Anyone Notice That The 04-09 Rx Side Ac Vents Knobs Aren't Chrome?

[cduluk]

Hey guys! Has anyone noticed that the 04-09 RX330/350/400h interior front side AC vent knobs are black (or tan if you have that color interior) whereas the two center ones are chrome? I don't mean the silver slits, but the knob itself.

Well it was bothering me on my Rx400h, so i decided to upgrade them to chrome to match the two center ones. My first idea was just painting them with silver paint, but it wouldn't suffice...

I remembered i had a pair of 01-03 Rx300 center vents (from my old rx300) and would you know it, the little chrome slits pop out, and so do the ones on the new Rx's, and they're the same size! A little super glue, and they fit right in.

And here's what it looks like now :)

I have no idea why Lexus would make them black, but they look a heck of a lot better chromed. Just looks more "Lexus" to me :)

Just thought I'd share! :)

[SW03ES]

Cool! That I like...

Its a cost saving measure...

[cduluk]

Hey SW finally i did something to my car you actually like! lol :P

Jeesh, you really think it's a cost thing?? Those little pieces can't cost more than a couple of dollars to make over the black ones... Lexus must have so many extras from the Rx300's they should have used them!

I'm sure Lexus buyers wouldn't have minded paying $10 extra if they knew these were included... I really think they make a difference!

[dcfish]

Nice upgrade B) Well worth the effort.

[Kyle Petree]

That's a nice touch, I might have to do that with my RX.

[Sunapollo]

Nice touch ! :)

[cduluk]

Thanks for the compliments guys :) It's a really easy thing to upgrade, you just need the vents from the 01-03 Rx300's and a flat head screwdriver to pop out the chrome slits, along with some glue <_<

I was surprised no one else thought of this before?? :P

[SW03ES]

May only be a couple bucks, but when you spread that out across the entire production its a BIG savings. Lots of little cost cutting things like that, for instance not using soft touch plastics on little interior bits you don't commonly touch, using imitation leather on armrests instead of real...

Thats how they deliver the lower end models at a lower price. Its really apparent when you get into an LS and compare it to an ES or an RX. You don't really notice when you're in the lower end cars, but the LS really has a lot of refinements that are engineered out of the lower cars, and thats to save cost.

[cduluk]

Very true, very true i guess.

I do notice the leather in the Rx400h seems a little... different. It seems more "rubbery" than the leather in my rx300 was. Could it be just because it's newer?

I wish i could afford an LS- My price range would have put me in one of the older style LS's... :(

[SW03ES]

You could have bought an LS. I'm looking at them now. $28k-32k will put you in pretty much any 05-06 LS you can find under 45k miles. Not an LS460 no...but the LS430.

I've never bought a used car before but I've pretty much decided that I'm going to buy one of these. I just have to wait for the right one to come along.

[LEXIRX330]

Very true, very true i guess.

I do notice the leather in the Rx300 seems a little... different. It seems more "rubbery" than the leather in my rx300 was. Could it be just because it's newer?

I wish i could afford an LS- My price range would have put me in one of the older style LS's... :(

A Bull Bar would have looked funny on a LS! :D

[SW03ES]

No funnier than it does on the RX400h :P

[cduluk]

Although the style of the 04-06 LS is nice, buying one now would just be too outdated. That style's already 3 years old whereas the RX's style's only a few months old... After having the Rx300 i know there's nothing worse than having a car that's outdated :/

But i agree buying a Lexus one-two years old is probably a better decision than buying one brand new. Cars lose a large percentage of their value after the first year, so you can get more bang for the buck going with a 1-2 year old vehicle. Especially being a Lexus, after two years and 50k miles, the thing is just worked in.

If it was a Kia or another car with lesser reliability, well the only problem free years are maybe the first 3-4, so buying used might be a mistake...

But i have to say i'm totally satisfied getting used cars. The Rx300 was 2 years and 30k miles used when i got it in '05, and there weren't any issues (besides the crap i did to it...) and i hope everything's well with the Rx400h.

I might never buy a "new" new car again. Buying a car brand new and having it lose 20-30% of it's value after the first year is just scary to me...

I'd rather spend $31k on a one year Rx400h with 40k miles than $31k on..... well the only NEW Lexus you can get for that is maybe an IS... And after a year it won't be worth as much as the Rx400h will in another years time!!

