Couldn't take it any longer, it was time to take a look under my windshield trim (1 Viewer)

[aging fleet]

I bought my LC almost two years ago knowing the windshield had been replaced. Since I brought it home, the wind noise hasn't been excessive and there is no indication that water is leaking in through the a-pillar (though it's garaged while I'm home and at work). That said, the molding that covers the rivets never sat flat so I decided to finally take a look.

As many have seen before, the outside molding was attached using 6 screws of various sizes (one hole on each side wasn't used).

All six removed

When I saw these, I wanted to get them out before rust formed on the a-pillar. After deciding I could handle reinstalling the trim and installing 8 rivets on my own, I ordered a few parts and proceeded to get after it. Unfortunately, when the old rivets were drilled out and the screws were driven into the a-pillar, the holes became too large for the Toyota rivets to grip. D@mn!

I saw two choices from here, install more screws and risk exposing the raw metal to the elements or go with a larger aluminum rivet and hope they played well with the freshly touched-up holes in the a-pillar. I decided to go with a larger rivet. Larger Home Depot rivets compared to the OEM Toyota rivets.

If you do this on your own, you'll need a rivet gun with a long narrow head to get deep enough into the trim to secure the rivet. Here is what I used.

To be continued on next post (cant attach any more photos)...

 

[aging fleet]

To give me a bit more room, I used a few round pieces of metal I found in my toolbox as a spacer.

Picture above has a Toyota rivet in the gun, but here are the aluminum rivets installed.

And finally the trim installed.

You can still see the rivet heads under the trim but it seats much better than when the screws were used. There is no wind noise and I drove through a pretty heavy thunderstorm yesterday with no apparent leaks.

I would have preferred to have the plastic capped Toyota rivets in place, but I think what I did is quite a bit better than what was previously installed so I'm happy with the outcome.

Hopefully this is helpful for anyone contemplating what to do about a previous hack job.

 

[RND1]

Great write up! Did you find any rust under the trim? Does the trim just pop in over the rivets?

 

[aging fleet]

Great write up! Did you find any rust under the trim? Does the trim just pop in over the rivets?

Regarding rust, when the original rivets were drilled out, it left the holes in the a-pillar unfinished. A few of those holes started to go orange, but it was nothing too worrisome. Had I left those screws in for a few Ohio winters, it probably would've gotten much worse.

The trim strip fits into a channel in the a-pillar trim, it pulls out and can be pushed back in. I only replaced mine because it had formed around the larger screw heads and no longer fit flush.

 

[guerasfj60]

So removing the trim/moulding can be done without damaging it and reinstalled? Awesome! Thank you for this write-up! I feel better about addressing the PO install.

 

[aging fleet]

So removing the trim/moulding can be done without damaging it and reinstalled? Awesome! Thank you for this write-up! I feel better about addressing the PO install.

Probably... In my case, the rubber strip that covered the rivets came out in one piece and would've been reusable had it not been deformed from the screw heads. Once the 4 rivets or screws are removed from the side molding, it's free from the a-pillar, but there will probably be some adhesive on the roof rain gutter leading up to your roof rack. My side moldings had been removed before so that adhesive was long gone.

In my case, the riveted on trim was reusable, but I chose to replace the rubber strips (which are like $20 vs. $200 for the riveted on trim)

 

[dak244]

I recently acquired an 03 LX and had noticed that it was getting ALOT of wind noise at high speeds -- definitely didn't seem normal. After doing some digging on the recent windshield replacement by the previous owner (Dec. 2016) and taking a look at this thread and a few others (thank you, very helpful!), I think the problem may be that I am missing the molding that covers the rivets (now screws thanks to Safelite ).

Posted a few photos below - do you guys think that the source of the wind noise is definitely the missing trim that covers? From looking at aging fleets posts above it appears that the trim doesn't really take it all the way flush with the windshield, so seems hard to believe it would totally curb the wind noise, but maybe so??

