen this type of issue. Did you go back to the dealership where you purchased your car? If so, have you tried other dealerships?

 

It looks like wear from the seatbelt/shoulder harness. One way that can occur is by exiting the car without placing the shoulder-strap behind your shoulder and arm first.

 

Not the seat belt - this is at the bottom of the door - and I always clear the seat belt up into the retractor before I get out. My leg rubs against it when I get out of the car.

 

The trim is worn down well and if your leg is rubbing against it, the trim will wear down again if you have the trim replaced.

 

Common issue on these cars. There was a TSB for older 460s with a revised design to the part, but your 2014 has the new part.

Mine has some wear also at only 8k miles. I'm surprised they won't cover it for you...

 

Is it your leg or belt that is rubbing the trim? My father in law has the same issue with one of his cars (mid size SUV) since he is tall and some what overweight. He has the seat in the furthest back position and he rubs the same spot bare getting in and out. Is there a way to program the seat to move forward when the car is put in park and move back to driving position when in drive?

 

Have this on my 2006 LS430... Looks as if someone wears a big butt,, Leaning on the post on entry will do it, Especially if you have a big wallet in the pocket, or wear Jeans . I too am looking for a post replacement, and don't consider it to be a design problem.

 

No offense, but your LS430 is 10 years old. If you have wear now and are looking for a post replacement, then no its not a design problem, its just an old car.

His LS460 is 2 years old and only has 28,000 miles. No component of the interior should look like that after 2 years. Like I said my car is 6 months old and has 8500 miles and I have some wear there too. I am not heavy, I don't let the seat roll back when I turn the car off, and I'm careful when I get in and out but there is still wear. Lexus released a TSB for a replacement part for this area on older LS460s. This is certainly a design problem.

 

You've got to get in and out of your car differently.
This one is clearly not conducive to your entry / exit style.

Someone already posted that it'll happen again if not. I totally agree.

 

You're giving Lexus a pass here. This particular panel is a wear panel, they need to design it so that it can stand up to ordinary wear and still look good. I appreciate that they want it to be a nice soft touch piece, but I'd rather it be hard touch plastic like it was in my GS350 if that means it would wear better.

Neither my LS400 or LS430 had this issue and it was a soft touch material in this area too.

IMHO they should come out with a more durable replacement panel and issue a TSB to replace it with that panel if a customer requests within the warranty period. They did that for older LS460s, unfortunately this new design panel (thats where the scoop in it came from) still doesn't solve the issue.

 

If this isn't happening across the board, then it's more the OP and less the component.

 

Thats just it, it does happen to a lot of people on this car...and Lexus has already released a TSB to try and address the issue. Why would they do this if its just a few people with an issue?

 

Just do a search for it:

https://www.clublexus.com/forums/ls-...me-fabric.html

Here's a huge 5 page thread:

https://www.clublexus.com/forums/ls-...-and-tear.html

 

I stand corrected.