diverchris

SteveCraig

Look for a product called "putty stick" or perhaps "clay bar". Meguiars will have it as well as other brands. Simple to use & quite effective.
Looks like & is a piece of putty. Apply the supplied spray-on lubricant & rub off the stains.
Hardware( nuts & bolts) will get wet inside the door handle over time & this is the root cause.
Brought the same problem on the rear hatch to our local dealer a few years ago asking to simply change the fasteners to stainless.
Nope.
Research showed Lexus had a poor design on the gaskets & was later improved.
They ended up replacing the gaskets AND the entire rear hatch at no cost to me.Dealers get paid well on some warranty projects.
Much more than I was expecting !
Worst of it was they gave Jane a new IS AWD for the duration......about a week.
Had a heck of a time getting her to return it! HA.

diverchris

SteveCraig,
Thank you for the detailing advice on what products to use. I was wondering if you still had the work invoice receipt for the warranty work that Lexus completed on you RX so I have more knowledge when I have to deal with the dealership or Lexus Canada.
Thank you in advance,
Chris

SteveCraig

We keep every document associated with every car until the car is sold/traded. Nothing in the file on the RX other than noting an initial complaint about the rust stains on the rear hatch. Dealer changed the nuts/bolts at N/C. I can send this one if you like.
The rear hatch change was an issue handled by Lexus Canada without cost to me & no records were found.

diverchris

SteveCraig,
I have send you a PM, and thank you in advance,
Chris

Clutchless

You could get a spray can of Fluid Film which has a nozzle to spray inside the door handle as it is a rust preventive coating and may help reduce future staining. Lowe's or Amazon has it. I use it to spray my rusty chassis areas every year. It lasts a long time.

https://www.fluid-film.com/automotive-applications/

diverchris

UPDATE:
The Lexus dealer indicated that the issue was rusty bolts as before but this is NOT covered by EPC and if I wanted the bolts changed I would need to pay for this to be done. Since the dealership is not standing by their work and/or additional defective parts I have send an email to Lexus Canada.
I will update once I have more

salimshah

Bolt from Lexus is going to be less than $10.00 The bigger item will be the labor.

If this is the second bolt that has rusted over, then some one needs to investigate why. <= This is what you should pursue with Lexus. Are you running the RX through car-wash? Or direct lots of water above the lock?

Salim

diverchris

diverchris

UPDATE:
I was contacted by Lexus Canada about the rusty door-handles returning. I have been told that there are non-rusting replacement hardware available. To this end I was also told that since my vehicle is beyond the 4y/80000km warranty Lexus is not obligated to repair this issue. The quote to repair the four passenger door and the lift gate area is $2300-of which I will be responsible for paying $930.

I explained that I'm not too pleased with this due to the first set of rusty door handles were repaired under warranty and less than three years later the issue has returned.

Does anyone have any suggestions for steps moving forward?
Thank you,
Chris

salimshah

Not knowing exact details, I am guessing that Lexus is providing free parts and the labor is being transferred to you. Which in my mind is not a bad deal. [YMMV].
To minimize your cost, you can opt to repair less and take a promise from Lexus to honor free parts for the rest.

Salim