I did search, but there doesn't seem to be a clear consensus on how to do this. I also know that some cars (including a Subaru I recently helped on) have intentionally sacrificial fasteners holding the A-pillar trim on, so I thought I would ask first.

I'm looking to remove the A-pillar trim on the passenger side of my 99 in order to run several cables up to the headliner/mirror area for a different type of dashcam, a Valentine 1 radar detector (can't use the mirror tap idea because I'm going to use some accessories that tap into the power cable and I'd have to run cable anyway) and a couple of handsfree microphones for a GROM Bluetooth interface. Since that's more than a couple wires, I'd want to loom them together and secure them against motion and therefore un-Lexus like banging or rattling about, and as such it would not really be possible to sneak the bundle around the door seals and edge of the trim. So, how do I get the A-pillar off and are there sacrificial fasteners I need to buy ahead of time? Thanks.

 

My suggestion would be youtube search on radar install on first gent RX.
Next would be to get on the website of online Lexus retailer [Like Lexus of Atlanta] and drill down to your model/year vehicle. The schematic will show you all fasteners and parts. This will not show you how to remove or assemble but gives you a fairly good idea.

My personal experience with Lexus fasteners is that they typically snap out as they should but on rare occasions they come out of their seat. That said the first gen is fairly old and plastic becomes brittle. If you can choose a warm day and leave the vehicle in Sun it can help.

Salim

 

I ended up going to a junkyard that happened to have a number of dead RX300s and used them as guinea pigs. I checked on several units from 99 to 2003 and they all seemed about the same though what was under the covers was different. The way to get started is to stick a trim pry tool in the gap at the top of the cover, parallel to the A pillar direction, and simply lever it off. It won't take a lot of effort, it'll pop out pretty easily. The top is held in by push clips (which do not appear to be one-use-only) and the bottom is held in by tabs. I got pictures of a 2000 and a 2003 and they're below; the major difference seems to be that there is a silver metal canister under the cover on the driver's A-pillar on the later car, but since I have a 99, I didn't pay a lot of attention to it though you can see some of it in the pictures.

The tools I used - the two on the left side of the pic, specifically. I used the one on the far left on one (the less angled end) and the second from left one (not the forked end) on the other.

2000:








2003:

 

One tip to share here..

If a clip [Lexus/toyota term] or snap is compromised, please replace it. If you install a compromised one, most likely it will not hold and to fix it, if you remove the panel other clip(s) may break. Fix it right the first time.

Salim

 

Yup. I often go ahead and order several push clips when doing a job like this and sometimes just go ahead and replace them pro-actively.