Hi all,

I literally just picked up my Rx350h last week and while I was pulling out of the driveway my gate door closed on the rear right panel of the car right above the right wheel. I would like to get that pushed out using paintless dent removal (PDR). Apparently the only way to get to it however is to remove the interior right side panel. Have any of you done this yet? I'd like to take my time and do it myself and then have the PDR guy come by to push it out. Any pointers on this would be much appreciated.

Thanks

 

Do you mean removing the passenger side cargo interior panel? That must be removed to install the tow converter, so reviewing those installation instructions should be helpful.

 

I am a huge fan of my PDR craftsman. He used a variety of tools to completely restore the door. This included a warmer, lights, a variety of tools, and 2 hours of patience.

 

Good idea and thanks. Looks simple but I'm sure it's more involved than what the diagram portrays. I'll give it a try however.

 

I recently had a PDR guy come to my house to remove a dent on the raised crease on the hood of my RX. I found him on Yelp with 98 five star reviews and not one single review below that. The dent was about a half inch deep and a tough one. Yelp sent my request to six different PDR people and five of them said, take it to a body shop, it will have to be painted. This guy showed up and worked for and hour and a half on this ding, using heat and a hot glue gun to "pull" the dent out with several other tools, in addition. I watched him slowly and meticulously massage the dent out. It was a bit amazing seeing this happen. The bill was $250. I gave him $300, as I think he earned it. I can only imagine what a body shop would have nailed me for re-shooting the hood. He now has 99 five star reviews on Yelp. I called him a wizard.

 

Now that is amazing. My rear fender ding is very slight and my PDR dude said he can definitely get it out but needs to get access to it. I don't want any drilled holes to get to it however. He said that if you don't remove the rear interior cargo panel, he could drill a hole in the wheel well and then primer and plug that hole after he is done. I'm reluctant to do that on a brand new car so I need to get myself comfortable pulling that right cargo panel off. I'm a bit worried that I might jack something up however so I may swing by the dealership to get a bit more advise from the service techs.

 

I can understand your reluctance in drilling into wheel well area. The liner in that area is a type of fiberboard and he may be able to remove it..This may be easier than taking the rear cargo interior panel out....it's kind of a toss up. The guy that fixed my hood did drill a hole into the hollow cavity on the underside of the hood. It was maybe a bit larger than 1/4 inch. He plugged it with a flat plastic plug which looks fine. It's up to you , since it's your ride but, I wouldn't be concerned over the plug idea, if it comes to that.

 

Cool...any chance you can send me a pic of that plug he put in?
thanks

 

It's about 5/8" in diameter and pretty flat.

 

Thanks Stefano. That's not bad at all. Did he put some primer or some protection around the exposed metal before he put the plug in?

 

No. The hood on the RX is aluminum.

 

check with Lexus. I thought there was something about free dent removal in the first 30 days.

 

I didn't hear about this. Did the dealer tell you this?