seat lever break easily!

[lilizard42]

My 2024 GX is only 2 weeks old and the second row seat lever has already broken! I barely put pressure on it to access the third row and it snapped off in my hands It's total plastic crap. Who at Lexus thought it would be a good idea to have flimsy plastic to move a metal bolt??

Called the Lexus service department, they have to order the part and have no ETA on when it will be fixed.

 

[SethGX]

My 2024 GX is only 2 weeks old and the second row seat lever has already broken! I barely put pressure on it to access the third row and it snapped off in my hands It's total plastic crap. Who at Lexus thought it would be a good idea to have flimsy plastic to move a metal bolt??

Called the Lexus service department, they have to order the part and have no ETA on when it will be fixed.

View attachment 2028

I think we're gonna need a photo of your biceps before we jump to any conclusions...

Just kidding, that's very unfortunate, but I appreciate you sharing so we can be careful with those levers.

 

[lilizard42]

I think we're gonna need a photo of your biceps before we jump to any conclusions...

Just kidding, that's very unfortunate, but I appreciate you sharing so we can be careful with those levers.

Ha! I wish it was due to my amazing muscles, but sadly it wasn't. Just be gentle with those levers.

 

[robschafer]

My 2024 GX is only 2 weeks old and the second row seat lever has already broken! I barely put pressure on it to access the third row and it snapped off in my hands It's total plastic crap. Who at Lexus thought it would be a good idea to have flimsy plastic to move a metal bolt??

Called the Lexus service department, they have to order the part and have no ETA on when it will be fixed.

View attachment 2028

Pretty lame connection on the lever!

 

[Gunner]

Now I really hope Lexus is listening. (Or reading this post!)

 

[MrTutti]

My 2024 GX is only 2 weeks old and the second row seat lever has already broken! I barely put pressure on it to access the third row and it snapped off in my hands It's total plastic crap. Who at Lexus thought it would be a good idea to have flimsy plastic to move a metal bolt??

Called the Lexus service department, they have to order the part and have no ETA on when it will be fixed.

View attachment 2028

I unfortunately had the same thing happen to me. My passenger side middle seat folded with ease. The drivers passenger side seat lever broke off just like that. I'm not happy about it either.

 

[Cajun Heat]

I unfortunately had the same thing happen to me. My passenger side middle seat folded with ease. The drivers passenger side seat lever broke off just like that. I'm not happy about it either.

That sucks. I think that y'all should reach out to Lexus Brand Engagement and file a complaint. The more they here about this the better.

https://support.lexus.com/s/questions-comments

 

[German88]

Looks like a bad design followed by poor quality. Doubtful a new one of the same makeup will fair better. Great example of first model year issues that will require updating & improving. Thanks for posting it.

 

[Cajun Heat]

My 2024 GX is only 2 weeks old and the second row seat lever has already broken! I barely put pressure on it to access the third row and it snapped off in my hands It's total plastic crap. Who at Lexus thought it would be a good idea to have flimsy plastic to move a metal bolt??

Called the Lexus service department, they have to order the part and have no ETA on when it will be fixed.

View attachment 2028

Do you think there is an opportunity to add a metal sleave in the handle to reinforce the plastic? Just think that maybe some other owners could benefit from removing the handles and putting in some reinforcement.

 

[SethGX]

I've seen a few people with this same issue, and I've been thinking about how to preemptively address it. I'm thinking that maybe removing the lever and carefully applying some jb weld to reinforce the connection point might give it enough strength to withstand the power of children and housewives lifting it to fold a seat forward. I feel like adding it before it breaks would be much easier than trying to fix it when broken. I realize it would be fixed under warranty, for now at least, but it could take a long time to get that part in and at this point it would just be the same weak lever.

 

[German88]

I've seen a few people with this same issue, and I've been thinking about how to preemptively address it. I'm thinking that maybe removing the lever and carefully applying some jb weld to reinforce the connection point might give it enough strength to withstand the power of children and housewives lifting it to fold a seat forward. I feel like adding it before it breaks would be much easier than trying to fix it when broken. I realize it would be fixed under warranty, for now at least, but it could take a long time to get that part in and at this point it would just be the same weak lever.

I wouldn't be afraid to try that myself. You might consider Devcon vs JB. This stuff is great.

Devcon Plastic Welder White DA291 (50ml) & DA160 (400ml) - High-Strength Toughened MMA Adhesive​

 

[luxpow]

This was one of the cheapest part I noticed when checking out a gx550 yesterday at a dealer.
It felt so flimsy and yet needed a lot of force to move it.
Was expecting Lexus would have better feeling levers than my Ford.

 

[sids911]

Micah's wife broke this same lever white they were testing the Land Cruiser 250. Looks like an issue that's waiting to happen

 

[SethGX]

Micah's wife broke this same lever white they were testing the Land Cruiser 250. Looks like an issue that's waiting to happen

Yes, I saw that video as well. I ordered some epoxy and I plan to remove both of mine and add some strength to those levers. It should arrive tomorrow.

 

[German88]

Yes, I saw that video as well. I ordered some epoxy and I plan to remove both of mine and add some strength to those levers. It should arrive tomorrow.

Drop a pic if you get a chance.

 

[SethGX]

Hey guys, I have goodish news and badish news. I'll start with the bad. I took my rear seat levers off today, which was pretty easy. I have rarely used the levers, only flipping the seats a few times in total. But both seat levers showed small cracks just above where the bolt goes through. I was trying to figure out how to reinforce it with epoxy, but it just didn't seem like it was going to work very well. Now for the good news. I ended up printing some small inserts to add some extra structure between the bolt head and the lever surface, and I added another washer just a little larger than the bolt head to make it a little stronger. I don't have any empirical evidence that it will be a long term success, but I feel pretty good about it and I didn't have to epoxy anything. In case you want to do something similar, flip the seats forward (carefully if course), use a flat blade screwdriver to pop the cover of the bottom of the lever, use an 8mm socket to remove the bolt from the lever, take the bolt out and slide the lever off. The insert I made was 3mm x 15mm x 22mm. Put the insert in, and put it all back together. Cross your fingers. Good luck.

 

[M2L2024]

I recall seeing this thread and then bam!, it happened on my Lux+. Dealer overnighted the part and is fixing as I type. Unfortunately this solution is likely only temporary due to the cheap design Lexus allowed to move forward. I’m no engineer but kind of easy to see that a plastic handle is not going to work with a metal screw that is under tension and requires additional force to engage the mechanism.
Thx @SethGX for the idea above.
I’m filing this experience under a growing list called “C’mon Lexus - WTF?”

 

[SethGX]

Yeah, they need to modify that part just a little bit, or add something like what I did to fix this for current owners, because otherwise eventually they will ALL break.

 

[MrTutti]

That sucks. I think that y'all should reach out to Lexus Brand Engagement and file a complaint. The more they here about this the better.

https://support.lexus.com/s/questions-comments

I wanted to follow up on my above post. I brought my Lexus in for service and they replaced the broken part for free. There was an issue that caused it, and they fixed that as well.

 

[German88]

"@SethGX" was gracious enough to send a set of his expertly crafted reinforcing tabs. Took mine off today to perform the mod. Noticed almost zero torque on the bolts and as a result mine had no damage. Also took note the plastic seemed extremely hard and plenty strong so almost decided not to bother. Here are a few pics of what I did. Main difference is using 2 part epoxy with "cotton flocks" filler for extreme rigidity. Filled all the cavities surounding the tab. Will add blue loctite on the bolt. Game over!