chenh

Hi, I am very excited to join Lexus family. I just bought a 2017 Lexus NX200t yesterday, I will have it delivered in a week. I would really appreciate if you can help me answer couple rookie questions. Thanks a lot!

1) Does it have self-restoring coating or some people call it self-healing paint?

2) Do I need to "break in" this car? If yes, how should I drive initially and for how long?

lesz

Lexus started to use the self-healing paint on some models several years ago, and I believe that they are now using it on all of their models.

Frankly, I don't see much difference between it and the traditional paint that they had used previously. The "self-healing" process isn't going to do much for deeper scratches. Over time, things like minor surface scratches, paint swirls, etc. are supposed to fix themselves with exposure to the sun, but it does take a long time. I've read that you can speed up the healing process by applying warm water to paint surface.

I've read that, with the self-healing paint, the clear coat doesn't fully harden/cure for several years, which is what allows it to self heal. If it is the case that the the clear coat is softer, I had some concerns about whether that would actually make it more susceptible to surface scratches and also about whether it would be safe to use mildly abrasive polishes on it to remove minor surface scratches (instead of waiting to see if they would self heal). After having now had my first Lexus vehicle with the self-healing paint for about 5 months, I don't really see much difference between it and the paint that was on other Lexus vehicles that I've owned. I do, however, plan to be cautious about using any more abrasive polishes on it because I've read some horror stories about people who ended up essentially permanently dulling the finish by using more abrasive products on the finish.

I don't think that Lexus advises doing anything special during a break-in period like the manufacturers did years ago. I'm not sure whether it is necessary or not, but, possibly out of habit, I still try to avoid full-throttle acceleration and driving at a constant speed for an extended period of time during the first 500-1000 miles. With tighter engine production tolerances than existed on cars a few decades ago, though, I doubt that such caution is really necessary.

aztr0

1) If I remember correctly, Lexus claims its some special paint. But self healing paint is a gimmick anyways.

2) In the manual, there is a suggested break in guide. There's also a lot of discussion here about engine break in. Some member don't care and just drive it like they stole it from day 1. Personally, I followed the manual and what works for me.

There's also a turbo cool down time 30 secs to 2 mins depending on how you drive, this is also covered in the manual.

Torii

I drove my 06 lexus like I stole it from day 1 and I traded that car in couple months ago w/125k miles and no maintenance other than oil/filters/brakes...normal stuff. car was excellent.

my 17 nx is alot different than my 06...no anilene leather, no turning headlights, no v6, different awd....time will tell. I might try to keep this nx 200k miles if it holds up and then buy an electric car or something like tesla

kent2174

The op manual says to avoid sudden stops for first 200 miles.
Do not tow trailer for first 500 miles.
First 1000 miles, do not drive at extremely high speeds, avoid sudden acceleration, do not drive continuously for in low gears, don't drive at constant speeds for extended period of time.
Just realized this is from RX book, but something similar is in the NX book.