- #8 of 44
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Re: 2008 Lexus ES 350 Paint Problems [joeldavid]
by draperysewer
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Aug 15, 2008 (12:12 pm)
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Replying to: joeldavid (Jul 29, 2008 10:19 am)
My 2008 Smokey Grey Mica ES 350 went back to the dealer for its first oil change and what ever else they do. Aftter 2 weeks of ownership I was calling the dealer about the scratches that showed white and how easily it chips. After a month my husband was rubbing out and waxing the car to conceal the white scratches. I must say I did not feel satisfied. The service manager would not admit a known problem about the paint. He tried to sell me on the same story about the paint not being the same quality or hardness due to enviromental laws. I had him nailed because my husband bought a black Cadillac Escalade from the same dealer and I told him his paint is fine, does not chip easily or scratch white. I asked about another clear coat but he would not do it. He touched up my abundant chips and rubbed out some of the scratches. He told me there was nothing he could do about the car scratching. I made sure he noted in my record about the paint issue not wanting it to be a deduction when I turned in the car. I am very disappointed with this paint. Neither of my other 2 ES autos had this problem.
I plan to contact Lexus directly with hopes of some resolution.
Regarding the transmission concerns. They can check the vin number to make sure it has all the latest updates. (He admitted to this issue) Mine occassionally shifts hard, sort of like a chunk. Mine is up to date but again, had it noted in the record. My other 2 didn't have transmission issue.
Unfortunately I have 2 1/2 years more to drive this car. I am working on attitude change but it is disappointing when you take care of a vehicle to have it look bad right out the door.
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- #9 of 44
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Re: 2008 Lexus ES 350 Paint Problems [draperysewer]
by scottinmem
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Aug 26, 2008 (10:14 am)
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Replying to: draperysewer (May 28, 2008 6:32 pm)
Same color here on my 2007 and it looks great, BUT I am very careful with the paint. Light scratches and swirls show up more on dark colored cars - black is by far the worst. Different car companies are known for different paint hardness. Lexus is considered to be among the softest. Others are correct to not buy into the "environmental" reason and I don't know why Lexus is soft yet Mercedes is hard. Unfortunately, this is the way it is. Personally, btw, I would never let a dealer touch my paint or wash my car - most do not know how to properly wash a car - or they are in too much of a hurry to do it right.
If you have the time, energy and desire to take care of the soft Lexus paint, the site autopia.com is a wealth of information on proper care. I'm not trying to justify Lexus paint, just informing how to deal with it.
The sad truth is that if swirls bother you and you don't want to spend a lot of time on car care, you should buy silver cars with hard paint. Again, I'm not saying it is your fault for buying a dark Lexus, but next time, now that you know the score, you may want to consider color and hardness in your car buying decision.
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- #10 of 44
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Re: 2008 Lexus ES 350 Paint Problems [draperysewer]
by llee44
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Aug 27, 2008 (5:56 pm)
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Replying to: draperysewer (May 28, 2008 6:32 pm)
I have a 2007 Lexus ES 350 Smokey Graphite. I'm having the exact same problem too. The chips are huge I mean larger and deeper then average. The chips are so deep that they go through the primer. Today I found one about the size of the head of a thumb tack, also down to the metal/fiberglass body. Its like they didn't even prime the car. Further more it was not on the hood, but on the side of the front driver side wheel well.
I too think this is very disturbing. I'm going to contact Lexus about this problem.
I am also having problems with the car shifting really hard. I guess I can also get that looked at at the same time. This really makes me made because you wouldn't expect this from Lexus.
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- #11 of 44
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Re: 2008 Lexus ES 350 Paint Problems [draperysewer]
by magical
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Sep 04, 2008 (6:20 am)
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Replying to: draperysewer (May 28, 2008 6:32 pm)
I have a 2007 ES 350 that I purchased 10/2006 - gold color. I have noticed, ever since the beginning, that my car has been developing numerous fine but deep scratches. At first I thought it was "keyed" - you know, what nasty people do a car's paint with a key. I have decided that this must NOT be the case as they keep popping up here and there. Have any of you had any success in getting Lexus to fix your problems????? It is most disappointing for such a good and expensive car to look so messed up - this should not be! I'm getting mad now.
Thanks!
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- #12 of 44
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Re: 2008 Lexus ES 350 Paint Problems [magical]
by scottinmem
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Sep 04, 2008 (10:00 am)
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Replying to: magical (Sep 04, 2008 6:20 am)
Not at all trying to defend Lexus with their paint - I agree with you. But now that you have the car and the paint problem, I would suggest you try to figure out why you are getting the scratches. Can you feel the scratches with your fingernail? If not, it is likely to be normal washing. Autopia dot com is a great site to learn about proper washing and care of paint. In short you should be very careful in how you wash and dry your car. If you're going to the car wash, you will get scratches/swirls. What often happens is the washer will get small pieces of dirt on the wash cloth or the drying cloth and then rub it back and forth - the result is scratches. Again, I'm not trying to blame you, just help you understand the problem and perhaps correct it.
