My 2017 RX350 had a small mishap and one end of the black plastic molding around the rear wheel came undone (see 2 pics). It looks like the clip remained inserted in the body, but the plastic side of the clip broke off from the plastic molding.

Not sure what is the cost of a new replacement molding but I also think a new strip might not look good next to the existing adjacent molding which has now 6 years of weathering.

I was thinking that I could put super glue or epoxy on the 2 broken plastic edges of the clip and then press the molding back onto them and hold in place temporarily with tape. Or even better, a small ball of epoxy putty so only the plastic on the clip and the molding are contacted.

I would appreciate everyone's thoughts.

 

That won't snap back into place? Pull that clip out of the body and snap it back into the molding. If that's a no go, clean everything up then use 3M emblem tape. Tip: heat the area up with a blow dryer or heat gun before pressing the pieces together.

Glue will not work in that application 3M tape will.

 

Not sure about that exact problem but I fixed a plastic molding break once by fiberglassing it which is basically using 2 part epoxy with a small piece of fiberglass cloth imbedded in the epoxy across the break. In my instance, it held up well where glue or epoxy alone wouldn’t have worked.

 

Thanks, but I don't think the clip, which is still attached to the body, can snap back onto the molding. I have circled in the picture the 2 rough edges of the plastic side of the clip which I think were torn off of the molding. Can someone who has removed this molding confirm that the molding has the clip permanently bonded to the molding?

 

Can you remove and replace the clip then?

 

I believe (but waiting for confirmation from someone who has replaced the entire molding) that the clip comes permanently attached to the molding. So what occurred here is the clip broke off from the molding and stayed clipped into the body. So my options are 1) replace the entire molding which I am reluctant to do since a new molding may not look good next to the older adjacent weathered molding, or 2) epoxy the broken plastic part of the clip (the 2 areas where I circled) back onto the existing molding.

 

I'd take a stab at epoxy repair first. JB Weld makes some great products for that.
The insert-able portion of the clip is intact, so that's a plus. With a little patience and a steady hand, should be a simple fix. And if for some reason it doesn't take, then you go to plan B.

 

Thanks. Yup, that's the direction I'm heading.

 

As a body shop owner we have tried to repair molding like that so many times with 50/50 chance of it holding for a while .
The plastic has to be very clean [alcohol] and roughed up if possible . A new molding is 150.99 list price . Also a new molding would look
fine matched up to the rest .

 

I wonder what material the molding is made of? JB Weld's 5-minute epoxy appears to be the same as Loctite's, and the manufacturer for Loctite says the epoxy will not bond polyethylene, polypropylene or nylon. Does anyone know?