Hi Everyone,

Japan made 2023 NX350h. Mostly love the car, but some QA issues and how 1 service department manager almost spoiled the whole experience.

Brake creep groan - I have since done a lot of research and it seems this is not an exclusive issue for Toyota or Lexus. However, some cars don't have it, and others have it with various degrees of loudness. Cars I have tested:

• Mazda CX5 - no sound
• Lexus ES250h - very mild sound
• RX350 - no sound
• Another NX350h - same loudness as mine
• Rav4h - mild sound

Sound insulation - cabin can be a bit noisy. I am sure the 20 RFTs are contributing to it, but I just drove an RX 350 with 21 RFTs and cabin was significantly more quiet driving on the same roads and speed.

Interior QA issues

• Widely known easily scratched dash material - I can live with this as the scuffs were easily covered with an interior dressing.
• Plastic creaking noises while driving. See video
  You Tube

Service Department Issues
So I chose a dealership that was close to my work, north of the city. I complained about the plastic creaking noises coming from te screen and centre console. Every time, I would have to show their mechanic and he would say 'I can try to make it better, but no promises'. Then on my service report, they tell me that car was drive tested and all issues fixed. The creaking noises were still there. Actually they did fix the creaking coming from the screen, but they made the creaking from the centre console worse.

I took the car to them twice and the centre console was still not fixed, both times they added noise dampening pads and said it was fixed. I called them a 3rd time and their service manager flat out dismissed my issue and told me nothing else they can do. I was in shock, how no basic level of customer service was even offered for this quality issue or not even an offer to escalate to Lexus Corporate.

Anyways, I ended up submitting a complaint with Lexus Australia and they told me to try another dealership and if that didn't fix the issue, they would submit a claim for quality of the car.

The next day I took it to a dealership west of my home and they fixed the creaking noise in less than 3 hours. No smoke or mirrors, they actually asked me to test the car to my satisfaction before releasing it back to me. Needless to say, they have my business for life. And yes I would still buy another Lexus after this experience.

Moral of the story is, if you even feel there is a bit of BS or bad quallity service coming from your dealership, you are way better off looking for a new one even if they are a bit further away. The headaches and poor service are not worth the travel time saved.

 

Can i ask you to get detailed on how you dealt with your scratched dash material? And what did you mean by covering with interior dressing?

 

Sure thing. Good interior dressings are used by detailers or car care enthusiasts to protect car interiors against UV rays. Usually you can can use them on the dash, door and plastics. Different dressings will leave different levels of shine. You want to avoid anything that leaves a shiny or oily appearance.

These 3 products I have tried and work well. They will cover the scratches and leave a slightly darker look and matte finish.

Carpro PERL diluted 3:1
Gyeon Preservce (what I used)
303 Protectant

You will need 2 clean microfiber cloths. 1 to apply and spread the product and 1 to do final buff.

Spray some dressing to the towel and then wipe it on the dash. Apply 3-4 layers or until you don't see the scuff. I had to do it 4 times as the dash seemed to absorb the dressing. Do a


final gentle wipe with the clean towel to take care of wet spots.

I did this for over a year and haven't had to reapply the dressing.

 

Great info! Thanks so much. Did you use the product over the entire dash or just the scuffed area? You said you did this over a year, how often?

 

Entire dash to keep the color uniform. Those dressings do darken the dash a little bit.

 

Brake pad groan is something that any and all cars can suffer with, some causes that can bring it on are humidity or rainy weather, rust build up on rotors after car's been sitting for several days not used, working condition of brake calliper sliders. Brake pad material (not using OEM pads can bring up issues) and rotor condition need to be kept in tip top form to keep groan at bay. I myself am a heavy braker always a little hard on them. But, it keeps my rotors and pads in good shape, they scrub off debris and my pads always wear evenly. I always have brakes serviced twice a year clean them up and lubricate sliders. Be good to therm and they'll be good to you. And no my rotors don't warp from abuse, I always give them a nice slow final trip into my driveway so I don't park the car when they're hot.

 

Why not buy dash cover??
Protect from scratches and from sun damage too
Also add some noise protection IMHO
I use it on all my cars

 

I'm about 6 weeks into my ownership and the dash is my biggest concern so far. My primary passenger likes to cross his legs, and a bit of a swipe with the sneaker is all it takes to get a scuff. I've had some close calls. I've been strongly considering getting the NX dash cover on Amazon (is that the one you have?) but I just don't like the look of how it seems to obviously be "blanketing" everything. So, for the moment, I'm taking my chances and ordering some Gyeon preserve. I'm thinking of posting a new thread to see if anyone knows of a vendor with stylish vinyl decals, ideally ones that are consistent with the shapes and Lexus NX interior colors. I'd rather have an application like that (a vinyl decal) to protect the vulnarable areas of the dash, or to apply to cover a scuff.

 

In my experience this is very common with Lexus and Toyota vehicles generally. I think Toyota subscribes to the "if it breaks, fix it, but if it brakes, don't fix it" mentality. Only time I really notice it is creeping along in the coffee shop drive thru line

 

Wife and friend both have 2023 NX350h over 1.5 years old and both love them.
Both getting over 40 mpg. Both zero problems.

 

Its only a matter of time, if you dont like the way a dash cover looks, how will it look w a scratch you cant hide ?......I use a windshield sun shade and just installing and removing it regularly is a recipe for scratches. I bit the bullet and have a dash mat and dont worry about it.

 

Dash scratches aren't my favorite thing also.

 

I'm not exactly a dealership fan but those creaky interior pieces are not their fault. When they say nothing can be done on their end they are correct it's a flaw in material choice.

 

2nd dealership fixed it in less than 3 hours.

Not their fault, but it is their job to fix it. Lexus Corporate told me so. If the dealership can't fix it, then they can submit a quality claim.

What annoyed me the most is that they kept lying to me that they have fixed the issue twice and then dismissed me with a condescending tone 'nothing else we can do'. Another dealership fixed it in less than 3 hours.

Terrible customer service from the first dealership

 

Great you found a fix.

Not all dealerships are the same service and also not all technicians are the same level.