Seems like a simple choice to me :)

[SW03ES]

Ho boy...here we go again ;)

When you get older, the desire to have something that is "hot" and "new" will be less strong. Part of it I think is that you live with these designs throughout your adult like and they just don't seem "old". Honestly, I don't think the 04-06 LS is outdated at all. I don't think my ES looks or feels outdated either. I still like the looks of the 98-00 LS400. My desire to trade my car in on something else has nothing to do with wanting something "newer", it just has a lot of miles and I've always wanted an LS. I still enjoy driving it tremendously, its in excellent shape.

That generation LS is no older in style than your RX. They came out the same year (04). I actually like the way it looks in a lot of ways more than the LS460.

I was that way when I was your age...I could never imagine driving something that was outdated, I bought a new cell phone every 8 months, always bought new clothes, new sunglasses. New, new, new. As I've gotten older thats almost dissapeared. A lot of that comes from having to actually pay for things by myself and having other life responsibilities. Having bills and paying taxes and planning for the future and investing, growing a business or concentrating on a career. Working hard for your money makes spending it on needless things just because they are "new" a lot less appealing.

If you had to write a check for $31,000 and that was all the money you had in the world, or a significant chunk of it, or you were looking at $650 payments vs having no payments when you had a mortgage, food to buy, etc. I bet your old RX300 would have looked a lot better to you.

When I bought the ES I never thought I would drive it for 6 years, never thought I'd be satisfied with something for that long. Well...I have.

I might never buy a "new" new car again. Buying a car brand new and having it lose 20-30% of it's value after the first year is just scary to me...

Again though, gotta be real. You've never bought a new car, or a used car. Or any car. You've had cars purchased for you...its a very different thing.

"Buying one now would just be too outdated" "I know the pain of owning something thats outdated from the 2003 RX300"....thats real easy to say when Mommy and Daddy are footing all the bills. Real easy.

[cduluk]

SW, why does every thread i post end up with you lecturing me about how i'm 20yrs old and have parents supporting me? I don't understand why you keep bringing it up.

I'm just appreciative that i can have nicer cars at 20yrs old. When i have a decent job and am supporting myself, things will be no different. I guarantee i won't be spending $31k for a new car when i can get something better a year older... In fact if i was the one working for my money, i'd be even more frugal as to how i spend it.

Age, income, still doesn't change the fact that it's a better deal to get one a little older with better things.

[SW03ES]

SW, why does every thread i post end up with you lecturing me about how i'm 20yrs old and have parents supporting me? I don't understand why you keep bringing it up.

Its a no-bullsh!t zone my friend. Stop pretending like you have some knowledge or insight into subjects such as which is a better purchase, a new or used car and making comments like "I'll never buy a new car again" when you've never bought a new car and I won't call you out on it. Saying things like "I know the pain of driving an outdated car" and pasing judgement that you just "couldn't drive" some other "outdated" model when its just all handed to you is obnoxious. Being forced to drive a free Lexus thats a whole 5 years old. Poor baby. At least mommy and daddy took pity on you and upgraded you.

You sit here and say "Well I wish I could buy an LS, but I just couldn't bring myself to drive one of those old outdated things...but thats a great choice for you"...and you wonder why our conversations wind up somewhere.

You totally don't get it...which I find rather amusing.

When i have a decent job and am supporting myself, things will be no different.

Hahahahaha. You're in for a rude awakening my friend. Oh yeah...its going to be JUST like it is now when you're supporting yourself.

In fact if i was the one working for my money, i'd be even more frugal as to how i spend it.

More frugal? As in you're frugal now? You're frugal now and you had a bull bar shipped over here from England because it was a little nicer looking than the ones in the states but three times as expensive? Again...rude awakening coming. Frugal...LOL

For the record, I have no problem with you being 20, I'm not all that much older than you. I think the reason I have an issue with you is that you're the type of 20 year old that made it so hard for me to be taken seriously when I was 20. I also have an issue with people pretending to have knowledge of subjects that they have no first hand knowledge of. Don't pretend to be something...or somebody that you're not.

[cduluk]

Ugh.

I'm not pretending to be someone i'm not, i'm just being honest. Stop saying i don't know what i'm talking about; i'm merely stating my opinions as to what's a better deal. I'm 20, i'm doing my best for what i've learned... I don't think anyone can argue 31k for a one year old Rx is a better deal than 31 on a brand new lesser car. Even you yourself stated you want to buy a used LS. When one has a budget to spend on a car, they're going to make sure they get the best bang for the buck... and i'm one of the many that think this way. Whether i earned the money myself or had the money come from my family, it wouldn't make a difference, i would still try to be smart.