Really not excited to invest $125 each in two new pieces of trim so if anyone has alternate solutions that may be as effective I am definitely interested! (may go back to Safelite to ask them to fix - can't imagine the previous owner didn't notice this)

 

[nissanh]

I bought mine without the trim that you all are talking about, and I have no wind noise at any speeds up to 80 MPH. How much did you pay per trim from the dealer? Does it come with the rivets?

I personally like without the trim to minimize corrosion.

 

[aging fleet]

do you guys think that the source of the wind noise is definitely the missing trim that covers?

This gets confusing because everything is called windshield trim or molding so, to keep this clear, there is the "windshield trim/drip molding" ($120 a side) which is riveted to the a-pillar and the other "windshield trim" which is the rubber strip that fits into the drip molding and covers the rivet heads ($15 a side).

@dak244, if your drip molding is securely fastened and all 4 rivet holes are being utilized on both sides, you may have another issue. The $15 piece of trim that fits into the drip molding may help a bit, but I'd be worried that your glass isn't 100% sealed. If that's the case, I'd be worried about water leaks too.

That said, your drip moldings were definitely reused based on how bent they look in the second photo. If they aren't tightly fastened against the a-pillar, that would cause some wind noise. If I were you, I'd reach out to Safelite and if they need to re-install, I'd push to have those drip moldings replaced too.

@nissanh, the rivets are sold separately. If you simply want the piece of rubber that fits into the drip molding and covers the rivet heads, expect ~$15 per side.

 

[dak244]

I bought mine without the trim that you all are talking about, and I have no wind noise at any speeds up to 80 MPH. How much did you pay per trim from the dealer? Does it come with the rivets?

I personally like without the trim to minimize corrosion.

That's interesting - maybe it's not the source of my wind noise? A few other threads I read had noted it could have been (and that wind noise is a common issue in 100s with windshield replacements). It could be the fact that the trim pieces above the windshield were not properly installed as well (also read this are challenging to put back on as well) -- photos for refernece

 

[aging fleet]

@dak244, that drip molding may not be your smoking gun, but it definitely got worked during the windshield replacement. The portion that runs along the roof is held on with adhesive so it's easy to bend when removed.

In other news, we have similar garages. My LC shares the garage with my wife's Acadia.

 

[dak244]

@dak244, that drip molding may not be your smoking gun, but it definitely got worked during the windshield replacement. The portion that runs along the roof is held on with adhesive so it's easy to bend when removed.

In other news, we have similar garages. My LC shares the garage with my wife's Acadia.

Good eye! I must admit, I didn't notice that was an Acadia in your photos first go around...

So from your experience, do you think it's more likely the lack of trim covering the rivet is causing the significant wind noise, or the molding on the roof line? Sure seems to be coming from the upper sections of the glass while driving

 

[bctlex]

Probably... In my case, the rubber strip that covered the rivets came out in one piece and would've been reusable had it not been deformed from the screw heads. Once the 4 rivets or screws are removed from the side molding, it's free from the a-pillar, but there will probably be some adhesive on the roof rain gutter leading up to your roof rack. My side moldings had been removed before so that adhesive was long gone.

In my case, the riveted on trim was reusable, but I chose to replace the rubber strips (which are like $20 vs. $200 for the riveted on trim)

Thanks for the post. Are the rivet also purchased at Home Depot? Wow $20 for that rubber strips that cover the rivets? I paid like $80 for mine. They were missing when I bought the car.

 

[nissanh]

Could it be the lifted trim here? Apply some glue and see how that's going to work

 

[dak244]

Could it be the lifted trim here? Apply some glue and see how that's going to work

View attachment 1411971

Thanks @nissanh I may give it a try. Turns out I called Safelite, who did the last replacement in December and even though I'm not the party to that repair, they said they will check it out and see what they can do. I figure they really can't make it any worse at this point! And, assuming they can help on the wind noise, at next replacement I may request the full OEM trim, etc.

 

[dubisg]

I just had some body work done this week due to what I think was a bad windshield install. So if you see screws on your windshield moulding be sure to check for any rust. This also indicates that the glass shop might be taking shortcuts during the install. Here's a timeline of what I had to deal with. I know this thread is more about wind noise.