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- #13 of 44
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08 Lexus ES 350 OIL CHANGE
by carhop1
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Sep 09, 2008 (10:17 am)
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just changed oil  5000 miles & need to reset oil service light but don't know how.
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- #14 of 44
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Re: 2008 Lexus ES 350 Paint Problems [draperysewer]
by lmlee08
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Mar 24, 2009 (3:57 pm)
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Replying to: draperysewer (May 28, 2008 6:32 pm)
I purchased an 08 rx400h back in march of last year. It has now developed quite the rust problem all over the vehicle. The dealership states that it is rail dust. I am taking it in to get a second and third opinion (hoping the next two disagree with the lexus dealership but agree in their findings) I am also going to be in contact with Lexus in the next few days and hopefully will be meeting with a LExus Rep for the area where we bought the car to have it inspected as well. The dealership is only willing to clay bar my vehicle to remove the rust but believe that the paint issues are due to rail dust and lack of maintence. They scoff at the idea that Lexus could ever have an issue with paint or any other quality of their vehicles and basically have treated my husband and I as if we are complete idiots. The lack in customer service as well as the lack in quality of the vehicle have me livid. I am happy that I came across this thread and found that I am not the only Lexus owner with paint issues and believe that there is something up with the paint on these vehicles and that it is not up to par. I intend to do everything in my power to make sure Lexus answers appropriatly to this problem. I would like to know if anyone else would like to join me in forcing Lexus to answer to this serious lack of quality? If your interested you may email me at lindy.m.leegmail.com. I want to hear your issues and bring it to Lexus's attention as well.
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- #15 of 44
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Re: 2008 Lexus ES 350 Paint Problems [draperysewer]
by bluelexus
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Apr 30, 2009 (11:40 am)
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Replying to: draperysewer (May 28, 2008 6:32 pm)
I have a 2007 ES in dark blue. It also scratches and chips way too easily. I have never had this problem with BMW, Infiniti, VW and even a 1997 ES. The paint is just too fragile.
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- #16 of 44
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2007 ES 350 Paint Problems
by zaff6
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Apr 30, 2009 (4:39 pm)
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The hood on my 2007 ES 350 has a chipping and rust issue. Some are almost the size
of a dime, others are down to the metal. The metal has rust which is generating under the paint. Contacted the dealer and they said they would not help with out Lexus approval. Contacted Lexus California's Corporate office and after many discussions they said we will fix to Lexus standards. Brought the car to the dealer and the Lexus district representative had the dealer chip away some paint and try to fix it with bottled brush on touch up paint which shows lifting under the original paint even more. The Hood looks worse than before. Lexus and the dealer all agree the hood needs to be re painted to be done right but washed their hands of it and said we are on our own to have the hood repainted. The same dealer estimate is approximately $1500.00. Basically there 7 year paint rust warranty is none. Find this totally un acceptable and we are very disappointed. Never had paint issues with our 1999 S80 Volvo or 2003 BMW Z4. Our Volvo has seen 8 winters the Lexus one and the Volvo looks new. The hood on our Lexus is an embarrassment. Have Owned many vehicles over the years and never experienced this type of problem.
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- #17 of 44
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2009 ES350 Gold- rock chips galore
by krishnav
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Jul 16, 2009 (2:33 pm)
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I live in mass and got myES350 in Oct 08. I would have got the paint protection film installed from day one - if only i knew about the east rock chips on Lexus. Because I never had any rock chip issues on my earlier cars even after 3 years I did not think it was so much of a value add to the Lexus. I had a Passat(00) and have CRV( 07) and both had been through tougher roads than my Lexus and no issues.
With in first 1000 miles I noticed a lot of rock chips and by 6 months time it looked as if it was sand blasted. The dealer said they cant help. So i decided to put the 3M clear bra. I bought the touch up paint from Lexus and the 3M installer helped me with touch up before applying the film. I know it is late, it is better now than not having the film look paint-stripped with in one year.
Of course, this does not solve the problem of easy scratching and swirling on the rest of the ares where the film is not applied.
Note: when I was at the clear film installer there was another curious customer who wanted to get the same on her 8000 Miles BMW ( more than 12 months old). And I checked her car, I could not believe her paint ( hood and bumper) looked so new with out any chips.Though it also depends one's driving style and the routes, still the difference was so clear between her 12month/8Kmiles car and my 6month/7K Lexus
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