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Lexus ES 350 Paint Problems

83 messages,  Last post on Sep 09, 2012 at 11:40 AM

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What is this discussion about? Lexus ES 300, Lexus ES 330, Lexus ES 350, Paint, Sedan

Messages Page 2 of 9

#9 of 83 Re: 2008 Lexus ES 350 Paint Problems [draperysewer] by scottinmem

Aug 26, 2008 (11:14 am)

Replying to: draperysewer (May 28, 2008 7:32 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.

#10 of 83 Re: 2008 Lexus ES 350 Paint Problems [draperysewer] by llee44

Aug 27, 2008 (6:56 pm)

Replying to: draperysewer (May 28, 2008 7:32 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.

#11 of 83 Re: 2008 Lexus ES 350 Paint Problems [draperysewer] by magical

Sep 04, 2008 (7:20 am)

Replying to: draperysewer (May 28, 2008 7:32 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!

#12 of 83 Re: 2008 Lexus ES 350 Paint Problems [magical] by scottinmem

Sep 04, 2008 (11:00 am)

Replying to: magical (Sep 04, 2008 7:20 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.

#13 of 83 08 Lexus ES 350 OIL CHANGE by carhop1

Sep 09, 2008 (11:17 am)

just changed oil 5000 miles & need to reset oil service light but don't know how.

#14 of 83 Re: 2008 Lexus ES 350 Paint Problems [draperysewer] by lmlee08

Mar 24, 2009 (4:57 pm)

Replying to: draperysewer (May 28, 2008 7:32 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.

#15 of 83 Re: 2008 Lexus ES 350 Paint Problems [draperysewer] by bluelexus

Apr 30, 2009 (12:40 pm)

Replying to: draperysewer (May 28, 2008 7:32 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.

#16 of 83 2007 ES 350 Paint Problems by zaff6

Apr 30, 2009 (5:39 pm)

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.

#17 of 83 2009 ES350 Gold- rock chips galore by krishnav

Jul 16, 2009 (3:33 pm)

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

#18 of 83 Re: 2008 Lexus ES 350 Paint Problems [draperysewer] by rapo74

Jul 22, 2009 (4:03 pm)

Replying to: draperysewer (May 28, 2008 7:32 pm)
I purchased my Lexus ES350 in Aug of 2008.
I complained at my first oil change about all the stone chips on the hood and bumper and they gave me a bottle of touch-up paint and told me that was the best they could do . I wish I had read all the issues with this car I probably would not have purchased it.. I've been a Lexus owner for 10 yrs. and this might just be my last one .Really disappointed .
I have a feeling that's why Buick has jumped ahead of Lexus for quality.

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