-2003 LC
-Windshield was replaced by pervious owner and it was installed with screws not rivets
-New holes were drilled into the A pillar for the screws
-Safelite installed a windshield for me in 2014 and told me there was some rust around the windshield that they "took care off"
-No rivets and reused the screws
-December 2016 I have a leak down the passenger kick panel
-After a heavy rain I have water come in were the headliner meets the windshield
-Peal back the huge moulding strip that Satellite used and there's a rusted hole in the pinch weld on the roofline
-No way to see the rust with the large molding they used
-Safelite won't do a warranty claim-because it's body damage and not adhesive/windshield failure
-$625 for the body work plus $100 deductible for the new windshield. Old one broke coming out,
-I had another glass company install the windshield this time and the installer ordered the rivets from the Toyota dealership and installed a upper moulding that doesn't cover the roof line. (Total cost for windshield install was $320.14 if I paid it all out of pocket)

After talking to the windshield tech he said if you don't prime the frame before installing the new windshield it's going to rust. The installers have a good chance of cutting through the paint when removing the old windshield.

I apologize i don't have any pics of the rust because all the work was all done at the body shop.

 

[dak244]

To give me a bit more room, I used a few round pieces of metal I found in my toolbox as a spacer.

View attachment 1271636

Picture above has a Toyota rivet in the gun, but here are the aluminum rivets installed.

View attachment 1271637

And finally the trim installed.

View attachment 1271638

View attachment 1271639

You can still see the rivet heads under the trim but it seats much better than when the screws were used. There is no wind noise and I drove through a pretty heavy thunderstorm yesterday with no apparent leaks.

I would have preferred to have the plastic capped Toyota rivets in place, but I think what I did is quite a bit better than what was previously installed so I'm happy with the outcome.

Hopefully this is helpful for anyone contemplating what to do about a previous hack job.

@aging fleet Took the LX back to Safelite and they pulled up the moulding and redid it -- didn't help at all with the bent molding at the top, but helped with the wind noise a bit.

I still don't have any trim, do you have any insight as to whether or not the LC trim (part 75543-60020 you show above) will work for an 03 LX as well?

 

[aging fleet]

@dak244, I'd be surprised if it wasn't the same. I just googled the part number + Lexus and got hits for the windshield molding. You should be good but I'd still confirm before placing an order.

Glad Safelite was able to improve the situation.

 

[elpietri]

I know this is an old thread, but was wondering if someone has the specifics on how to remove and replace the side trims of the windshield.

Situation... 2005 LX-470, only owner--windshield never replaced. Developed a water leak from the top left corner (driver side). Water drips on my thigh. Pulled down headliner and found the leak coming through the windshield. I could see the water drops coming in. Saw little brown spots. Hmm? Rust? Went up to the roof. Lifted the upper trim and whala! Rust in that corner! Water coming in from under the rubber underneath the windshield. Guys at Safelite are very good. Used them on my 2013 BMW and did a great job. Can remove the glass at home, let me repair that corner, and come back the next day for replacement. Very affordable price. But,... I want to try to patch it up before replacing a factory-installed windshield, and see how long I can stretch it. I know it will be a matter of time. After rust starts, there is nothing that can stop it, unless the area is repaired.

I want to be able to remove the trim, clean up the rusted area, and apply urethane, and some kind of marine caulk, to stop the water from sipping in. It is not much really, but it is in a very stubborn corner, and it got under the windshield. But I don't know how to remove that stupid trim. Do I just pull it? Where are those rivets? I cannot see them? Do I have to pull the thin rubber off first to see the rivets underneath? After I see the rivets, how do I remove the trim? Break the head of the rivet? How do I install the new trim? I've heard of some screws, really? The guys at Safelite tell me they use rivets again.

Or, maybe I should just let the guys from Safelite replace the glass. I may still need to buy the new trim. I bent it too much pulling the top part. I was able to re-bend it a bit, but still had to glue it down with some weights for it to stay down, until the glue dried. It has held fine so far after a week.

 

[aging fleet]

Post #193 of this thread should help.

Just scored a 2007 LC