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Wood Trim Around The Gearshifter


91ls400

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I would like to send in my climate control LCD to Mikado but I have to take off the wood trim around the gear shifter to take out the Climate Control. The wood looks as if it is cracked. I have already had the wood trim fall off of my passenger side window/lock panel, under the wood there was a black peice of plastic. I glued the wood back onto the plastic. If I take off the shifter trim, I think I will break it, is there a piece of black plastic under the wood here as well? If I did break it, is there a replacement piece, and if so how much would it cost me?

I will post a picture of the trim as soon as I can get my digital camera charged.

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Its not uncommon for the wood to crack with age. In fact its a huge problem on 98-00 wood steering wheels.

I doubt its cracked all the way through as the wood is very thin and mated to a plastic base.

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It's probably just the finish that is cracked. The finish on mine cracked much worse when I was re-ended in 2000 but the wood itself in the early years is quite thick and sturdy - much thicker than on my current LS. When I replaced the console wood in 2000 on my 90 LS, it cost right at $100 from the dealer. The finish crack on your wood certainly does not look bad. It is just a sign that the car is aging gracefully and it looks great at 13 years.

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Its not uncommon for the wood to crack with age. In fact its a huge problem on 98-00 wood steering wheels.

Steve,

Tell me there's a TSB on this or something like ...."just walk in to the dealer and they'll replace it free" :lol:

Mine is fine...for now ;)

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I've heard that the dealer will just replace it, but we had a member try it and get shut down...

The wheel costs over $2000 from Lexus. It takes 3 weeks to make one :blink:

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Yes. It was me who got shut down with the steering wheel cracking issue. Spent two hours at the dealership while the service manager called everyone (including Lexus directly) and no dice. Can't believe the damn thing is not covered........

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Unfortunately thats not too uncommon from Lexus. It WAS covered, they just decided to stop covering it. Just like you used to get one free nav update but not anymore. Now that they don't do it, nobody has "any idea what we're talking about".

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I know that when you remove that panel you do bend it considerably, any chance that the wood will just fall off of the black plastic. If it does can I just glue it back on?

The panel is a laminated plywood with the walnut veneer on it. It is not bent much if at all when removing. Tape up a thin slot screwdriver and pry up gently at the back on each side, going back and forth. When you get the rear of the panel up a bit, maybe 1/2 inch, then pull it back to the rear and it slides out. Quite brilliant actually, and easy. You won't break it, the panel is quite tough.

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I know that when you remove that panel you do bend it considerably, any chance that the wood will just fall off of the black plastic.  If it does can I just glue it back on?

The panel is a laminated plywood with the walnut veneer on it. It is not bent much if at all when removing. Tape up a thin slot screwdriver and pry up gently at the back on each side, going back and forth. When you get the rear of the panel up a bit, maybe 1/2 inch, then pull it back to the rear and it slides out. Quite brilliant actually, and easy. You won't break it, the panel is quite tough.

Regarding steering wheels, American Stitches in Dallas does Lexus wheels and they are fairly reasonable. They may do other internal parts as well now.

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