First, let me thank everyone on this forum for your wisdom. It helped me a great deal with the purchase of my 2011 RX 350, one month old today!

I decided to purchase the dealer added color coordinated side protective molding for $399.00. Today I got my first ding at Home Depot. I am sad to say that the protective molding consist of a thin coat of paint over a black substrate. So every ding will leave a nice black mark which will need to be touched up This is my third Lexus and I would have expected a side molding made of a color saturated plastic. It is really not that much more expensive. Otherwise, I love this car. It is more fun to drive than my LS.

 

At least later on if you take out the side molding, your doors will look beautiful. SO it does help for now. And i bought/installed for $100. I won't complain if it saves the doors.

 

Yes you are right about the black mark, however if someone had hit your door you may have a dent to repair as well as a paint touch up. I installed the side mouldings myself and they look great. Someone has already put a chip on the moulding,so when I get the right color of touch up, I will repair it. Better than having a dent.
good luck touching up the moulding, it shouldn't be too noticeable.
Jim

 

I went with unlimited ding protection for 5 years instead!

 

Just purchased my 2011 RX loaded. I only have 300 miles on it so it is a little too early to tell how all will be. However, at this time is is great. Love the front seat extenders & HUD. One of the first things I did was to order the side moldings and mud guards from Sewell Lexus. Installed them myself with my wifes supervision and assistance on lining them up. They look great and hopefully work well. If not they can always be removed. Good luck all and enjoy your RX
Don.

 

Ding protection is what I got as well. We recently sufferred our first "ding" which didn't qualify for repair. Why? Because the ding insurance only covers dings, dents, and windshield cracks but not paint repair (i.e. scratces). The 1 1/2 inch scratch to the metal is there until I can get the courage to use the touch up paint.

 

Does your side molding look like this?

 

how do these attach? 2-sided tape?

 

Bought my RX350 exactly 1 month ago. Love it.

 

Yes, I just got my side molding done at the dealer today, cost $305 including tax. Looks exactly like the above pictures. It is different than older models where the molding is wider and flatter. I believe it was attached with 3M adhesive which comes on the molding. Didn't know about dings revealing black plastic but as was mentioned, better than fixing a dent.

 

Looks good. Hope it prevents some dings, but not expecting protection from a lot.

 

I saw the mud flaps and trim on sewell, just a little nervous about installing them myself. Does the trim just stick on and how difficult are the mud flaps?

 

welcome to CL mcsooner

From what I read here about the side guards (I don't have them), I think the biggest challenge is lining them up. It's probably better to have someone help. As far as the mud guards, my dealer installed mine. I can tell you there's no drilling involved on them. It's strictly remove a few bolts here, replace with provided bolts there. At least that was my recollection of the instructions. You can always call Darrel at Sewell with questions if the installation instructions are not on their website. Just make sure you set up an account to get the lower price. Good luck.

 

Mud flaps. No big thing they just screw in place. Trim I had the body shop that this Lexus store here takes their car to. Tip the man$ 20 to put them on that was it. The Toyota store wanted over $100 to do that.

 

FYI: The mud guards install very easily by screws furnished with them. The side moldings are not quite so easy. The alignment of them is the most difficult of all. Takes a lot of measuring and re-checking. Once they are aligned properly it is a piece of cake to install. Just peal back the tape per instructions and install very carefully. I ordered them from Sewell Lexus and the cost of mud guards and side moldings including shipping was less than $165.00. Very quick shipping received in two days. You can see how much the dealer is charging for them. Not bad savings for a couple of hours of labor.