Stop trying to make me feel like any lesser of a person or any more "ignorant" or whatever you wanna call it, just because of my situation (because that's the vibe i'm getting..). I "know" what reality is like (at least somewhat of an idea) just as much as anyone else my age. I know things will be different when i'm supporting myself. But i'm doing the right things for my age, making the right decisions, at least to the best of my ability. I'm in school studying hard and getting good grades. I've had the same girlfriend for the past three years, i have a wonderful family, great friends, honestly i wouldn't trade my life for anyone else's. I consider myself fortunate, i'm not snobby, i'm sorry if that's how i come off.

Just because i've been given nice cars, doesn't mean i "don't get it" any less than someone driving a Corolla would. Just because my family can afford to buy me nice cars, doesn't mean i'm "ignorant" of the real world. I've had several jobs, i've been in school for 15 years, i've been through everything else anyone else my age goes through, minus the drugs and attitude of course.

I'm in the engineering program at the University of Rhode Island, and currently taking classes at Rhode Island College in technology education. I work extremely hard and hope to be quite successful after i graduate. All of my professors tell me that i'm very talented and have a bright future. I will continue to work hard so i will be able to have the nice things i've been given my whole life, if that's the type of things that 'make me happy' in the future. But for now, this is what i like to do, so i'm doing it. I consider myself lucky that i get to have nice things at such a young age. I know it's not the 'norm' but i'm appreciative. My parents can afford it, so they let me have nice things. I'm their only child (they were told they couldn't have any children, but then i was born) and they want me to have nice things. They're in their 60's, they have no mortgage payments, no other large expenses besides bills and lease payments, so they don't mind giving me nice things because they know that i work hard for it, and that i know the meaning of a dollar. They're not "breaking the bank", they don't "throw money at me" whenever i want it, they're very responsible parents and base their decisions on how i act. If i was a lazy spoiled "brat", trust me, they wouldn't give me nice things until i learned the true meaning of a dollar.

SW, (Steve, right?) I've always admired you on this forum, always though you were a great guy- but honestly, i'm quite hurt by some of the personal accusations and comments you've posted on here towards me. It's embarrassing on my end to have everyone else on the forum read the degrading things you've said about me when you don't know me personally. I would appreciate it if you just... lay off the negative personal remarks about me, ok? I mean if you don't have anything nice to say, don't say anything at all (parents taught me that one).

I mean, i know you don't like me for whatever reason, but can you try to keep these type of comments off the boards? All of your accusations are based off of a few posts, If you really knew me, you'd think totally different things... I know you have nothing else to go by, but it really hurts me when you say stuff like this when you don't know everything about me... I know (hope?) you're not trying to say these things to be hurtful on purpose, but it would mean a lot if you could try to be a little more open minded, or at least make an attempt to be more sensitive when it comes to personal remarks... what can i say, i'm a softie.

thanks everyone!

[SW03ES]

Believe it or not, I'm actually trying to help you. Nothing I've said to you is meant to be degrading or personally derogatory to you at all. Its not your fault. However, I would suggest that you think twice about some things that you've posted on here and how they sound coming from someone in your situation. It makes you sound like a punk, quite honestly. I know thats not the case, but thats how you come across. You say you get it...but you don't. I can tell from what you say on here. Sometimes its a lot smarter to admit that you don't get it.

The fact that you think you do get it makes me a little afraid for you quite honestly.

I know exactly where you are coming from. I had everything I wanted, never had to live within a budget, never HAD to work to support myself. When I got out on my own I had very few real world coping skills, I had no idea how to prioritize my spending, I had developed tastes that were WAY beyond my means. I had the benefit of having developed a successful business and business and sales skills, but I did a lot of real life learning in those first couple years. I thought I had it all figured out too...life's tough...and whether you believe it or not the life you are living right now is one of someone who has extraordinary personal means...and your life in the real world is not going to be that for a long, long time. You're in a mode where whatever you want you just get it...and thats a mode at your stage in life that can get you in a *lot* of trouble when you get out on your own. Again...I've been there.

PM me and we'll discuss it further...

[cduluk]

Well thanks for your advice SW. I'll keep it in mind i guess? lol

[SW03ES]

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